Along the Ourcq and Clignon rivers, exploring the Orxois region

Start from Crouy-sur-Ourcq station (Transilien line P).

Red and white markings (GR®)

(S/E) With your back to the station, turn right, then follow the D94 to the right and leave the village (take care on the road). After about 400 m, you’ll reach the Canal de l’Ourcq. Follow it to the left along the towpath until you reach the first bridge (houses).

Pink markings (PR®)

(1) Let the GR® head off to the left and take the PR® (pink) to the left, which follows a long straight stretch towards the Château de Gesvres le Duc (17th century). The château no longer exists; only the moat, the gate and the entrance pavilion remain.

Yellow markings (PR®)

(2) Leave the PR® (pink) which turns left and follow the PR® (yellow) which continues along the moat. Reach the railway line and cross via a small gate (take care) and continue on the path which further on turns sharply left. Leave the woods and follow the edge. The path veers slightly to the right and reaches a road.

(3) Cross the D102 with care and continue straight ahead, first through a wood, then across the fields.

(4) Ignore the track leading off to the left and enter the woods again via a wide, slightly ascending track. On leaving the woods, continue along the track on the left. Pass two paths near the first houses and reach a crossroads in the hamlet of Certigny.

(5) Turn left. After 400 m, at a right-hand bend, leave the tarmac road heading downhill and take the wide track opposite. Continue along this track until you reach the hamlet of Fussy.

(6) At the^first crossroads, turn right and, a little further on, join the main road (D102). Follow it to the right (pavement).

Pink markings (PR®)

(7) After the sewage treatment plant, do not take the^first road on the left which leads back to Château de Gesvres le Duc, but take the path just after it, by the picnic table. Continue along this path, entering the Marais de la Grande Prairie. Continue along a pretty path which widens as you approach the first houses. Cross Rue des Meuniers and continue straight ahead to Place du Marché, which you cross diagonally (fountain with three cherubs).

Blue signposting (PR®)

(8) On the other side of the square (sign for the library and museum), take the Blue PR® which goes round the church and returns to the main street further to the left. Continue left and turn left again into the^first street (Rue Raphaël). Pass a dead-end on your left, then a downhill street on your right and a final dead-end on your left. Go past the football pitch on the left and reach a fork.

(9) Pass a Yellow PR® sign on the right and take the path on the left, which goes past a farm shed. Continue along this path, which turns right shortly after the shed. Cross a small road and a wood. At a telephone pole in the middle of the fields, leave the track on the left and take the small path opposite, which descends between two rows of trees.

(10) In the hamlet of La Chaussée, continue straight on along the D102 to reach Montigny-l'Allier.

(11) Do not cross the Clignon Diversion Canal, but take the towpath on the left to the first footbridge, which you cross to return to the road (this short section is not signposted). At the road, turn left, pass the ruins of an old tower (private property) and continue to the fully renovated former Templar Commandery (private property, used for seminars, weddings, etc.). Continue along the path, leaving a farm track on your right, until you reach the Clignon Diversion Canal. Follow it to the right, cross the pretty Clignon canal bridge and reach the confluence of the Clignon Canal and the Ourcq Canal.

Red and white markings (GR®)

(12) Cross the Clignon Diversion Canal and follow the Ourcq Canal on the left until you reach the^first bridge at Neufchelles (picnic table).

(13) Take the track on the left, opposite the bridge. Cross the railway line with care and continue along the path on the right. Cross the Ourcq via the small Pont d’Arcole and continue into the Marais de Négando.

(14) As you leave this marshy area, the path turns right, then left after 250 m, and begins a steep climb before descending towards the D102. Follow it to the right, taking care as there is no pavement.

(15) At the first junction, turn right into Rue de la Procession (a dead end). Let the main path go off to the left and take, opposite, a pleasant, gently ascending footpath that leads to a wayside shrine. Continue left, then left again. Go round the boundary wall of a large estate and reach a small tarmac road, letting a path branch off to the right.

(16) Continue along this road and pass a small chapel (Notre-Dame du Chêne). At a small green space, rejoin the main road on the right, which leads back to the station (S/E).

Free parking at Crouy-sur-Ourcq station.

The Houssoy keep is open to visitors on certain last Sundays of the month (please enquireat the Association for the Preservation of the Lower Ourcq Valley – ASBVO or the Meaux-Marne-Ourcq Tourist Office).

Architectural heritage:

• Houssoy keep (14th century).
• Ourcq Canal.
• Ruins of the Château de Gesvres le Duc (17th century).
• Clignon diversion canal.
• Templar Commandery (private property: seminars, weddings, etc.).
• Clignon Canal Bridge.
• Oratory, chapel, fountain with three cherubs.

Natural heritage:

• Grande Prairie Marshes.
• Negando Marshes.
• Viewpoints.