A circular bend in the Moselle between Gondreville and Villey-Saint-Etienne

Park in the car park, next to the wide-gauge canal and the road bridge on the ‘Circular Tour of the Moselle’ cycle route.

(S/E) Cross the bridge over the canal, take the road and reach the second track.

(1) Turn right onto it, go round an S-bend and carry on straight ahead. Pass a small pond, go round another S-bend and cross the bridge over a stream. At the next junction, turn left, go over the old canal then under the railway line and join the D191.

(2) Cross the road carefully and continue straight on. Join a tarmac road, turn left
then right and head down towards shelter no. 1.

(3) After your visit, return to the crossroads. Turn right, cross the bridge over a stream and take a small tarmac path, crossing over the old railway line.
After the railway line, take a small path on the right and enter the forest. Follow a metal fence, continue along the small path and come out onto a wide track after passing the Mordant battery.

(4) At the junction with a sandy track, turn right, pass between two meadows and then, at a bend, take the track on the right, marked with Green Circles. Turn onto the second path on the left after a small mound of earth, following the Green Circles.

Walk past the Bas du Chêne fortification, climb the steps and continue along the narrow path alongside the fort. Stay on the path marked with Green Circles and cross a forest track.
Carry on straight ahead along a narrow path, following the markings – but be careful as they are rather poor – and go straight on to join a wider grassy track. Follow this track until you reach a sandy track, then turn right.

(5) Walk 20 metres and take the path on the left leading to the East Fort of Vieux Canton. Visit the fort and return to the path junction; this is the^GR®5F(marked in white and red). Join it again by turning left, passing the yellow signs 79-3101, 1, 3 and 4. Head towards yellow sign no. 4.

(6) Turn left onto a footpath. At the first junction, turn right and continue straight on until you reach the D10a road.

(7) Turn right onto this road for 10 metres, then take the track on the left and continue straight on. At the end of the track, turn left, passing the wayside cross and the orientation table.

(8) After the wayside cross, turn onto the first field path on the right, leading to a sandy track.

(9) Turn right. At the next junction, turn left and follow this track until you reach a car park after crossing the bridge over the Terrouin.

(10) On leaving the car park, continue to the right along the road, cross another bridge over the Terrouin and turn left to continue along the cycle path.

(11) Continue to the right; do not take the wooden footbridge. Follow the cycle path alongside the Moselle and then the wide-gauge canal as far as the Fontenoy lock, passing in turn in front of the locomotive, under a road bridge, under a railway line and finally under a road bridge at the Fontenoy lock.

After passing under the lock bridge, make a 360° turn and go up the stairs. At the top, turn right to cross over the canal. Make another 360° turn to the right and go down the stairs.

(12) At the bottom of the stairs, turn left and follow the path along the canal to return to the starting car park (S/E).

(2) Just before this point, take a look at what remains of the old Marne–Rhine Canal.
(Between 2 and 3), the Mordant Shelter No. 1, dating from 1899. After the (2), against the metal fence on the SPA’s property, you can see the two turrets of the Fort du Mordant.
Along a wide track, the fortifications of the Mordant battery.
(4) The Bas du Chêne fortification, built in 1910.
(5) The two eastern fortifications of Vieux Canton, a reconstructed trench, and the ditch leading to the fort.
(Between 6 and 7), a fine wayside cross with an original orientation board.
The bridges over the Terrouin.
The separation between the Moselle and the wide-gauge canal.
An electric locomotive for towing barges.
(12) The large-capacity lock at Fontenoy.