Distance walked 16km 10 miles

The last in a run of short days. I had a lazy start. The hotel (the Postillon) did a good breakfast and I didn’t start walking until 09:30. I stopped to buy some salads for supper tonight, I am staying in an Airbnb which is fairly remote, so nowhere to get food later.

I walked through the centre of Echternach down to the river.

The cathedral has a collection of medieval illuminated manuscripts on display, but I arrived too late to see them yesterday and the museum was shut when I left this morning. Camino signs re-appeared, I think the route stayed in the valley the last couple of days. Apparantly this is an important Catholic location because St. Willibrord is buried in the cathedral.

I walked down to the Sure river and was passed by a backpacker on rollerblades! The first two kilometres followed the river.

There was a nice looking campsite on the opposite bank. There were some pretty ducks in the water, I am afraid that is my limitation on describing waterfowl; they were different to any species that I can recognise.

There had only been a small amount of walking beside the Our and the Sûre, GR5 usually stays high above the valley and today was no exception. As I climbed to cross the N10 to enter woodland I heard the deep tone of the cathedral bell summoning the faithful.

I had not quite left Little Switzerland yet. Like yesterday the path rose and fell steeply as it passed sandstone rocks but the climbs were shorter and not usually as steep as yesterday.

At one point I had to take my rucksack off and duck under a rock

As you can see the waymarks have changed from yellow circles to rectangles. After an hour or so the sandstone blocks disappeared and I was left on a fairly flat path that eventually descended across open fields to Rosport.

Rosport most famous son was Henri Tudor. (As an aside, his father was born in Llanarth so perhaps he may have been distantly related to the Tudor dynasty? Henry VII was born in Monmouth). The electric battery was invented by Volta but Tudor invented the first commercially usable battery, the lead acid battery, still used in cars today. Dangerous stuff, lead. He died at the age of 68 from lead poisoning. I passed his house, now a museum on the way out of Rosport.

I climbed up through fields with good views back to the valley

From here, the path entered forest. There were a few final sandstone cliffs but I was soon on a gently ascending forest path. About 1km after the village of Girsterklaus I left GR5 to descend down to Buermillen for an early finish.

Distance walked 18 km 11 miles

I had been looking forward to today’s walk since I got the Cicerone guide and it was indeed spectacular,

For the first time this trip the sky was overcast. I walked back down the hill to the ruined castle. Behind the medieval castle is a stately home, built in the seventeenth century in the style of a French Renaissance castle.

A path led into the forest opposite the castles. I was soon following a stream in a deep gorge with huge sandstone blocks lining the side.

I followed the stream down the gorge, crossing over by stepping stones

After 3km my easy morning came to an end and I climbed steeply up some steps leading out of the valley. I crossed a road and entered a forest. Here there was a flat section before I came into open country and descended to the edge of the village Grundhof. I crossed the road and walked through a garage to a path that climbed steeply between fields to enter forest. Eventually the path climbed to the top of a large sandstone block called the Belvedere de Kasselt. This is meant to be a good viewpoint but the prospect it limited by the surrounding trees.

The path now dropped down slightly and ran just below, and sometimes between, the sandstone boulders

I thought “this must be good rock for climbers.” I turned a corner and indeed it was

For the next few hundred metres there were groups of rock athletes attempting various routes. There was also a mountain rescue team, attending to an injured girl. Fortunately, she didn’t look too bad, she was sitting up holding her ankle. I got the impression that the team were already there and I wondered whether this was an organised event as there were so many climbers

There were also a lot of other walkers about. This is a popular area and it is Saturday. Most are day walkers but there are some with packs, I presumed they were following a 100km circuit called the Mullerthal trail. There are a lot of marked day routes too. The way marking is extremely good so I am unlikely to get lost.

This was quite tiring walking as the path kept going up and down but gradually gaining in altitude. There were some impressive rock formations

In one place a long suspension bridge had been built to cross difficult ground

I emerged from the forest to find myself on a plateau near the village of Berdorf where I got some lunch.

