Routes

Planner

Features

Updates

App

Get the App

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Along the fields – Wooden Bridge loop from Geetbets

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Along the fields – Wooden Bridge loop from Geetbets

Moderate

4.8

(10)

hikers

Along the fields – Wooden Bridge loop from Geetbets

02:33

9.98km

40m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: May 21, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

1.25 km

Ancient Ginkgo Biloba Tree in the Rectory Garden, Geetbets

Highlight • Natural Monument

In Geetbets you can admire a very old Ginkgo Biloba tree in the front garden of the parsonage. It is probably the oldest in the Low Countries and even beyond. The Ginkgo Biloba is on the red list and is the national tree of China (although it is called Japanese nut tree in Dutch). This tree, originally from China, is sacred to Buddhists. It is only cultivated today and is considered a "living fossil because it is the only surviving species of both the genus Ginkgo and the family Ginkgoaceae." It has been planted as a temple tree in both China and Japan for centuries. The seeds of the female tree look like fruits (a bit like small yellowish plums) and have an unpleasant odor. The Japanese nut tree is anything but a nut tree, but reproduces with seeds that resemble apricots. The Japanese walnut tree belongs to the Ginkgoales, an order that was of great importance during the Mesozoic era (248 to 65 million years ago), but is now extinct except for one species.

You can read more at nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanse_notenboom

Another quote from another site: "At that time it was a conifer, but in the course of evolution the needles grew together and it became a cross between a conifer and deciduous tree. During the Tertiary, the Ginkgo even covered the entire northern hemisphere , almost as far as Greenland. The tree probably came to Japan from China together with Buddhism around 800. Because the tree was becoming extinct in the wild and was grown near temples, the popular name 'temple tree' arose. The Ginkgo was a symbol for the primeval tree. Specimens of no less than 2000 years old have been discovered in China." wintertuin-nv.be/ginko-biloba

The copy in Geetbets is located in the parsonage garden, next to the church, and is designated as a protected monument: inventaris.onroerenderfgoed.be/erfgoedobjecten/131570

It was probably planted in the mid-eighteenth century.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

1.26 km

War memorial to Polish and British airmen at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul

Highlight • Monument

Since the end of 1945 there has been a stone cross at the church of Geetbets, for Polish and British airmen as well as for fallen soldiers and resistance fighters.

The memorial commemorates the crash of the Wellington IC X9764 NZ- of the 304 “Silesian” Squadron on April 6, 1942. The Wellington fell down near the Hulsbeekstraat. All six Polish crew members were killed.

A few months later, another Polish Wellington crashed in the borough of Rummen. On the night of 28/29 August 1942, Wellington IV Z1491 GR-Z of 301 Squadron was shot down.

A third crash that is commemorated with this simple memorial is that of the Stirling III BF530 OJ-B of the 149 “East India” Squadron on July 4, 1943. This aircraft also crashed in Geetbets, also near Hulsbeekstraat.

In 2009, an additional memorial stone was unveiled at the church of Geetbets next to the existing memorial. The marble plaque was donated by Poland and commemorates in Dutch and Polish the two Polish crews who crashed in Geetbets.

Source: hangarflying.eu/erfgoedsites/monument-for-polisse-and-british-flyers-wellingtons-x9764-304-sqn-en-z1491-gr-z-301-sqn-stirling-iii- bf530-oj-b-149-sqn/

Translated by Google •

Tip by

1.29 km

Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Geetbets

Highlight • Religious Site

A richly executed country church built in brick and Gobertange and consisting of a built-in west tower, a broad nave of five bays and a narrower choir with semicircular apse and east sacristy. Supposedly originally the castral chapel of the nearby Hof ten Hove, also known as the motte. Little is known about the appearance of the original church. It is certain that she was repeatedly damaged and repaired. Due to the poor condition, it was finally decided in 1763 to demolish the old church. In 1765 the foundations were laid for the new church, whereby the old tower was preserved. The construction was funded by the large tithe collectors, in particular the abbey of Rothem and the Sint-Geertrui abbey. Source: inventaris.onroerenderfgoed.be/erfgoedobjecten/41814

Tips:

- The adjacent presbytery and especially the old Ginkgo Biloba tree in its front yard: komoot.nl/highlight/5392425
- Memorial Polish and British airmen: komoot.nl/highlight/5391060
- War graves cemetery to the right of the church
- Small church road on the left

Translated by Google •

Tip by

1.82 km