Don’t look for a spire at the starting point. The spire of the Church of the Nativity of Our Lady burned down in 1881 and was never rebuilt. Still, the church is an impressive building. The people of Kapellen went all out when it was built in 1879; it can accommodate about 850 worshippers. It’s not for nothing that it’s sometimes called the Cathedral of the Hageland.
White for pears, pink for apples
But the real spectacle isn’t inside—it’s outside. As soon as you leave the “cathedral” behind, you weave your way through the houses along a narrow footpath into the countryside, straight through the fruit orchards. To the left and right, a gently rolling ribbon of orchards stretches out. In the right season, the budding blossoms create a wonderfully poetic spectacle: pear trees with delicate, white petals and apple trees with rosy clusters. Bees buzz from flower to flower, as if they can’t decide where to start first. Winter seems to have been forgotten here for weeks now.
You walk on like this for quite a while, alternating between unpaved paths and small concrete trails, but always surrounded by the same familiar sights: fields, fruit trees, and solitary farmhouses. And even when the blossoms have faded, the landscape remains breathtakingly beautiful. You might already spot tall stacks of crates. Seasonal workers use these crates to collect the harvest at the end of summer.
Tienen-Aarschot Tram
Past the Krimmelbos, you’ll walk up Tramstraat. It’s almost hard to believe that a tram once chugged its way through the open Hageland countryside here, but between 1897 and 1957, it ran along exactly this route between Tienen and Aarschot. Meanwhile, the Ravot play farm —children’s parties on the farm, how cool!—takes you to the outskirts of Glabbeek.
On the Venusberg, a little further on, legend has it that the goddess Venus was worshipped. Pepin of Landen is even said to have built a temple there. Whether superstition or reality, it gives this little corner of the Hageland a delightful touch of mystery.
Not much later, the grand “cathedral” of Kapellen comes into view once more. You’re almost done with the loop, so take a moment to enjoy the silence and the colors of this beautiful part of the Hageland.
