Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa and Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa

   Brussels has a forest on its doorstep, and a very good one. The Sonian Forest, Forêt de Soignes or Zoniënwoud depending on who is speaking, spreads over the south-eastern edge of the city in a dark green arc of about four and a half thousand hectares, and its core is beech, tall, grey and straight as columns. The forest is shared among three regions of Belgium, and the Joseph Zwaenepoel reserve is a protected section in the Flemish part, where the managers let nature take its course and fallen trees are left to rot. It is part of the UNESCO listing for ancient and primeval beech forests, extended in 2017 to include the Sonian Forest.

   Read the complete Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa is where the day begins. Next is Grand Béguinage of Leuven.

2. 2. Grand Béguinage of Leuven

   Step through the gate of the Groot Begijnhof in Leuven and the city noise drops away. Cobbled lanes, small brick houses with white window frames and stepped gables, little bridges over the arms of the river Dijle, and a Gothic church in the middle: this is one of the largest béguinages in the Low Countries, part of the Flemish Béguinages group listed by UNESCO in 1998.

   Read the complete Grand Béguinage of Leuven write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Grand Béguinage of Leuven comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren.

3. 3. Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren

   Tienen means sugar to most Belgians. The town in the east of Flemish Brabant has been the home of Belgium's largest sugar refinery since the nineteenth century, and the smell of sugar beet being processed hangs over the town in autumn during the campaign, when trucks loaded with beets roll in from the surrounding fields. The Sint-Germanuskerk, the church of Saint Germanus, with its massive tower serving as the town's belfry, stands near the huge Grote Markt, one of the largest market squares in Belgium, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of the belfries of Belgium and France. The tower, a mix of Romanesque and Gothic, has a carillon whose bells ring out over the town.

   Read the complete Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren. Next is Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort.

4. 4. Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort

   Leuven is a university town through and through. Its university, founded in 1425, is the oldest in the Low Countries, and its students fill the streets, cafés and squares, giving the city a youthful energy. At its heart is the Grote Markt, dominated by two buildings: the Town Hall, a Gothic masterpiece covered in hundreds of statues, and opposite it, the Church of St Peter, a great Gothic church whose tower was never finished but which is part of the UNESCO-listed Belfries of Belgium and France.

   Read the complete Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort, about halfway. Next is back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren.

5. 5. back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren sits at 109 km, about halfway. Next is back through Grand Béguinage of Leuven.

6. 6. back through Grand Béguinage of Leuven

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Grand Béguinage of Leuven write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Grand Béguinage of Leuven comes up about 151 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa.

7. 7. Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Sonian Forest - Forest Reserve “Joseph Zwa closes the day.