Walking Belgium

I got invited on a hike this weekend. After three months of sampling the cultural and gastronomic delights of the capital of Europe it was a pleasant change to be in the countryside again, hear the birds singing and see the first signs of spring.

It was short hike - just nine 9KM or so. My companion had much the same attitude as me (a few years ago). He'd bought a GR (long distance route) guide, running from Brussels to Liege and intended to walk it in the year that he will be in Belgium. That's exactly what I did in the NL (until I got bored with the flat landscape and found the travel times were getting longer as I progressed along the route). It was good to have someone else do all the 'prep' work for once. And there were hills! And flowing bodies of water. All less than an hour's bus ride out of Brussels.

And nature was beneficient. During the walk we found some coppiced bushes that had just come into flower (what tree are these catkins from? I forget) and a wet grove, full of wild garlic. My companion had never seen or tasted this (and I haven't found any since leaving Wales). It felt good for a Brit to teach a Spaniard something about scavenging from nature and for us to both to go home with a few of her free gifts.