Sonian Forest to Stockel: 12 km of woods, ponds and an old railway line

A Saturday morning on foot: out of the metro at Herrmann-Debroux, along the Woluwe ponds into the Sonian beeches, through the Rouge-Cloitre priory grounds, then the old Brussels-Tervuren railway line, now a leafy promenade, all the way to Stockel square. We finish at the market terraces around 13:30 and sit down together for a coffee or a lunch, whoever wants to stay.
🥾 About 12 km, roughly 3 hours of walking plus stops. Flat for a Belgian value of flat. If you can walk 3 hours with a small backpack, you are fine.
🗺️The route & photos: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/sonian-forest-to-stockel-12-km-of-woods-ponds-and-an-old-railway-line-280981686
⏱ We keep a conversational pace and we sit down properly about every 45 minutes. A real stop with everyone off their feet, not thirty seconds of standing around waiting for the stragglers. Metro at both ends and tram lines along the way: skipping a stretch or peeling off early is not a failure.
🍽 The finish is Stockel square and its cafes. The table is as much the point as the walk, whoever wants to stay. Everyone pays their own, and a coffee is participation enough.
📅 First of three Saturdays, each a different Brussels and each a bit longer than the last. Every walk is booked separately and it will not be the same ten people each time, so missing one costs you nothing. The third one ends somewhere special.
💬 The group runs in English. Bring water, wear shoes you have already walked in, and check the weather the night before.