The afternoon was also spectacular. I descended from the village to enter woodland and an old quarry. This is thought to have been in use since Roman times and was used by the abbey at Echternach to grind millstones. This has left large caves and you can see the markings where they worked the stone

One cave has been turned into an amphitheatre. To steal a joke from the Cicerone guide: they must hold rock concerts here.

I ducked under a rock arch past shelves where walkers had made stone towers (why??)

At the bottom of the quarry the path ran downhill next to a stream. I followed this for the next few kilometres , sometimes climbing away from the river. The sides of the gorge were lined with huge boulders. At one point the path ran through a narrow gap between the rocks called the labyrinth

The general trend was downhill until I took a right fork to climb steeply up to the site of an old land slip, the Gorges du Loup

Once across this it was an easy descent through woodland with a good view of the abbey before arriving in Echternach

Distance walked 19km 12 miles

A much shorter day today. I got the bus back to Bleesbreck. The first 500 metres were alongside the busy N17. There was a pavement but the traffic noise was unsettling. I crossed the Sure river by a bridge at Gilsdorf

There was a cafe just over the bridge but I felt I hadn’t done enough walking to deserve refreshments. I walked through the village. There was a house with an impressive array of pot plants outside its front door

My comments about the walk being easier may have been a bit optimistic. The road became steeper and then I followed a steep field path up to woodland. It then traversed the hill side with a steep drop to the left. To the right, large scattered sandstone blocks could be seen among the trees. This is the start of La Petite Suisse Luxembourg. This part reminded me of Alderley Edge.

I followed the path for a couple of kilometres. The path emerged into a clearing at the site of an old quarry

I left the clearing along an old forest track that re-entered the trees. I passed a man walking his dog. The dog seemed to want to follow me and when I turned off the track on to a narrow path it did to. I had to wait for the man to catch up and claim his dog back.

The path emerged from the woodland to join a road that led to open country. It ran along a ridge which is used by hangliders but not today.

A series of roads brought me to the village of Ermsdorf.

There was a steep ascent to the village. The road continued to climb above the village and there were good views to the north-west

The road continued to climb to a hill with three wind turbines on the top. At the edge of the forest was a shrine dedicated to the resistance fighters in World War II. A path led through pleasant forest to emerge at another track. Next to the track was an old stone cross

Soon after, I took a path that re-entered forest. This area of Luxembourg is known as the Mullerthal, or le petite Suisse. it is a popular recreational area, and for the first time I saw several walkers and cyclists. The area is characterised by sandstone outcrops, I will see more spectacular ones tomorrow. The path led downhill by a stream.

Just before Beaufort there was a reconstructed washing area which reminded me of the ones I had seen in Northern Spain last year.

Shortly after I arrived at Beaufort castle

Unusually, the castle was in the valley but the town was uphill. I walked up a steep road passed the Town Hall to my lodgings

Distance walked 26km 16 miles

Yesterday was a rest day, which I needed after the previous long days. Vianden is a nice town,divided into two parts by the Our (the international border lies further east). The old town extends up the (steep) hill from the river to a fairytale castle. It was built on the site of an old Roman fort on a rocky outcrop above Vianden. Construction began in the 11th century and further additions made over the next 300 years. At one time it was held by the Dutch Orange family. When Willian III was on the throne he was also Count of Vianden and the Vianden residents had to address him as Your Majesty, King of England.

After the 16th century it fell into disrepair and some stone was removed for other use. In the last century it was was acquired by the Duke of Luxembourg and had been renovated using original pictures and written material to be as close to the original as possible.

This morning, much refreshed, I took the bus back to Stolzembourg. I made the right decision yesterday as the 10km to Vianden were hard work but very rewarding. I would have been too tired to enjoy the walk on Tuesday and it was my favourite morning so far.

