Hallerbos: a magical forest

Bluebells in Hallerbos.

Near Brussels, in Halle, you find Hallerbos – a forest that turns completely blue at the end of April. This phenomenon is created by the thousands of bluebells that bloom in that period. It makes for a fairytale experience and a must-do excursion if you happen to be in the area of Brussels in that period.

After seeing many pictures pass by on our social media feeds this week, Annick & Febe decided to make the most of a rainy afternoon and headed out for a visit to the forest. You can easily check online if the bluebells are still putting up a show. The official website of Hallerbos puts little movies online each day and gives a status report on the flowers. You can check the English version here. For this year, the spectacle nears its end. So if you want to see them, I’d hurry up. The trees are getting there leaves fast now, and once that happens, the sunlight doesn’t reach the bottom of the forest anymore and that marks the end of the blooming season.

Mind you, I think the forest is still worth a walk even when they are not in bloom. You can choose to walk freely on the paths, or follow one of the marked trails (1,4 km, 4 km or 7 km). In certain areas of the forest you are allowed to mountainbike or ride your horse, though I believe the most beautiful scenery is reserved for the hikers.

Enough with the talk though, let’s show you some pictures!

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A stick and a giant puddle. All a child needs!
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Bluebell selfie!
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At certain points, the whole forest soil seems blue.
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The bluebells are very precious. It’s important to always stay on the path.
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Next to bluebells, anemones are also flowering now, adding white and pink to the show.
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Bluebells and anemones.
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Our girl was pretty excited. She rated the excursion “100 nice”, which is the highest mark possible 😉
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Detail of some anemones.
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Fairytale forest. The gentle slopes add to the visual effect: you see the bluebells everywhere in between the trees.
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Yup, I couldn’t resist ;-))
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Wild garlic in bloom.
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One more overview.
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Detail of the bluebells.
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Thousands of them…!

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1 Comment

  1. Haentjens Maurice says:

    Nice pictures!

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