Around Ouilly-le-Vicomte, Hermival-les-Vaux and Fauguernon

Hike north of Lisieux that will take you to Hermival-les-Vaux around the river "La Paquine" with some steep climbs....

Details

165855
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 20.27 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 337 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 332 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 154 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 37 m

Description of the walk

Car park at the football stadium in Ouilly-le-Vicomte.

(S/E) (trail closed due to impassable wooden bridge) When leaving the car park, turn right. After 200 metres, continue left on theGR®26(red and white markings). Follow it under the D579 bridge, then turn right after 50 metres.
Leaving the car park, turn left, then right onto the D579, pass under the bridge, then turn right after 50 metres.

(1) Follow the D579 road for 300 metres, going uphill. Then turn left and continue uphill towards the Bois de Rocques. At the edge of the woods, go straight across the crossroads and continue for a few metres.

(2) Turn left and continue east then south-east until you reach the next road.

(3) Turn left, pass the shooting range, still following theGR®26. Follow the road, which winds around and then turns sharply to the left. Pass the hamlet of La Vallette and, at the next sharp bend, leave the road and turn right to follow the river La Paquine (100 metres further on) and join a road.

(4) Turn right and follow the road for about 300 metres, then turn left. Leave the road that leads to the church and castle.

(5) At the Hermival-les-Vaux wash house, continue and cross the crossroads. At the next Y-junction, turn left, then right onto the first path towards Les Pains.

(6) Follow this path uphill; it's a long climb...

(7) Turn left onto Impasse de la Bassière, and at the T-junction at the end, turn right to reach elevation 137 on the road. Then turn left onto the road that heads south after the hamlet of La Barberie.

(8) At the next hamlet, continue right on Sente Botray towards the west, follow the path passing under the power line and turn right at a right angle onto Chemin de La Marcaillerie. After 500m, turn left, then right after 800m to join the D263.

(9) Turn right onto this road, then right at the fork onto Chemin du Lieu Chouquet, which is uphill. Continue and first turn right then left at Lieu Gaillard. After 300 metres, turn left, then continue straight on towards La Boullaye. Pass under the power line twice.

(10) Cross the road and continue straight ahead towards the church in Fauguernon.

(11) Head north towards the calvary, turn left twice to reach Le Petit Parc path. First turn right then left, then continue right after 100 metres towards Cour Fontaine to cross Bois de la Pleure.

(12) Follow the road to the left, then after 700m turn right towards Les Sapins.

(13) Head south down Chemin Les Sapins to reach Chemin du Moulin.

(14) Turn right onto Chemin de la Laiterie, following "la Paquine", pass under the D579, cross the crossroads and return to the stadium car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 38 m - Football stadium car park
  2. 1 : km 0.53 - alt. 45 m - Follow the D579 in parallel.
  3. 2 : km 2.53 - alt. 129 m - Turn left at the crossroads.
  4. 3 : km 4.18 - alt. 132 m - Turn left at the shooting range.
  5. 4 : km 5.99 - alt. 56 m - Turn right at the road.
  6. 5 : km 6.96 - alt. 61 m - Wash house - Paquine (rivière) - Affluent de la Touques
  7. 6 : km 7.29 - alt. 79 m - Climb up the path
  8. 7 : km 7.71 - alt. 137 m - Turn left towards elevation 137.
  9. 8 : km 9.25 - alt. 77 m - Turn right towards the west.
  10. 9 : km 11.4 - alt. 66 m - Turn right towards the D263.
  11. 10 : km 14.44 - alt. 149 m - Crossing with a small road
  12. 11 : km 14.95 - alt. 136 m - Head north towards the calvary.
  13. 12 : km 17.25 - alt. 135 m - Turn left onto the road.
  14. 13 : km 18.26 - alt. 132 m - Head south
  15. 14 : km 19.32 - alt. 47 m - On the right, Chemin de la Laiterie
  16. S/E : km 20.27 - alt. 38 m - Football stadium car park

Notes

Hiking boots and walking sticks are recommended.

Worth a visit

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
User 27229544

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike, mostly shaded. We just had a little trouble understanding the update for the starting point. In fact, you should ignore the bold lines in the description and go straight to the following lines.