I had a long, steep climb out of Stolzembourg, first on a road and then on a narrow path that ran through woodland. My efforts were soon rewarded as the path came out into a clearing with great views over the Our valley

The path came out of the forest to join a road that continued to climb in open country

The path ran across the hillside for a while. It then descended steeply through forest into a valley before climbing equally steeply up the other side. I could see a ruined Schloss on the German side of the valley. I reached a road at the upper Our reservoir near the summit of Mount St. Nicholas

One of the problems with renewable energy is what happens at night (solar power) or if there is no wind. Also, these methods, and nuclear power, will generate electricity even if the amount generated exceeds the demand.

The Our reservoir system helps deal with this. At times of low demand the excess energy is used to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir. If demand exceeds supply the water in the upper reservoir can be released to generate extra electricity. A similar system exits on Ben Cruachan in Scotland.

I followed the road downhill to an observation point dedicated to Victor Hugo who spent some of his life in Vianden. The road continued downhill to the lower reservoir where I took a path that climbed back up to the Bildchem Chapelle Notre-Dame, built in the 19th century

There were more good views down to the Our

There was a short road section before I joined another path that climbed steeply uphill and then immediately down again through forest. This led to a chair lift bringing people up from Vianden to a viewpoint and the castle. More importantly, there was a cafe!

I could see from here that I was leaving the Ardennes as, to the south, the steep up and downs were being replaced by more gentle, lower, rolling country.

The path descended to a road by the castle to the youth hostel above Vianden. Rather than going through the town it passes to the right, keeping to a road on the high ground. The best view of the castle was from here

I passed a war memorial dedicated to the American forces that liberated Vianden and then joined a main road. I turned off the road on to a path that descended slowly down through lovely woodland to the N10 to the south of Vianden.

The remainder of the day was much easier walking. There was also a lot of open country with tremendous views. The forests were all deciduous and a joy to walk through.

I did not stay on the N10 long. I joined an old railway line, now a cycle path that climbed gently away from the road, separated from it by trees. At the old Bettel station, now a gite, there was a very comfy chair for lunch

I could have stayed here all afternoon. I left the railway line to walk through Bettel on a road. On the edge of the village there was a tree planted to commemorate the Treaty of London of 1839 when Luxembourg became an independent country.

At the end of Bettel I parted company with the Our, which continues south east . My route lay to the South-west, crossing hills to reach the Sure river.

There was a long section on quiet roads through open country. A long ascent led to a rather posh seat

Not your average picnic bench. The views were great

I walked through the village of Longsdorf. The road continued to undulate until it reached a forest. A very nice path climbed through the wood to a cabin and then gently descended to join the road near Bleesbreck. I had been unable to find accommodation here so I took the bus back to Vianden

Distance walked 14 miles 22.5km

The Cicerone guide says that today is a tough walk. John, who I met in Belgium two years ago (johnpone2.blogspot.com), emailed to tell me it was hard. They were both right. The day started easily with a 1.5km back down the hill past the ruined Dasburg castle to Dasbourg pont.

I now had a flat walk 2km down the single carriageway N10. I was a bit apprehensive about this because the verges are narrow but at 8am the traffic was very quiet and the few cars that did pass me gave me plenty of room.

Just after Roderhausen I turned on to a narrow, steep path that climbed through forest to a road. The road continued to climb. At the top of the ridge another forest path took me steeply downhill. This became the theme of the day, a series of steep ascents and descents to and from the N10 and Our river.

At a path junction on the way downhill a footpath sign indicated that I have walked 541km from Hoek van Holland and it is still 1618km to Nice. Inverness is closer at 1434km. However, if I was walking the Camino I would still have 2121km to go.

I rejoined the N10 but after about 100 metres I was back on a steep footpath climbing through forest.

Like yesterday, views through the trees were few and far between. The path reached the top and then began to descend along a narrow ridge. The ground was uneven and I had to take care not to trip, especially as there was a steep drop of the ridge on either side. I got back safely to the N10 and then had about 600 metres of roadside walking. I turned on to a side road that climbed up to Obereisenbach.

Just after the house on the right I took a rather overgrown path that descended steeply to the N10

I nearly missed a left turn, only realising that I had gone wrong when my path was blocked by brambles. Back on the N10 there was a campsite with a cafe. The thought of coffee was enticing but it didn’t open for another hour so I replenished my water bottles from a tap and continued on my way.

