Country:
City:
Departure: Car park near Linchamps church
(S/E) From the church, head towards Belgium. On leaving the village, the road crosses a small bridge over the Ruisseau du Corbeau
(1). Turn left and walk along the Ruisseau du Corbeau until you reach a metal footbridge. Cross the stream and turn left onto a small path that follows the edge of the ridge between the Ruisseau du Corbeau and the Fontinelle. Follow the yellow markings uphill. After Roche Maret (beautiful view of the surrounding forest), the slope levels out, the path joins a forest track and branches off to the left to reach Fontinelle.
(2) Take the unmarked path furthest to the left (ignore the marked path which crosses wetlands and is very congested). At the start of the descent, a small path runs alongside the path you are on, which you should keep in sight.
Ignore a barely visible path that branches off to the left towards Les Hubiets and continue to the Échameaux clearing. A short detour to the hamlet is a must.
(3) After this detour, continue downhill on a pretty marked trail to the departmental road. Continue downhill on the tarmac road to a large carriage road on the right.
(4) Head towards Ravin de l'Ours until you reach Pont des Bourriques.
(5) With your back to the stream, head south-west onto a path marked in yellow. After a steep climb, turn left at the first crossroads and follow a pretty bend to reach the end of a forest road built in early 2020.
(6) Take this road to reach Champ Bernard.
(7) Turn left twice to take a wide path downhill to La Rayère (signpost on the right of the path).
(8) At this point, descend the steep bank of the Saint-Jean stream (rope and cable to assist) to cross the stream on a metal footbridge. The path crosses a plantation of small conifers and joins the RD13 near the Rocher du Saut Thibaut.
(9) Move to the left to cross the RD safely, then take a steep path built in 2002 to reach the top of the rock. Continue along the winding path to a first main road, which you cross, then a second, which you also cross. Follow the yellow markings along a path that is overgrown with ferns and broom in places in a sparse forest until you reach a forest lane.
(10) At this point, the marked path branches off to the left. Leave it and descend to the right. At the end of this lane, cross two ditches and look for a lane on the left that is perpendicular to the previous one and take it. At the end of this lane, cross the bed of a small tributary of the Ruisseau de la Grande Fontaine and arrive at a well-marked sunken path.
(11) Descend to the right towards the bottom of the Ruisseau de la Grande Fontaine valley. The stream joins the path before turning left. Follow it for 50 metres, then take a sharp left turn to climb the path above the bottom of the valley. Pass the boundary of plot no. 28 and you will come to a path on the right.
(12) Leave the path on the right and head left to join a wide path about 100 metres further on. Turn right to reach the Croix Bernard Languet.
(13) Continue for 150 metres, then turn left twice to reach the Belgian border (GR®126).
(14) Continue in the same direction on a wide path, pass the first path on the left and then, at the next fork, leave the main track on the left. You will reach a path on the left.
(15) Descend to the left. Cross the hollows of two small valleys in succession. Turn left at the next junction, then right before reaching the end of a forest road. Keep left at the first junction, then right at the second to climb up a beautiful stone path. Continue in the same direction until the top of the climb, where the path turns left (south) and leads to a hunting cabin.
(16) After the hut, turn right onto a wide path. As soon as the path descends, look out for a small trail on the right.
(17) From here, a 1.5km round trip takes you to a beautiful viewpoint overlooking Linchamps, the forest and the surrounding valleys.
(18) Return to the previous fork.
(17) Then descend to the right for 150 m until you reach the path marked in yellow.
(19) Take the marked path on the right to descend the right bank of the Ruisseau du Cerisier and join the RD13.
For an easier descent, you can also leave the marked trail at point 19 and continue straight ahead on the forest path on the left bank of the Ruisseau du Cerisier.
Head right along the RD to the village of Linchamps. Return to the church and the car park at the start (S/E).
Visorando Member
Moderate 