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lehallier
lehallier

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 18, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This hike is best done in dry weather, over the course of a day so you can picnic along the way.
Even better at the end of April or beginning of May to enjoy the apple blossoms.
The Pays d'Auge is hilly, so there are some elevation changes.
This route can be broken up if you are concerned about the 20km distance.
Make sure you wear sturdy footwear, as there are a few stony areas.
Enjoy the scenery.
Bernard

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luctip
luctip

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 22, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very pleasant route with beautiful views, a real treat for the eyes.
There is quite a bit of tarmac, but this is not a problem as the roads are very narrow.

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jice14
jice14

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 18, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Rated as very difficult, certainly due to the distance to be covered. Still a nice hike, though. Wear good footwear, as some paths are very muddy in winter and sometimes used by motorcyclists.

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JJD14
JJD14
• Edited:

Good evening, Bibi
Thank you for the changes, but please give the authors time to correct their drawings without rushing them
!!!! especially when you've made a big mistake
@+

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bibi
bibi ★

Thank you in any case for these specific comments, which have enabled me to complete the description. I will leave it to the author to check and adapt it if necessary.
Kind regards

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benoitrando
benoitrando

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 30, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I encountered three orientation problems, which I believe were due to a lack of precision in the route description.
P3) Pass La Valette (there are no signs for this place, except for a private property on the right with this name) and I couldn't find a river on this road. I would have indicated to pass the shooting range and go straight down, pass a right-hand bend, a left-hand bend and, at the third bend on the left, turn right onto the GR26, which is a path. Then the 4 is OK.
P7) Turn left at Impasse de la Bassière, OK, but at the end of the road there is a T-junction (should you turn right or left?). I turned left and ended up at Impasse de la Sablière (where I had come from). No matter, I went down to the crossroads and took the D262 on the right to the first crossroads, where, after asking for directions, I turned right to find the Botray path.
P11) I turned left twice and couldn't find the Petit Parc path or any signs for Cour Fontaine. So I crossed the Bois de la Pleure via the road and the path of the same name, ending up in the village of Rocques, where I turned right at the crossroads to reach Ouilly.
The roads, paths and trails are almost all signposted along the route, so it's easy to find your way if there are no signs. However, I don't see the point of naming places that have no signs on site (e.g. La Valette...). After searching and going back and forth, I ended up with extra mileage on arrival in Ouilly.

That said, I loved the place names on the route, which suited me perfectly, and the superb scenery.
I met the manager of the shooting range, who kindly explained how the club works. Incidentally, the club recently had a member who became the French individual champion in powder shooting (antique weapons), and the club also became the French team champion in powder shooting.

Thank you, JDD, for this excellent route. These are not negative comments (I assure you), but simply the impressions of someone who is completely unfamiliar with your region. I am discovering it and learning to love it with each of my outings, which are very often routes that you invite us to explore.

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Franck C2.
Franck C2.

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A very beautiful walk.

Lovely scenery, beautiful houses.
Indeed, to echo the opinion of a previous reviewer, there are many sections of tarmac, but these are narrow local roads with very little traffic.

We changed the route slightly because we weren't sure between points 8 and 9, near a beautiful property. We weren't sure whether the path went through or along the side of it. There should have been a yellow marker, but we didn't see it. It gave us the opportunity to explore another path.

Thank you for sharing this hike with us.

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JJD14
JJD14

Hello PBallay

Thanks for the comments. I've just corrected the start of this hike as the wooden bridge is impassable.
I have added all the names of the paths you gave me.
If that's okay with you, or if there are any other corrections to be made...
let me know
See you soon

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pballay
pballay

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello,
Beautiful, dynamic and varied trails.
When leaving the car park, you must now turn left because the trail on the right is closed (the wooden bridge is impassable), then turn right onto the D579 to rejoin the GR 26.
At point (7), when turning left, it should be noted that this is the Impasse de la Bassière (new sign).
At point (8), this is not the Chemin de la Marcaillerie, but the Sente Botray (also a new sign).
At point (9), to go to La Boullaye, follow the Chemin du Lieu Chouquet, which is signposted.
Best regards
P Ballay.

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JJD14
JJD14

Good evening

Thank you for your comments, even if you found more roads than paths
I'm a little surprised because I don't really like mapping out tarmac roads, but sometimes you have to do it to connect all the paths
You were able to enjoy the Normandy countryside in the sunshine.
See you soon

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woden_nc@hotmail.com
woden_nc@hotmail.com

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 19, 2017
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Easy hike to follow, but a little disappointed by the amount of road.
There aren't many small paths on this route, but it does allow you to enjoy the typical landscapes of the Normandy countryside with its rolling pastures, apple trees, cows and half-timbered houses.

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