Almost immediately I turned on to a side road and walked steeply uphill through a small hamlet. There was a bar here (closed). Oh I missed the Camino with its coffee and tortilla. Above the village I made a sharp turn on to a forest track that eventually rejoined the road higher up. I now entered open country with great views over the Our valley

Near the summit there was a picnic table, these are spaced periodically along the path, and this made a great lunch spot. Next to it was a sculpture based on the shape of the Our valley

I had travelled quite a long way south-west from the Our but it was worth it for the view. At Wahlhausen I turned back east, towards the river and began my descent back towards the Our. After a kilometre I joined a path that went back into woodland and rose and fell until eventually it descended steeply to the N10 at Gemund. By now I was tired and my pace had slowed. The last few long days had caught up with me.

Again, after a few hundred metres along the road it was time to start climbing again. This time the path was very steep, zigzagging its way up the hill. Progress was slow but, on the plus side, I had no knee discomfort. At the top, the path ran level for a wile before it joined a track that descended to a road that led to the valley at Stolzembourg. By now it was 16:30 and I did not fancy another 8km of steep walking to Vianden, where I had booked a hotel. Luckily, there is a regular bus service along the N10, and in Luxembourg public transport is free, even for foreign visitors. I caught the bus to Vianden. After a rest day, I will get the bus back to Stolzembourg and restart where I left off today.

Distance walked 32km 20 miles

I deliberately did not bring a tent with me, but it was difficult to find places to stay. A lot of places seem to have closed following lockdown. I could have stayed in Ouren but it was only 8km from Burg-Reuland. There are a lot of campsites along the Our valley if you do not mind carrying the extra weight. So I had another long day. The first 2km were spent walking back from last night’s hotel.

The nice thing about staying in a hotel is a continental breakfast to start the day. I then walked back to Burg-Reuland to get a sandwich for lunch from das backerie. I passed the church. Like many UK towns there was a memorial to those who lost their lives in the two world wars. Burg Reuland was German in WW1 but Belgium in WW2. So the same families were fighting for different sides in the two wars.

I set out on my last walk in Belgium. As usual, the first job was to climb steeply out of the valley to regain the plateau. Once above the trees there were good views back to the town

It was another lovely sunny day. Much of the morning’s walk was across open country with good views across the plateau

The path then entered forest for a while before climbing back to open country. I was now in a narrow part of Belgium, only about 1km wide, between Luxembourg and Germany. The path approached the Luxembourg border.

I was living in the moment and forgot to look out for GR markers and I missed a turn. I didn’t realise until I reached the village of Stourbach. I followed a stream up a valley into woodland and in a short time rejoined GR5. The path continued to climb alongside the stream. After fording it I climbed uphill to another plateau. I crossed the plateau and then began a long descent between trees and gorse bushes into Ouren.

After Ouren I followed a grassy path to reach a rather nondescript bridge. In the middle of the stream is the tripoint marking the border between Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium

Of course, I had to stand on the bridge with one foot in Belgium and the other in Germany.

I crossed another small stream and I was in Luxembourg. Nearby was a plinth commemorating the birth of the European Economic Community and the treaty of Versailles. Quiz: which six nations signed the original treaty?

The signs have changed. I am now following yellow circles and… I am on a Camino.

I did not expect that! It is an ancient route taken by North European pilgrims travelling across Luxembourg on their way to Santiago. I will follow it as far as Echternach when it deviates to Luxembourg City.

For the first kilometre or so GR5 followed a minor road keeping close to the river. I then turned on to a forest track which climbed through woodland. This was very pleasant walking but views were usually at least partially obscured by the trees. This was a common theme for the next few days, the steep sides of the Our valley are lined with tall conifers. The path continually climbs up and down (usually steeply) through the woodland.

At one point an old watermill was marked on the map but all there was to see were a few stone footings in the river. It was a hot day and despite being in woodland I was thirsty. The path dropped back down to the riverside and I was able to refill my water bottles at a campsite.

