The best walks and hikes around Melle

Memorial bench in honor of Marc De Spiegheleer, who passed away in September 2020. He was a very active board member of Natuurpunt Oosterzele until his death.

Maria grotto. Light a candle (bring your own)

The Aelmoeseneiebos (or Aalmoezenijebos) is a nature reserve on the territory of the municipalities of Melle (Gontrode) and Oosterzele (Landskouter). The forest is 28.5 hectares in size and is owned by the University of Ghent. The forest area is now managed by the university Lab for Forest & Nature. The railway line Ghent-Geraardsbergen divides the forest in two. The Aelmoeseneiebos is an old forest area that already appeared on the Ferraris map in 1775. The forest was owned by the Saint Bavo's Abbey of Ghent for centuries. During the French period (1794-1815) it was transferred to the public poor relief of the city of Ghent. In 1967-1968 the Belgian State bought the forest so that the University of Ghent could use it as a test forest. The most important tree species are summer oak and beech, with ash and maple in the stream valleys. The Aelmoeseneiebos is known for its spring flora such as wood anemone, slender primrose, yellow dead-nettle and small periwinkle. During the First World War, the forest was largely cut down but replanted in 1920. Adjacent to the western part of the Aelmoeseneiebos, 10 hectares of plots of land belonging to Natuurpunt, Oosterzele department, are located in the valley of the Gondebeek. With the 'Rodeland landscape project' [1], the aim is to connect the Aelmoeseneiebos with the Makegemse forests through afforestation in the valleys of the Gondebeek, Kerkesbeek and Driesbeek[2][3]. In 2021, 5 amphibian tunnels were constructed in the Gondebeek valley[4]. Inventories and research in the Aelmoeseneiebos found 1329 different species: including 64 tree and shrub species and 599 species of invertebrates. The Aelmoeseneiebos is protected in Europe as part of the Natura 2000 area (habitat directive area) 'Forests of the south-east of the Zandleemstreek' (BE2300044). The forest is freely accessible on the footpaths.

Beautiful boardwalk. Be careful on wet days, can be slippery. Beautiful location, edge of the forest.

Small piece of natural beauty, a stone's throw from Ghent. Ideal base for the ForNaLab (Forest & Nature Lab) of Ghent University. A number of marshy paths lead you through part of the old forest.

Take a break with a beautiful view.

The Karmelietenwegel is one of the many paths that connect the (small) village centres and even smaller hamlets. They are also popularly called 'ketskes'. The Karmelietenwegel refers to the nearby Carmelite monastery that was founded in Bottelare in 1667.

In this area there are a number of numbered test fields and buildings of the Institute for Agricultural, Fisheries and Food Research (ILVO). This Flemish scientific institution has 200 ha of test fields, 15,000 m2 of greenhouses and more than 20,000 m2 of test stables. The research starts from social and policy points of interest such as climate, energy efficiency, de-hardening, water buffering and increasing biodiversity.