“Please don't let it rain” is what I thought when I woke up last Sunday. It had been raining every day that week and I'd planned to participate in the RAVeL des BBQ in the Belgian province of Namur. RAVeL is short for the French Réseau Autonome de Voies Lentes which means “Autonomous Network of Slow Trail”, a network for cyclists, walkers, skaters, horse riders and so on that includes small paths, but also former railroad tracks and hunting paths.
RAVeL des BBQ
Almost every Sunday this summer (more information on the exact days at the bottom of this post), the province of Namur organizes a cycling route making use of these “slow paths” that takes participants from restaurant to restaurant for an appetizer, a main course and a dessert, passing beautiful scenery, sights and all kinds of animation along the way.
Last Sunday, the second route was organized along the Meuse river from the town of Hastière to the town of Agimont, with different departure points to choose from.
I left my car behind on the big parking lot of the Castle of Freyr and picked up an electric bike. Of course, you can participate with your own bike as well, but as I couldn't fit mine into my little car, the province of Namur proposed I'd use one of the electric bikes that could be rented especially for this occasion. The thought of getting a bit of help moving forward (literally) quite appealed to me and so I agreed.
I'd only driven an electric bike once before, when I visited Karlsruhe in the German Baden-Württemberg region. I remembered that bike being really heavy and impossible to push forward when it wasn't “on”. The bike I got now was clearly a newer (or simply better) version, because when I left the “engine” off, I could easily use it as a regular bike. It also didn't suddenly go crazy fast when I descended a hill or needed a major switch in gear when I climbed one.
But on to the activities of the day!
Le Vieux Waulsort
My first stop of the day was a mere 15-minute ride from the Castle of Freyr. At Le Vieux Waulsort, a beautiful old house turned into a restaurant, I'd get an appetizer. As it was still the middle of the morning, I asked owner Fabrizio if I could get a coffee instead and not long after I was taking in a dose of caffeine while gazing over the Meuse.
The sun had come out and I smiled. This was a good start of the day.
Le Bord'Eaux
From Le Vieux Waulsort it was about half an hour to my next destination, Le Bord'Eaux. It took me longer, though, as I kept stopping along the way to take photos of the beautiful scenery. Cycling along the Meuse is cycling along high cliffs, lots of green, gingerbread-like houses and pleasure boats.
I exchanged hellos with everyone I passed, which gave me so much joy. It's such a small thing, saying hello to someone, but to me it makes such a difference. It really heightens my spirits and I love it when the other person starts smiling just like you do upon greeting each other, and you know you've made each other's day a bit prettier. Of course, it's easier to say hello to everyone in a small town than it is when you go shopping in a big city and pass someone every few seconds, but still, I wish there could be more hellos where I live.
When I'd finished reflecting on greeting strangers, I arrived at Le Bord'Eau, a bistro located a long the Meuse as well, with a covered terrace overlooking the water and a garden for kids to play in and cyclists to safely park their bikes.
I didn't have a look at the menu, because this RAVeL consisted of a fixed menu and so I had the organic chicken with potato, tomato, salad and lots of sauce. Other RAVeLs give you the option to choose dishes from different restaurants that you then reserve beforehand.
Rue de France 225
5544 Agimont
La Meunerie
Time for my last food stop: dessert! I made a U-turn and followed the same route back until I reached the center of Hastière, where I found La Meunerie, a bit of a more upscale restaurant where I had a beautifully styled dessert. I ate it sitting inside the restaurant's little courtyard, but had to flee inside when it suddenly started raining.
I stayed there for a moment, enjoying a cup of tea and waiting for the sky to clear. It seemed that the sun had called it a day, but the rain did stop at a certain point and so I headed out again. La Meunerie wasn't even out of sight when buckets of water fell out of the sky again and so I decided not to take the slightly longer route back that was indicated on my map, but the same way I'd taken to get there.
Villa 1900
Luckily, I didn't have to cycle all the way back to the Castle of Freyr. Instead, I turned into the street right next to Le Vieux Waulsort to visit the Villa 1900, where I could also leave my bike.
The Villa 1900 is – indeed – a house built in 1900. The owners completely renovated it and went in search of old furniture and other items to decorate the house anew, as it was completely empty when they bought it. Now it's a multi-functional space with a bistro, a room for cultural events, a library containing unique works from and about the region as well as an exhibition space which changes twice a year.
By the time I got to Villa 1900 I was completely soaked. Well, my upper body was fine as I was wearing my K-Way, but my leggings were soaked, my socks were soaked, my underwear was soaked. And yet I decided to stay when the lady of the house offered me and some other visitors a tour. I could feel her passion for the place straight away and it soon turned out she had dozens (if not hundreds – I didn't stay that long) of stories to tell about Waulsort.
She told us about important former residents of the town, hotels that were gone now, the “Golden Era” of Waulsort, a writer they had been able to purchase the original works from, how many children from Antwerp used to spend their holidays in Waulsort…
And with every story she told, her eyes lit up and her cheeks started blushing. I loved learning about the history of the town and – even more interesting to me – its people, but honestly, she could've been talking about mathematics and her enthusiasm would still have caught on. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love people with a passion.
The Castle of Freyr
Someone at Villa 1900 conveniently brought me back to the Castle of Freyr with one of those covered taxi bikes and I took advantage of the starting point for my RAVeL des BBQ to visit the castle as well, as i'd never been there before.
It's super well-maintained and inside you can see rooms decorated as they were in bygone eras, with luxurious furniture and large paintings. Of course, it's no Versailles, but that's actually a benefit as it's in a better stated void of tour groups.
I also ventured out into the garden but as it was still drizzling and I was starting to get cold from wearing those wet clothes, I didn't stay for too long. It was time to dry up and so I headed back to my car and turned the heating on.
More information about the RAVeL des BBQ
You can read all about the next RAVeLs des BBQ on the official website. Unfortunately, it's only available in French and Dutch, but the information is pretty straightforward. There's a list of the next RAVeLs des BBQ and when you click on them, you'll get the departure point, all the stops, the sights and entertainment along the way as well as the option to book a spot and participate.
For me, it was a great way to explore a beautiful part of Belgium. I don't easily go cycling just to go cycling, so having a route that guided me to specific spots – food spots! – made it more interesting for me. It also forced me to stop once in a while, something I'm not very good at when I'm traveling by myself.
At the departure point I got a map with the route, as well as the addresses of the restaurants I'd stop at. The route was also marked by signs along the way, so I really didn't need to worry about getting lost.
The participating restaurants were very welcoming and Le Bord'Eaux had even reserved its best tables on the terraces for participants.
So if you love cycling, food and a bit of nature, I can highly recommend the RAVeL des BBQ.
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I was invited to take part in the RAVeL des BBQ by the province of Namur. The decision to stop every five minutes to take photos, to finish my plate and basically just enjoy myself was entirely mine.