Bonnie led the walk in Rouge Cloître on Friday afternoon. We were "lucky" with the weather inasmuch as it did not pour down with rain. There were quite a few threatening clouds passed overhead but our luck held out. I think it was something to do with Margaret's magic jacket.
It is a long time since we walked through the Rouge Cloître area of the forest and I had forgotten how lovely it is. On the lake we spotted some swans with their young and we could not resist stopping to take a closer look. Fortunately we were far enough away not to upset them.
We walked on into Rouge Cloître itself and admired the restoration work that is taking place there. Once finished it will be absolutely stunning. We could not resist a "quick" visit to the glass workshop where there were all sorts of lovely things for sale but we had to turn down the offer of a demonstration - unfortunately no time. We had the rest of the walk to do!!
No coffee today, alas! The cafe is only open at the weekend. Bye for now from Rouge Cloître...
We were a bit worried about the weather on Thursday evening but amazingly the sun was shining for the walk on Friday. We started off at the Kasteel van Horst which dates back to the 15th centry. The castle was sold to the Flemish region in 2007 and is now undergoing extensive restoration work. It is supposed to be haunted but we didn't stick around 'til midnight to find out if this is true.
We walked through open farm land passing horses and cows grazing peacefully in the fields and then onto the apple orchards just before you arrive at the Gempemolen. There has been a mill in one form or another on this site since the 13th century. The present mill dating back to the 18th centry was restored between 1999 and 2001 and I believe it is fully operational on the first Sunday of the month. If not, there is a very pleasant restaurant/cafe.
We stopped at the mill for a "Kodak" moment before we set off for the Troostembergbos which provided us with some welcome shade. There was some mud to contend with but nothing we couldn't handle.
At the other side of the woods we were once again in farming country with beautiful fields full of wild flowers, animals grazing and very picturesque farm houses.
Then it was back to the Kasteel van Horst for a welcome drink and a wander around the surrounding grounds. The castle grounds were full of activity with families taking advantage of the sunny weather and local men fishing in the lake. All too soon it was time to head back to Brussels!!!!
The weather was just fine.
