Around Vervins

Car park at Place de la Gare in Vervins.

(S/E) From Place de la Gare, pass the “Le Relais Fleuri” inn on your right. Continue along the left-hand pavement until you reach the Route Nationale 2 (approx. 200 m). Turn left and go under the SNCF bridge known as the Sainte-Anne bridge.
Carry on straight ahead on the left-hand pavement until you reach the roundabout on the Route de Guise.

(1) Cross the D960(caution: danger) and turn into Rue de la Vieille Chaussée opposite.
After 150m, turn right and take the grassy path known as the Chemin du Verbinum.
At the end of the first section, keep to the left and continue along the same path (second section) until you reach a tarmac road.

(2) Turn right and join the RN2. Cross at the traffic lights. Follow the pavement running alongside a brick wall topped with a railing.

(3) Turn left through an opening in the wall and walk past the statue of the Dancer. Take the first street on the left and head down towards Basse Suisse. Turn into the alleyway between numbers 10 and 8.
At the top of the alley, turn left and head down Rue de l’Abbaye de Foigny. Continue on and, after the last house on your left (No. 17), turn left.

(4) Enter the Bois de la Garenne. Walk around it to emerge at the far end of Rue de l’Abbaye de Foigny. Retrace your steps and immediately turn left onto Rue de la Garenne.
Follow this street all the way to the Route d’Hirson. Cross this road and take a footpath behind the ‘Picardie’ social housing block. Follow this path for about 100 metres, then cross Rue André Guinet and Place Béhenne.
Take a footpath situated between the indoor tennis court (on the left) and the municipal sports hall (on the right), follow it for 200 metres until you come out opposite the main entrance to the municipal stadium. Turn right, staying on the footpath.
Before reaching the police station, turn left and follow the stony path for 150 metres. At the end of this path, turn right onto the gravel footpath which runs alongside Rue du Canada and crosses the housing estate.

(5) At the bottom of this path, you’ll reach Rue du Blanc Caillou (RD1850); turn left.

(6) 250 metres after passing under the SNCF bridge, turn right onto a grassy track. Continue along this track. At the highest point, there are sweeping views over the Chertemps valley and Vervins to the right, and opposite, over the Vilpion valley. After about 1 km, you’ll reach a tarmac road, the Chemin du Petit Vervins.

(7) Turn right. After 200m, cross the Route de Thenailles (RD372), then the RD375. Continue towards Vervins Centre, pass under another SNCF bridge, and immediately after the rugby ground car park, before crossing the Chertemps, turn left onto a grassy path that runs alongside the stream.
Follow this path until you reach a small clearing (there is a brick footbridge on the right – do not cross it), veer to the left, pass a ‘30 km/h’ sign, and continue until you reach the first house on your left (No. 2), situated below.

(8) Walk down the embankment, cross the stream “Le Chertemps” and continue along a grassy lane (the Ruelle du Pont Boutreux). At the end of this, turn right into the “Ruelle aux Os”, then left into Rue de la Justice. Pass under the SNCF bridge to reach the top of the street.

(9) Turn left into Rue Pierre Mendès France, taking the footpath separated from the road by a planted area. Walk past the AFPA (on the left).
Before reaching the EDF substation, turn right onto a grassy path that leads down towards the Arboretum.

(10) Walk round this area as indicated, and exit onto Rue de la Justice. Walk up the street to its highest point.

Turn left, leaving the fire station and the DACHY company on your left. When you reach the VEOLIA company, cross the road and head down Ruelle Thiébaut. At the bottom of this lane, turn left onto Rue Jean Marie Cailliard.

(11) Opposite No. 43, turn right onto the path that crosses the former Parc Tronquoy, then cross the Le Chertemps stream via the wooden footbridge on the left. Immediately after the footbridge, turn right and take the path along the side of the embankment to rejoin the roundabout.

(1) From there, return to the starting point (S/E).

Benches along the route: shortly after (4), between (4) and (5), just before the stadium.

From point (3), continuing straight on towards the town centre:
- view of the ramparts of Vervins as you go down the steps on your right, before the “Le Cheval Noir” hotel and restaurant;
- 150 m further on, you can visit the Church of Notre-Dame (17th century)