Around the Orvin

Park at Fontaine-Fourches, on Rue de Nonat before the junction with Rue Saint-Martin

(S/E) Take Rue Saint-Martin for a few metres to the left and head down Route de Cercy to the right. Turn left immediately (Rue aux Ouches), which continues as a track.

(1) At the end, take the path on the right and, when you reach the woods, turn left. Pass the Bas-de-Fourches washhouse and continue until you reach a road (Rue du 19 mars 1962).

(2) Turn right, then, after an industrial building, turn left. Cross a track on the left, then arrive at a three-way junction.

(3) Turn slightly to the right. The path winds its way through the fields.

(4) Pass under the high-voltage power line. Further on, ignore a path on the right, cross a stream, and come out onto the D411.

(5) Cross carefully and continue straight on into Villiers-sur-Seine. At the^fourth junction (a green space with a bench), turn right onto Rue de la Place des Fêtes and head towards the church.

(6) Turn right, then take the^first street on the left (Rue du Four d’Athis). The road crosses the Orvin and enters Athis. You can just make out the Seine through the fairly dense trees. Before the next junction, a few steps hidden amongst the vegetation lead down to the riverbank: a few steps further on, more steps are blocked by a gate.

(7) Turn right immediately, cross back over the D411 (take great care) and carry on straight ahead. The path joins the Vieil Orvin, then crosses the Orvin and ends at the Ru de Fontenoy.

(8) Turn right and follow the stream. The path veers to the left, crosses the stream and reaches the^first houses of Cercy.

(9) Do not enter the hamlet but, before the farm, turn right. The path leads to a bridge over the Orvin (wash house). Cross the road without going over the bridge and continue straight on along the woodland. The path winds pleasantly.

(10) Cross a small road (D120) and carry on straight ahead. Ignore a path on the right.

(11) Do not follow the^PR® route shown on the map, but turn right just before the Moulin de la Folie, which you may have spotted a little earlier. The path continues but is not maintained, and it is not possible to cross the property as shown on the IGN map. Join the tarmac road at the entrance to the mill. Turn left at the junction and follow the tarmac road for about 200 m.

(12) Take the path on the right, which further on turns sharply left. Immediately afterwards, turn right along the edge of the woodland, then right again to enter it. At the bottom of the steep slope leading to Fontaine-Fourches, there is another wash house. Climb the steep slope.

(13) Head towards the church on the right and go round the back of it. Join Rue Saint-Martin and follow it straight on to reach the car park 600 metres further on.

This walk was originally mapped out by Codérando 77 but has been modified to avoid a poorly signposted and uninteresting section.

(1) This^PR® route appears on the IGN map, but with a route error at Moulin de la Folie (see description).
Yellow markings (which, of course, are absent on the farm tracks in the middle of the fields).

Please note: between (13) and (S/E), the yellow markings suggest turning off Rue Saint-Martin to the right onto Rue de Maupertuis, but the path is not maintained (nettles); the route round the school is obvious but poorly signposted.