GR5: Days 8–14 from Zoersel to Retinne | Hiking from Holland to Nice
The second week brings longer walking days, hot weather, and some creative solutions to finding places to sleep. Sarah continues through Belgium, balancing big distances with the need to stay hydrated, find food, and recover. There are youth hostels, garden camping, a cinema trip, and more than a few lessons in adapting to life on the trail.
Day 8 🥾From Zoersel to Youth Hostel Boswachtershuis
ℹ️Stats: Weather: dry & cloudy 23 degrees
From: Zoersel
Start time: 9am
To: Youth Hostel Boswachtershuis
End time: 6.10pm
Accommodation: youth hostel - bed
Terrain: concrete, cycle paths, roads, forests
Cicerone guidebook stages: 11 & 12
🥾Km: 38.90
🥾Miles: 24.3
🦶Steps: 48,493
Ascent: 56m
Descent: 60m
Total Distance 247/2,200 km
11.2% Done ✅
💰Costs: Bed & breakfast €28
€36 Welcome to my garden (website/app to camp in people’s gardens) [@welcometomygsrden_org](https://www.instagram.com/welcometomygsrden_org/)
€7.66 - snickers, coke, wine gums
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 2/10
Ease of terrain: 3/10 - hard surfaces are hard going
⭐️Highlights: good breakfast (omelette) to start the day. Very consistent walking. Paid for WTMG and got 2 nights booked 🥳
🏔️Challenges: The start was a bit messed up with the way marking, there’s a new route and an old route and it differed from the guidebook and the GPS. I ended up sticking with my GPS which after speaking to someone was the old route! But I got to where I wanted to get to!
💭Thoughts: I’ve got the next few days sorted, 20 miles followed by 14 miles (only 14 as there is a heat warning in place) so I don’t want to push it too hard on that day. Happy with what I’ve got planned over the next 2 days.
Day 9 🥾From Youth Hostel Boswachtershuis to Diest
ℹ️Stats: Weather: Hot 30 degrees
From: Youth Hostel Boswachtershuis
Start time: 9.36am
To: Diest
End time: 5.44pm
Accommodation: Camped - WTMG
Terrain: cycle paths, roads, forests, gravel
Cicerone guidebook stages: 13 & 14
🥾Km: 30.79
🥾Miles: 19.24
🦶Steps: 39,615
Ascent:194m
Descent: 188m
Total Distance 278/2,200 km
12.6% Done ✅
💰Costs: €3 icecream
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 2/10
Ease of terrain: 2/10
⭐️Highlights: being fed dinner which was delicious - rice pasta with red pepper sauce, camping for free with WTMG 🥳
🏔️Challenges: the heat was zapping. I thought I’d be done in about five hours. I was out there for so much longer. I felt like I was waiting through treacle.
💭Thoughts: still trying to figure out the next few days - it seems getting quite difficult with accommodation options + distances I want to walk and where I want to finish. I don’t need to make any decisions yet. I’ll get through tomorrow which is gonna be a super hot day and then I should have more time to plan.
Day 10 🥾From Diest to past Lummen
ℹ️Stats: Weather: sunny 35 degrees severe weather warning in place
From: Diest
Start time: 7.36am
To: past Lummen
End time: 1.31pm
Accommodation: WTMG - Camped ⛺️
Terrain: forests, cycle paths, roads,
Cicerone guidebook stages: 15
🥾Km: 19.74
🥾Miles: 12.33
🦶Steps:25,849
Ascent: 105m
Descent: 103m
Total Distance 298/2,200 km
13.5% Done ✅
💰Costs: €41 food shop
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 2/10
⭐️Highlights: did a food shop and got to go inside an air-conditioning building! Camping in a garden for free! Thank you WTMG ⛺️🙌
🏔️Challenges: heat! Oh my God, it was hot out roasting it was like I was being cooked alive.
💭Thoughts: I really do like having a plan and struggle when I have to go with the flow and just see what happens which is what I’m gonna have to do over the next couple of days.
