Sonian Forest, May 2024

The Sonian Forest is a small 2-km2 property in Flanders located on the south-eastern outskirts of Brussels – all that remains of what used to be a much larger forested area going all the way to the Ardennes. Pretty much all of it was chopped down over time, including some trees ending up – rather uselessly – for building Napoleon’s never-carried-out English invasion fleet.

A Flemish-only UNESCO forest would not work in the complex dynamics that is the non-country (to quote the rather infamous former MEP), hence two smaller pieces along both sides of a busy road to the north in the Brussels-Capital Region as well as two really tiny areas on the other side of a major highway to the south in Wallonia were added to balance things out nicely.

I started my hike on a Sunday morning at 6:30a at stop Foresterie, where helpful bus 17 drops you off, coming from metro station Beaulieu that connects you with Brussels center. The two Grippensdelle areas (forming the northern end of the core zone) lie on both sides of a through road, which was surprisingly busy even at this early hour. The car traffic along with the constant noises of airplanes starting from nearby Zaventem made me wonder if the little plaque I noticed at the forest entrance alerting wanderers to be mindful of Bambi deer in spring was maybe not a tad optimistic. At any event, the only wild animals I saw during my trip were a couple of ducks swimming on an étang further south, and an enterprising adolescent raven who accompanied my hike for a few hundred meters.

Both Grippensdelle areas are pretty much identical and likewise underwhelming – some 30 hectares each of beech trees loosely planted on two small hills on both sides of a road (not part of the ore zone), with a number of foot- and horse paths running through.

Walking further south and crossing the Brussels to Luxembourg-intercity train tracks I then shortly arrived at the highlight of my little hike, the Sonian Forest’s main (and only significantly-sized) core zone called the Joseph Zwaenepoel Forest Reserve (named after a former forester, apparently). It’s a bit of a hilly area, almost completely covered by nice tall beech trees, only minimally managed, with fallen trees lying on the ground (the thoughtful forest workers help by making sure the signed paths remain accessible). Whereas the core zone extends from the north to the south, most trails actually run in longitudinal directions; hence, I hiked a bit off-trail to follow the course of the forest, which was easy enough and totally safe to do (good Wi-Fi-coverage throughout).

After around 9a I encountered more and more fellow visitors – so close to the city this must be a very popular recreational area. Joggers, cyclists, many people walking their dogs, and a guy racing his electric bike (in a protected forest – why?). Some of the trails are dedicated to horse riders; whereas thankfully it was too early for them to be already out and about, a number of horse farms are located right around the forest.

My intention was to visit all five core components, including the two tiny Wallonian Ticton forest reserves further south-east. However, walking south, my way ended up blocked by an impassable 4-way highway (“R0”) with a fence on the other side. There appears to be an on-/off ramp further south (“Knokke Out Waterloo”), but consulting the internet I noticed too late (lack of planning!) that from the Ticton forest – it being in Wallonia, and this being the weekend – there would be no bus service whatsoever to bring me back to Brussels (Flanders is much better in respect to availability of public transport). Hence, regrettably, I backtracked and missed out on completing all five core zones. So, continuing my way in Flanders, I walked towards Sint-Genesius-Rode, from where there are regular buses back to the city. On the way, I passed the local golf club and a number of diplomatic residences, including the surprisingly grand villa of the Malawian ambassador. – I was back in Brussels Zuid just in time for an early lunch.