The old single-track railway line along the Molignée valley in the Ardennes closed down many years ago, but the line is far from dead.
At weekends, you see families and groups of friends pedalling along the tracks on bright blue rail bikes. The custom-made bikes are big enough to take a family of four plus dog plus picnic on the 8km round trip.
The route takes you along a pretty wooded valley to an old station near Maredsous Abbey.
Here you can hike up to the abbey to try the local Maredsous beer before pedalling back down the valley.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