Day 11 🥾From past Lummen to Bijenberg
ℹ️Stats: Weather: hot 🔥 with light 🌧️
From: past Lummen
Start time: 7.22am
To: Bijenberg
End time: 6.22pm
Accommodation: wild camped 🏕️
Terrain: roads, cycle paths, forests, sandy tracks
Cicerone guidebook stages: 16 & 17
🥾Km: 39
🥾Miles: 24
🦶Steps: 49,541
Ascent: 124m
Descent: 112m
Total Distance 337/2,200 km
15% Done ✅
💰Costs: €4.24 2x drinks & sweets
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 2/10
Ease of terrain: 2/10 - a little bit of repetitive strain injury on the front of my left leg above my ankle.
⭐️Highlights: solid days walking - really please with the distance
🏔️Challenges: I need to start reframing distances. Eg 20 miles short day - 24 miles the new normal and 25+ the bigger days
💭Thoughts: I’ve got accommodation booked for tomorrow and I can check it from 12pm - need to get to mile marker 225 - big push needed - 23 miles tomorrow
Day 12 🥾From Bijenberg to Lanaken
ℹ️Stats: Weather: hot & cloudy ⛅️
From: Bijenberg
Start time: 7.05am
To: Lanaken
End time: 3.55pm
Accommodation: Hotel - bed 🛌
Terrain: concrete, forests 🌳
Cicerone guidebook stages: 18
🥾Km: 33.42
🥾Miles: 21
🦶Steps: 41,579
Ascent: 208m
Descent: 186m
Total Distance 370/2,200 km
16.8% Done ✅
💰Costs: €24 food shop
€88 hotel room
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 3/10 - lack of sleep
Ease of terrain: 3/10 - concrete
⭐️Highlights: reaching the hotel by 4pm. Free G&T, shower 🚿, washing clothes & hair!
🏔️Challenges: the concrete is tough going in the heat. There is no more WTMG options until mile marker 255 and limited camping options. I think it’s going to be wild camping! 🏕️
💭Thoughts: going to go to the cinema tomorrow to watch Spiderman! It’s on the way!
Day 13 🥾From Lanaken op Zoom to MM 246
ℹ️Stats: Weather: hot 🔥 & sunny 30 degrees
From: Lanaken
Start time: 9am hotel - 2pm after cinema
To: MM 246
End time: 8.49pm
Accommodation: wild camped 🏕️
Terrain: forests, roads, concrete, grassy paths
Cicerone guidebook stages: 19 & 20
*3 GPS tracks
🥾Km: 6.42 + 17.61 + 1.17 = 25.2
🥾Miles: 15.75
🦶Steps: 8,389 + 21,530 + 1,675 = 31,594
Total Distance 395/2,200 km
17.95% Done ✅
💰Costs: cinema €10.50
€14 Aldi food shop
€3.40 ice cream
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10
Fatigue: 2/10
Ease of terrain: 1/10
⭐️Highlights: watching Spider-Man 🎥🎬🍿
Evening sunset 🌅 was incredible- I just lay there watching it like it was a tv show!
🏔️Challenges: finding somewhere to camp!
💭Thoughts: so glad to be in my tent! ⛺️ it’s been a long day - didn’t blow up my air mattress and just slept on the ground (inside my tent)
Day 14 🥾From MM246 to Retinne
ℹ️Stats: not the best pics today! Sorry!
Weather: hot 🔥 30 degrees
From: MM246
Start time: 6.58am
To: Retinne
End time: 7.03pm
Accommodation: camped WTMG
Terrain: fields, concrete, grassy paths, forests
Cicerone guidebook stages: 21 & 22
🥾Km: 40.28
🥾Miles: 25.17
🦶Steps: 53,287
Ascent: 782m
Descent: 632m
Total Distance 435/2,200 km
19.77% Done ✅
💰Costs: €14 drinks, water x3, crisps, 2x snickers, sweets
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 3/10 - more of a struggle at the end of the day
Ease of terrain: 2/10 - more rolling hills
⭐️Highlights: booking a garden with WTMG, meeting up with Walter (fellow GR5 hiker - he’s only doing a section)
🏔️Challenges: right calf muscle started to hurt towards the end of the day, developed a slight limp - which wasn’t the best. Camping was 12 min walk off trail.. so pleased to arrive
💭Thoughts: I did well today and have planned to stay with WTMG tomorrow after 19 miles. Which is a fair distance- plus another heat warning in place. So I’ll take my time.
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