Circular route around Ablain-Saint-Nazaire

Park in the car park opposite the Ring of Remembrance at the Notre-Dame de Lorette Memorial in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire.

(S/E) Take the path running alongside the cemetery towards the basilica. You will soon reach the T-junction of the shared^GR® 127 and 145 trails.

(1) Take the path that follows these^GR® trails, descending to the left via the 77-step staircase.
Reach the Route de la Blanche Voie. Turn left onto it to reach the right-angled bend at the junction with a footpath.

(2) Join Rue Lancino by taking the path to the right. Leave the^GR® here and turn left into Rue Pontiers. Make a zigzag turn first right then left to continue along Rue Cares. Follow this street to the junction with Rue d’Arras Prolongée.

(3) Turn left onto this street. Keep heading in this direction towards Carency, ignoring the roads and paths to the left and right. Follow the river and enter Carency. Pass the small square on your right, then take Rue Pasteur on the right and walk past the town hall. You will reach the junction with Rue du Moulin.

(4) Here you will find the red and white^GR® markings; turn right onto this street. It descends at first, then climbs again. Ignore the side paths and roads; leave the^GR® on your right and continue straight ahead to the wayside cross. Pass in front of the farm called Le Moulin Topart; shortly afterwards you will come to a Y-junction.

(5) Turn onto the road on the left, then at the next junction onto the one on the right. You’ll reach the junction with the D57 road. Turn right onto it, walk past the houses and, at the next junction by the picnic area, you’ll find Rue Lancino.

(6) Turn left onto it, but leave it very quickly to take the path on the right into the woods. Continue along the ridge on this path, which runs parallel to the Vallée du Bois l'Abbé. At the highest point, you’ll find the junction with the^GRP® Bassin Minier Nord-Pas de Calais.

(7) Take it to the right, following the red and yellow markings. Ignore all side paths. Continue until you reach the junction from the outward journey at the memorial.

(1) Follow the same route as on the way there to return to the memorial car park (S/E).

(6) Rest area.
Dining note:
- Dining options at the memorial: L'Abri des Visiteurs, but you must book well in advance,
- or Place de Souchez: La Table de Pascal.

The chalky path after the (2) has old quarries on its right, which were worked in the Middle Ages to extract stone used, in particular, for the construction of the church at Ablain, which was destroyed in^{the 16th century}.
On the left of Rue du Moulin, just after the (4), you can see what remains of the feudal castle of Carency, the destruction of which was completed during the Great War.
The Moulin Topart has not been a mill for a very long time; it is now a farm.