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Natural Monuments

Wallonie

Réserve domaniale de la Mer de Sable

Natural Monuments

Wallonie

Réserve domaniale de la Mer de Sable

Highlight • Natural

Réserve domaniale de la Mer de Sable

Recommended by 142 hikers out of 145

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Parc naturel des Plaines de l’Escaut

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Location: Belœil, Ath, Hainaut, Wallonie, Wallonia, Belgium

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Best Hikes to Réserve domaniale de la Mer de Sable

4.8

(19)

hikers

1. Circuit de l'Arbre à clous — Parc naturel des Plaines de l'Escaut

5.58km

01:26

30m

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

4.5

(19)

hikers

2. L'arbre à clous de Stambruges – Forêt de Stambruges loop from Stambruges

16.9km

04:20

70m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

4.7

(12)

hikers

3. Stambruges Forest – The nail tree of Stambruges loop from Belœil

21.8km

05:36

90m

Expert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Expert

Tips

Fred Urrutia

July 17, 2024

The Mer de Sable nature reserve is a 22-hectare protected area, renowned for its peat moors and young birch forests. Formerly a pond that dried up in the 19th century, the site is home to exceptional flora, including heather and carnivorous plants such as the sundew. The reserve, classified as a major heritage site in Wallonia, offers marked trails for hiking and observing local biodiversity.

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Willem VS

November 1, 2021

The Mer de Sable is included in the 'Campine hennuyère', a region which extends to the north of the Haine depression, on very poor and acidic sands. Formerly, the region was covered with vast heather moors, which have almost completely disappeared today. Only a few fragments remain here and there, the most representative of which is found at the Sea of Sand. The site is on the site of a very old pond which still existed in the middle of the 19th century. Its protected status is justified by the presence of a very particular plant association colonizing bare wet sands and sheltering three species that have become exceptional in Wallonia: the brown rhyncospore (Rhynchospora fusca), of which it is the only known locality, the lycopod flooded (Lycopodiella inundata) and the intermediate sundew (Drosera intermedia). These three very fragile plants owe their survival only to the practice of pruning, which helps maintain their living environment. We also observe the quaternate heather (Erica tetralix) as well as the stiff rush (Juncus squarrosus), the molinia (Molinia caerulea), etc. In addition to its remarkable biodiversity, the Sea of Sand is of archaeological interest since numerous objects, notably carved tools, have been discovered in various places on the site.
biodiversite.wallonie.be/fr/80-mer-de-sable.html?IDD=251659791&IDC=1881

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Inge

September 26, 2023

Special, that sandy area and a nice place to eat (there is also a restaurant)

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Elevation 70 m

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Sunday 26 October

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Max wind speed: 16.0 km/h

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Location: Belœil, Ath, Hainaut, Wallonie, Wallonia, Belgium

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Réserve domaniale de la Mer de Sable

1. Circuit de l'Arbre à clous — Parc naturel des Plaines de l'Escaut

2. L'arbre à clous de Stambruges – Forêt de Stambruges loop from Stambruges

3. Stambruges Forest – The nail tree of Stambruges loop from Belœil

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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