The best cycling routes around Meise

Buggenhoutbos – the ideal shady walk on scorching hot days. When summer seems to be breaking all heat records, there is one place where you can escape the heat for a while: Buggenhoutbos. While temperatures are soaring, you can walk almost the entire route here under a dense canopy that provides wonderful coolness. Centuries-old beech trees and stately English oaks form a green cathedral. Their impressive trunks rise like columns, and their leaves filter the sunlight into pleasant, cool shade. Furthermore, the 190-hectare Buggenhoutbos surprises with a beautiful alternation of ancient forest stands and an arboretum with about fifty species of trees and shrubs. Practical: start from the Municipal Parking Buggenhout Bos (Kasteelstraat, Buggenhout). From there, you can immediately connect to the hiking node network. Route: 66 – 65 – 64 – 63 – 62 – 61 – 60 – 56 – 57 – 58 – 30 – 59 – 66. Put on your hiking boots, leave the summer heat behind, and enjoy one of Flanders' most beautiful shady walks.

Skylane from Brussels with the Atomium and the Belgian flag on top.

The surrounding cemetery is enclosed by a low brick wall with a plinth and blue limestone covering slabs, above which is an iron gate with elaborate cast-iron columns. The western and eastern entrances are flanked by block pillars. The gravestones vary in both design and material, the oldest of which, primarily made of blue limestone, date back to the second half of the 19th century. (Inventory of Immovable Heritage)

Ten Houte means "at the wood, at the forest." Buggenhoutbos once extended all the way to Peizegem. During the Middle Ages, Ten Houte was a very important neighborhood. It was strategically located along the main road from Hainaut to the Scheldt (Briel). Ten Houte—now just the name of a street—was the last stop before travelers entered the large Buggenhoutbos. Ten Houte is the oldest residential area in Peizegem. (Information board a little further on)

An ideal place to stop for a drink or a snack. Note: closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Right next to the heritage gem - the Heidemolen - is the Estaminet Molenhuis, a charming catering establishment housed in the former miller's house.

A miniature mill, located opposite the historic Heidemolen, offers young and old a playful introduction to Malderen's mill heritage. Although not functional, its shape and structure reflect the typical characteristics of a traditional post mill: a wooden structure on a pedestal, with sails that catch the wind.

The Heidemolen is a historic post mill with an open base, located in Malderen (Londerzeel). This corn mill, which possibly dates back to the 13th or even the 12th century, is considered one of the oldest windmills in Belgium. Although the year 1119 was once carved into a mill shaft, the exact construction date remains uncertain. The mill was part of a fief that also included two castles, a watermill, and extensive grounds, and was rebuilt several times over the centuries, including after a lightning strike in 1416.