The path climbed up again, more steeply this time. Near Kasserlay there was a good viewpoint.

I was finding the ups and downs hard work. Eventually I dropped down to Dasbourg Pont where there was an encouraging sign

The bridge was a major crossing point for the American forces in WW2, the Germans having destroyed most of the bridges across the Our during their retreat.

I had only been able to find a bed for the night in Dasburg. This was about 2km across the bridge, and steeply uphill, in Germany.

Distance walked: 19 miles. 31km

This was the first of three long days. I had a slight head start today because my accommodation was 1.5km outside Viesalm, further along GR5, in the village of Neuville.

To rejoin GR5 I walked up a residential road that climbed steeply out of the village. After a few hundred metres I crossed a main road and joined a forest track. There was a good view across the side of the hill towards Viesalm. After another steep climb I arrived at a T junction and turned on to GR5. I had almost regained the plateau. The walk was much more gentle than yesterday, the trail undulated gently through woodland or between fields.

Eventually the track dropped down to cross a small stream, the Rouge-Rie. An information board states that 2000 years ago the Celts prospected for gold in the Ardennes. Much the same as the American prospectors did in the 1800s, they used a panning technique. By sieving water and silt the heavier gold particles would sink to the bottom because of their weight and could be separated. The lighter silt was left by the river forming mounds called tailings, one can be seen to the right of the picture.

There is still gold in Belgium but panning for gold is illegal and there are insufficient deposits to make commercial mining viable.

The creek was small so I jumped across it rather than risking the rather precarious bridge. The path entered a forest and joined a forestry track that eventually emerged into farmland just outside Commanster

I miss the community spirit of the Camino. On the other hand, it is easier to meditate and live in the moment when you are on your own. I have seen very few people on the path so far. Another thing I missed are the bars where you can get coffee and tortilla. With the number of pilgrims walking the Camino routes, bars have opened to keep them fed and watered. Here, there are too few travellers to support hospitality services. There is a restaurant in Commanster but it only opens on Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes.

I left Commanster on the road. After about 1km I came to a wood with a German sign telling me the road would be closed if there was snow. I was now in German Belgium. This part of Belgium was German before the First World War and transferred to Belgium as part of the reparations enacted at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. It is still German speaking and, I think, has some political powers devolved to it. I did try to do a bit of research. It is complicated. Eupen, part of this area, was Belgian until the 1830s and chose to align to Germany.

At school, for O level history, we covered the rise of Nationalism (in my opinion, synonymous with what we call populism today) and its role in the origins of the First World War.

The reparations imposed on Germany after the First World War led to hyperinflation and, it is believed, created the social conditions that led eventually to the rise of the Nazi party. Don’t modern politicians study history?

And, don’t forget, Hitler blamed the Jews and Communists for the situation in Germany. He manipulated facts to suit his purpose (e.g. it is believed the Nazis started the Reichtag fire). Remember also, he was democratically elected.

I am not suggesting Trumpian politics and the Reform party are anything near as evil as the Nazis. However, with the ability of the Internet to spread lies and misinformation democracy is at risk. The modern world has many parallels with the political situation of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Go study.

As an aside, Vodaphone welcomed me to Germany this afternoon. Are they 100 years out of date or do they know something I don’t?

The countryside became much more open after Commanster

I think GR5 has been rerouted after Commanster as I seemed to approach Braunlauf from the south-west (I was following the GR signs, honest). Near Maldingen I passed a football field with a signpost to some of the top European teams

Maybe in the future there will be GR routes linking football stadia. In Braunlauf there was a metalwork sculptor

After Braunlauf I followed farm tracks between fields with great views over the surrounding countryside. Haymaking was in progress.

Eventually I re-entered forest . Gradients were gentle, for the most part, and I made rapid progress. I emerged at a farm and then followed a series of roads down to Burg-Reuland with its castle

I didn’t do so well with picking a guest house here. It was 1.5km, uphill of course, the wrong side of the town. Never mind, my room was nice and dinner was excellent. Thank you Hotel L’attitude.

