Children aren't enticed by long distances, and this walk takes a different approach. As soon as you leave the gate of De Lilse Bergen, you head into the woods. If you had walked here about two hundred years ago, the forest would have been much less extensive. Instead, you would have passed through large heathlands. The planting of pines was mainly a way to make the land more profitable. There was a high demand for wood, especially in the early 20th century, when Belgium had many coal mines. Large amounts of wood were needed to support the mine shafts.

You continue walking along forest paths until you reach the shore of the Warandevijver. In the 1970s, when the E34 motorway was constructed through this area, large sand pits were dug, leaving deep craters in the landscape. The Warandevijver is one of these sand pits, as is the lake at De Lilse Bergen. Once abandoned, these pits gradually filled with groundwater, creating a typical mix of land and water vegetation, sometimes with marshy features, and other times with characteristic fen vegetation. Migratory and breeding birds have since discovered these lakes. If you're walking with your dog, there’s a designated area where they can swim freely. In summer, the water can be bustling with playful four-legged friends.

On your way back, you pass through Haarlebeekbos, where children can play in the pure nature of a wooded sand dune. There are no playground structures here, but who needs them when you can climb and descend the hills, fall and jump in the sand, or scramble over the twisted branches and roots of the trees? Crossing the small bridge over the Haarlebeek, you reach the parking lot and the entrance to De Lilse Bergen.