Walk n°2 La Passerelle

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Soft and winding, this walk will take you through the Ourthe river to discover the wonderful resources of the river. 
It will rock you with its course which has always influenced the life of the inhabitants of the region.

DEULIN: At the top of the small collected hamlet of Deulin emerges a magnificent architectural ensemble from the 18th century. 
Deulin Castle has a main courtyard and a main building topped by a beautiful triangular pediment of sculpted stone. 
The right wing leads to a chapel and the left wing to the formal gardens and its pond. 
It hosts numerous exhibitions and music concerts every year. Built in 1760 by the de Harlez family. 
U-shaped construction in bleached bricks and blue stones. Towers surmounted by a bulbous pinnacle with a weather vane bearing the arms of J.G. 
de Harlez. 
Go to the castle and note in passing the subsistence in the village of Deulin *of many half-timbered buildings typical of Famenne.
At the first junction at the pump (cast iron pump from the end of the 19th century), go right. 
Notice in the wall of the castle farm a polychrome statue of Saint Monon. (if you want to explore the castle, 
take the path on the left after the farm). After the farm, take a stony country lane at a right angle to the right.
On the left, a beautiful view of the village of Noiseux. Join the N898 (statue of the Virgin) and go left. 
On leaving the village, take a path on the right which runs alongside a large property. 
The path soon becomes an asphalt road and runs along the Ourthe. Take the catwalk.
The Deulin footbridge was rebuilt in 1998 at the same location as the old path linking Marche to Grandhan via Deulin and Monteuville. 
Depending on the season and the time of year, travelers waded across the Ourthe (a ford still visible a little downstream is still used by farmers), 
or even with a smuggler.
Go right after the turnstile. 
The river is bordered by alders and willows. 
Alder and willow have stubborn roots that fix the soil along the banks and thus help to limit erosion. 
Unfortunately, in many places alders and willows have been torn up and replaced with rocks or concrete.
The path departs from the river. 
On the left, the vegetation is typical of a wet meadow: lilies, rushes, sedges, ...
Here the river made its way according to the differences in hardness of the rocks encountered.
The pastures you cross are regularly flooded. 
In fact, the level of the Ourthe can go from a flow of 3 to 10 m³ (lowest level) to a flow of 300 m³ in the event of strong floods (the alert level being set at 100 m³ / s measured at Nisramont dam).
The banks, made up of alluvium, are easily eroded by the current and generally have a vertical profile appreciated by many species (kingfishers, bank swallows, etc.)

You reach an asphalt road in "T": go right (notice the pot dated 1830). 
At the crossroads of 4 paths, get off at (Ravel Hotton - Monville) and cross another footbridge. 
At the end of the campsite, go right on a concrete path in the countryside. 
We reach the banks of the Ourthe: follow the banks to join the N898 (take a good look at the banks where you may have the chance to surprise a ... kingfisher!). 
Turn right and walk along the Ourthe to the entrance to the village of Deulin. Take to the left of the war memorial of 14-18 to reach the starting point,
"The Ourthe is the spreading river, tracing endless meanders, 
forming ponds, drawing inlets, cut by islets, licking moderate slopes, bathing meadows, in the middle of a country with broad horizons". Jean d´Ardenne