Distance walked 10 miles. 17km

A much shorter day today. Stavelot was a nice town, most of the central streets were cobbled. The city was founded in the 8th century when Saint Remaclus converted the local population and built an abbey. Legend has it that a wolf ate the donkey that St Remaclus was using to carry stone for the abbey and, as punishment, the wolf had to take over the stone carrying. A wolf features on the coat of arms of the city, so it must be true.

The abbey church is a ruin but two cloisters survive and are now museums.

There is an annual carnival, dating back to the 15th century where the inhabitants dress up in white cloaks (hence the name Blanc Moussis) with long red noses, possibly, originally, to poke fun at the monks who used to attend the carnival in heir habits. They dance round the town, shower people with confetti and tease the bystanders. Many of the shops have a Blanc Moussis outside.

There are several memorials to soldiers and civilians who were killed in the battle for the bridge over the Ambleve river, an important strategic point, or who were murdered during the Nazi occupation.

I crossed the Ambleve bridge and started my morning climb. I left the road to join a path that ascended, first between fields and then, much narrower, between trees. I emerged at a road where there was a clearing with good views down to the valley.

For much of yesterday afternoon and this morning the peace was interrupted by the sounded of cars racing or practising on the Spa Grand Prix circuit which is nearby.

I continued uphill on the road before branching on to a path that ran through woodland. Every so often someone had carved an animal or bird into a treestump. There was an organic farm at the top of the wood. I was now on the plateau, the path ran alongside trees with good views to the west.

Before long I re-entered the forest this was pleasant walking but there was not much to see until I emerged above the hamlet of Logbierme. There was a nice village green with a picnic bench where I had a snack.

There was a short climb before I re-entered the forest and began the long descent into Viesalm. At the entrance to the town I was greeted by the statue of a witch, or Macralle in the Walloon dialect. Apparently there is a local legend that a witch, Gustine Maka enticed two children to eat some of her blueberries that turned them into witches.

A group called the Macralles du Val de Salm celebrate a “sabbath” where there is a son et lumiere show about what has happened in the valley over the preceding year. Far from being an ancient festival, it started in 1955. The following day there is the fete des Myrtilles (blackcurrant festival) where there is a procession through the town and a lot of blackcurrants.

I arrived in time for lunch but I avoided the tarte aux myrtilles pudding! My accommodation was about 1km out of town near the continuation of GR5 so I bought snacks to eat later and a bottle of witches brew and settled down for a quiet afternoon.

Distance walked: 20.6 miles. 33km

So, after a lot of physio, strength exercises and a successful Camino last year I decided to have a further attempt at GR5. I stayed in Spa the first night and a had a look round the city. Spa water has been thought to be good for your health since Roman times. Spa water is marketed with a clown on the label, Pierrot, and recently artists have created sculptures of him that are dotted throughout the town

My plan was to get the bus back to La Reid and resume the walk from where I abandoned it two years ago. I had already checked the bus times and, during my wander round, I located the bus stop. I planned to arrive at the bus stop a little early. As I approached the stop the bus arrived. I was grateful I had allowed extra time in case the bus was early. However, it drove straight past the turn to La Reid. In my haste I had not noticed there was an earlier bus (with the same number) that went straight to Theux.

I decided that if I do reach Nice, then I don’t want to miss 10km of GR5 so I got the bus back along the valley to the turn off.

I set off uphill. The road wound its way up the hill but there were paths and tracks that cut the corners. It was still an extra 4km on top of what was going to be a long day.

Anyway, the sun was out and the forecast good. I unzipped my (trouser) legs and put on sun cream. I left La Reid on a minor road that eventually became a farm track. I am now in the Ardennes hills. These stretch across south-east Belgium into Luxembourg and consist of a series of plateaux separated by deep valleys. I will be doing a lot of climbing!

