D4 - Landrifontaine - Chicheron - 9km

Parking and departure at the Daverdisse Tourist Center.

A walk that could be called the “Ravine Walk”: it successively overlooks the Franc Ri, the Lesse, and the Chicheron.

A gentle climb reveals the small valley of the Franc Ri, surrounded by woods and meadows. After the first bend, the Lesse can be seen winding along the bottom of a magnificent valley, fifty meters below. The Tremblay spring cuts deeply into the plateau. A difficult path, running along the stream and among the stones, makes it possible, if desired, to reach the Lesse.

The Landrifontaine woods stretch beyond the Franc Ri. In 1621, Lord Guillaume de Vervoz concluded an agreement with the inhabitants of Daverdisse. He obtained the use of these woods in exchange for exempting them from certain feudal obligations. However, they retained specific usage rights there, including firewood collection, stone quarrying, and water use in a clearly defined part of the forest.

A rocky spur overlooks the confluence of the Lesse and the Chicheron. The Chicheron, which the walk follows upstream to its source, was once a remarkable trout spawning ground. Conifer plantations have almost everywhere replaced the alders that used to line the stream.

The Chicheron valley and the Fond des Sartais formed a small estate of unknown origin that was acquired by the Abbey of Stavelot in 770. In the circular area around the spring there once stood a sanctuary, probably Celtic.

The Masi is another of those sites where iron ore smelting furnaces are believed to have once existed.

At the exit from the Landrifontaine woods, the valley of the Franc Ri appears again, having supplied ponds and fishponds. With its gently rolling relief, hedgerows, and bird-filled bocage landscape, it offers a charming scene.