Belgium 2020-06-21 - Packraft Dijle

Back in October we did the Florival-Korbeek and Korbeek-Leuven stretches on the river Dijle on 2 separate occasions. This time however, Tom and I attempt to do both in one go. There is some rain in the forecast for later in the day, but if we don’t lose too much time, we should be able to complete our trajectory under a fair amount of sunshine.

We park at the tiny Florival railway stop, walk to the put-in and start paddling around 10 am. Water level is definitely a lot lower than in October, but there is a nice enough current and we make good progress. The section between Florival and Korbeek-Dijle is known for its many fallen trees and other obstacles, but we manage to get passed everywhere easily, and without getting out of the boat.

After a short lunch break in Korbeek-Dijle, we continue paddling towards Leuven. We pass some locks (we had to portage here last time, but not now) and arrive at the Arenberg castle where the water mill is currently being restored. Due to these constructions works we have to portage to the other side of the bridge.

We pass the Grote Spui historic watergate and enter the city of Leuven. At the Dijle mill is a passage with some back current that is to be reckoned with, and downstream the historic Justus Lipsius and Jansenius towers, there is a bit of slaloming between bikes and other debris in the water.

Eventually, we take out at 3 pm at Tweewaters, just before entering the long and dark tunnel below the Ambev brewery, after 23 km of paddling. We walk to the railway station and catch a train that takes us back to Florival, where we arrive at 4:16 pm.