Woods and hills at Gouy-Servins

Date of your route : May 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk, with varied scenery and some beautiful views.
The weather was fine and it had been dry for several weeks. I can’t guarantee that it would be as accessible after a spell of rain.

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Date of your route : Aug 16, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed on 13 August 2022, partly because it was combined with part of the "From Carency to Mont-Saint-Éloi via Bois Poret" hike to make up a 30km route.
In the midst of a drought and heatwave (the hike started at 8.30 am and finished at 1.45 pm to avoid the hottest temperatures), the paths were naturally very dry but pleasant to walk on. The terrain is very hilly and varied (forests, fields, villages...).
The best part: crossing Ablain-Saint Nazaire along a stream. You hardly feel like you’re in an urban setting.
I recommend it.

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Date of your route : May 03, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We completed the walk in dry, fine weather – overcast with a slight breeze. It took us 5 hours and 40 minutes, including a 20-minute stop for a picnic. No difficulties; the paths were dry, even between points 8 and 9 and near the farm. We didn’t encounter any ‘tricky’ sections after point 16: just ruts and fallen trees that were easy to get around.
A lovely walk along paths with very little tarmac. We returned home happy with our day.

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Just to remind you, the aim of Visorando is to get people hiking on unmarked trails. And I won’t hide the fact that I absolutely love it!

Especially as my last two experiences on marked trails have really not been conclusive:
- On the Tour du Ternois Sud, you come face to face with the Ternoise river without a footbridge (it’s under construction), but there’s no signposting and no alternative route is suggested!

-On the Chemin du Belloy in Wailly, you come up against the Arras Southern Bypass with no facilities to cross it.

And if I look a bit harder, I’m sure I’ll find others.

So I prefer to map out my own route; at least if there’s a problem, I know who to blame.

Another thing: can you explain to me how you can tell that a stretch of path is private when there are no signs?

And finally, rather than your encouragement, I prefer the feedback from the walkers who use my routes.

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A few documents gathered here and there to shed some light on the issue.

1) What is the land registry? (on economie.gouv.fr)
The land registry is an administrative document that lists and identifies land properties (buildings, houses, land, etc.) within a local authority area to enable the calculation of the local taxes you are liable for (property tax and council tax).
The purpose of this document is primarily fiscal, not legal: the land registry does not constitute a title deed.

2) Regarding the right of way.
However, even in the absence of consent from the owner or manager, many hikers are convinced that the law is on their side. They rely in particular on the book *Les loisirs en espace agricole* by academic Yvon Le Caro, available online, which argues that “French law permits public access to unfenced private property, in the name of the right of way, provided that no damage is caused”. In other words: if the owner has not fenced off their land, it is possible to pass through.

The law is actually more complex.

According to Margot Blanchard, a lawyer specialising in private law in Grenoble, “the freedom of movement comes up against property rights. Whilst trespassing on this type of property will not be regarded as a breach of domicile and therefore will not be subject to criminal penalties in the absence of damage, there is a legal obligation to leave the land if the owner asks you to.”

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What a fuss over a mere 500-metre stretch of path (which, incidentally, is used by loads of people – but don’t tell our friend Bernie)!

Apart from the first 50 metres, it’s excellent, perhaps one of the best in the Bois de Mont. In any case, it’s in much better condition than the previous section (GR and PR), which is completely rutted! But nobody says a word about that.

And what about the “Bois de Mont path” (which is also properly signposted), where the crossing over the Creuse after the Chemin à Cailloux has been blocked for years by fallen trees from private land? I reported it to Ablain Town Hall, but, as far as I know, it hasn’t been cleared.

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Date of your route : Nov 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
I have read the reviews regarding this beautiful, undulating and wooded route.
I can confirm that the section between points 16 and 17 is a farm track, and therefore private.
It is often muddy and slippery.

If an individual hiker takes this track, they can always argue, if challenged, that there are no signs indicating it is a private track.
However, if they injure themselves and the condition of the track is to blame, the owners of the land it serves could always argue that they had no business being on that track.
I cannot imagine that they would give anyone permission to use it, as that would oblige them to maintain it.

On the other hand, anyone proposing a route must logically take an interest in the nature of the paths they suggest;
in this case a private farm track.

I would also point out that the path in question does not feature on any marked route. This might have caught the route creator’s attention.

Another section, the one between points 6 and 7 at Mont-Saint-Eloi, may be off-limits, if my memory serves me correctly, during the hunting season. The last time I looked into it, hunting took place on Wednesdays. This is noted in the local guidebooks.

It is, moreover, a lovely route, a fine description and a lot of hard work, which deserves encouragement.

YD, FFRP federal coordinator

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Dear President
I have several questions on my mind:

- Do you submit all the walks that appear on Visorando to the land registry, or only those concerning the land over which you consider yourself lord?

- When you plan a hike using a map, do you check whether the paths shown are listed in the land registry?

-I am also surprised that you haven’t considered the possibility of a meteorite falling on the Mont woods.

-Are you bored?

- Rather than criticising everything, perhaps it would be a good idea for you to suggest one or two walks.

Have a good day anyway

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The section of the route in question is not shown on the land registry. It is a private path, presumably created by the owners to provide access to their plots.
The Court of Cassation ruled on an identical case on 8 June 2017, following the injury of a child whilst on an unfenced private plot of land.
The Court reiterated that no regulatory provision requires the installation of a fence on private land, even if it poses a danger.
The Court of Cassation ruled that the owner had no obligation to fence off the land or even to warn of any potential danger. It considered that no one is deemed to be unaware of the risk involved in entering private land that does not belong to them.
The question that arises is that of liability in the event of a serious accident occurring on the section of the route between 16 and 17, for example a fall into a hole caused by damage to the path following bad weather, or a tree falling on a child. The owner would not be held liable,
It is to be feared that in such a case, the courts and the families would turn against the person who created the route, proposing a route through a private road.
Common sense would suggest that at marker 16 you should go straight on and then head towards the Bois de Mont farm on the left; the distance would be almost the same.
Now, it’s your walk, so it’s up to you.

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Provided a forest is not fenced off or marked with ‘No Entry’ signs, the owner is deemed to consent to public access.
This is the law.
There are no barriers or signs on this path.

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Hello
The section of the route between marker 16, starting at La Faisanderie, and marker 17 is a private road.
Kind regards
The President of the Les Pas de Souchez Club

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