Top 5 Lakes around Engis

The gravel pit is a very rich site for photo enthusiasts or for walkers who wish to walk on maintained paths and observe birds in complete tranquility. Site recommended for walkers and photographers. Please, can you respect the rules such as keeping your dog on a leash (even if some people think they won't do any harm by letting their dog off the leash, know that you have animals with predator instincts which could scare away some species of birds that nest on the ground, like the kingfisher) and not swimming so as not to disturb the birds that are there. Thank you to all those who will respect the rules and I wish you a good hike or a good photo outing 🙏.

The gravel pit was in operation until 2006, after which it became a 44-hectare nature reserve with a lake for waterfowl, which can be spotted in several waterside huts. Up to 120 different species have been observed there. A well-maintained Gravièrepad with beautiful banks and a swallow wall leads you around it – beautiful.

A friend of George Grard, Charles Leplae, like him, appreciated the depiction of female nudes. He regularly imbued them with reserved, pensive, and introspective poses. True to this style and the artist's taste for allegories, this grave-looking sculpture embodies both a young girl and the young woman. Kneeling on the banks of the Deer Pond, in a bucolic setting, it is certainly the most delicate work in the collection. To be brought to the Sart Tilman estate, the original 3.5-meter-high work, installed at the National Bank of Belgium, was reduced to life-size scale and then placed slightly back in its current green setting, into which it blends perfectly, both in color and in its restrained poetry.

Charles Leplae Leplae's art is entirely focused on the human figure, especially women. When he represents her naked, he transcends this very nakedness to elevate her to the rank of symbol. The young girl, frozen in bronze, is more than her model. The chaste nudity, the seriousness of the expression, the modest gesture give the representation a universal dimension. This allegory of one of the eras of women could not find a more important location, near a pond rich in the seeds of life. The original 3.5 m high work, designed in 1951, is installed in the architectural complex of the National Bank of Belgium in Brussels. Sculpting techniques make it possible to reproduce and reduce works. Life-size, installed in a wooded setting, the kneeling girl commands respect for the place in an almost authoritative manner and invites an inner dialogue.

Here you can sit on a bench with a view of the pond.

Here you can relax on a bench with a view of the pond and the water features

Former quarry now used as a diving center. Magnificent rock visible from the path but the site is only accessible to the diving club

Nice walk at the ponds. You will also find benches and picnic tables near the ponds.