Most people have heard of the Ardennes region because of its strategic role in the two world wars of the last century. Although there was a major battle here in World War I, military strategists did not think the German could advance their tanks and heavy guns through the region because of the terrain. The Belgians constructed defences further north (the fort I passed north of Eben-Emael was part of this defensive line) and the French constructed the Maginot line in Lorraine. Instead, the Germans crossed the Ardennes rapidly in 1940. The Ardennes were also the site of the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 when Germany attempted a final (unsuccessful) break through the Allied lines.

Enough of history (for now). I climbed up to the plateau and could see Spa in the middle distance.

Instead of going straight to Spa, GR5 takes a 10km detour by following the plateau to the south-west before dropping down the the village of Winamplanche where I was attacked by a Dementor

I escaped by crossing a small river before climbing again with good views back the way I had come. I entered a forest, GR5 detouring around an area used for shooting (although not at this time of the year). I emerged at a quiet road that continued to ascend. A path bypassed the village of Creppe to enter woodland.

Here, there was a scallop shell attached to a tree below a GR sign. There are medieval pilgrim routes from Belgium to Santiago but I do not know whether this is one of them.

I now had a lovely descent to Spa through mixed woodland. For the first time today there were a few other walkers, including a scout group

Back again in Spa I bought a sandwich and ate it in a community garden behind the Vaux Hall, an assembly room dating back to the 18th century.

I then climbed steeply up a residential road before entering woodland on the promenade des artistes. This is a beautiful wood, the path follows and repeatedly crosses a stream. Each of the bridges is dedicated to a Belgian artist.

I crossed a road and continued to climb on a forest track to enter the Fagne de Malchamps. A fagne is a raised bog (maybe derived from the same word as the English “fen”? etymologists comment please).This fagne has been restored. At the top there is open heathland, the path runs on a boardwalk to protect the bog. This is the highest point on GR5 in Belgium at 575metres. There is also memorial to the crew of an RAF bomber that crashed here, the first of many war memorials that I will see on this section of GR5.There is also an observation tower with good views over the surrounding countryside.

I was getting tired and was happy to begin the descent. I thought my work was done for the day but at Agrimont I could see one more plateau to cross.

At first there were good views back across the valley but the path entered the Grande Fagne Forest and became quite boggy.

The rest of the walk was in forest until I came to a tunnel where the path ran alongside a stream, under a road, into Stavelot.

Distance walked: 5 miles/ 8km

This was not a good day. Despite drinking plenty of fluids last night (no alcohol, by the way) I realised I had hardly passed any urine. I still had stomach ache and despite not eating much last night I was not hungry. I forced myself to eat some carbs and drank as much orange juice, water and coffee as I could and set off.

Everything was good at first. There was a clear path through woodland. This was a mixed forest but the trees were wide apart so there was undergrowth and the alternate sunlight and shadows made the path attractive. The gradient was gentle too, staying about 300m above sea level, the highest I have been on GR5.

I was being sensible, not walking too fast and stopping frequently for drinks. In fact it was a very pleasant walk. I passed an equestrian centre. There were children learning to ride in the yard and adults practising jumping further back. The path emerged into sunshine at a road on the edge of the riding centre. In the heat of the day, I now felt distinctly off colour.

I turned on to a track and saw a female slow worm. These are legless lizards, not snakes. They have eyelids but this was not obvious to me. I did see a forked tongue though. They are not poisonous and you can tell this is a female by the stripe on her back.

The track climbed up to the village of Becco and progress was slow. I had drunk about 1.5 litres of fluid since leaving Banneux with no effect and I began to get worried. Visions of AKI (acute kidney injury) sprung to mind; a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and ex-doctors are as hypochondriacal as medical students. I could see La Reid in the distance and decided I should stop for the day.

I can always come back and repeat this stage (but it is a long way to come for one days walk). I caught the bus to Spa. I had some food and, after another 1.5 litres of water and 500ml of sports rehydration drink I began to feel better. An afternoon in an air conditioned room and a sleep made me feel I should continue tomorrow.

During the night I was unwell. In the morning I decided to set off but after an hour of (very) slow progress I decided I was not fit to continue. I returned to Spa and got the train.