Forest walk in Sainte-Croix-sur-Aizier

Parking in front of or behind the old town hall on Route des Jeux, near the playground.

(S/E) Take the Route des Jeux to the left of the old town hall. After the tennis courts, continue straight on.
At Mare Asse, turn right onto Route du Hoc.

(1) Turn left onto the first street, a cul-de-sac called Chemin des Marches. At the end of the cul-de-sac, take the sunken path on the right, which features beautiful pollarded trees. Enter the national forest by crossing the footbridge on the right (caution: the fence is electrified to prevent wild boars from leaving the forest and to protect crops).

(2) In the forest, follow the path to the left which runs alongside the valley and a very beautiful hedge of hornbeams and beech trees, keeping straight on. At the bottom, in the clearing, take the forest track to the left to continue descending slightly.

(3) At the junction with the gas pipeline, ignore the^GR® and carry on straight ahead, following the forest track at the bottom of the valley for a good kilometre.

(4) At a concrete drainage channel crossing the track, head up to the left along the path between plots 144 and 151. The path is fairly wide but, as it acts as a water channel, it is eroded by storms (take care in wet weather, as the erosion can make it slippery). At the top, turn left then immediately right at the corner of plot 150.

(5) At the junction with the gravel path, ignore the exit from the forest and continue straight on along the grassy path, the Ligne des Bois de Fécamp. At the end of this long straight stretch, turn left twice and head up a very wide path lined with tall beech trees and marked with blue signs.

(6) When the path narrows, turn right, following the blue markings, until you reach the Ancienne Route d’Aizier, which you will follow uphill to the left, leaving the blue markings behind. As you emerge from the forest, you will see the church of Sainte-Croix-sur-Aizier. Follow the road back to the old town hall (S/E).

At the start: 3 picnic tables, a children’s playground, and pétanque and tennis courts.

Hunting calendar for the Brotonne State Forest on the ONF website, with dates by mapped section: driven hunts from early November to late February.
Hound hunting across the entire forest on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 15 September to 31 March.

- Sainte-Croix Church features windows dating from^{the 14th},^16th and^17th centuries. The presence of maritime-inspired graffiti on the exterior walls indicates that many sailors lived in the village.
- The former town hall hosts local associations for their activities, as the village has merged with Bourneville to form the new commune of Bourneville-Sainte-Croix,
- The Brotonne State Forest covers 6,700 hectares, 62% of which is covered in beech trees. It is therefore one of the largest beech forests in France.