Circular route between Amance, Bouxières-aux-Chênes, Écuelle and the Amance Forest

The walk starts at the car park on Rue Saint-Jean, next to Amance Church.

(S/E) With your back to the car park, take the road uphill to the left, passing the war memorial. At the first junction, turn left onto Rue Saint-Joseph until you reach the^first road on the left.

(1) Take this street to reach the entrance to the grounds of the old château; if it is open, walk around the grounds to the viewpoint and then retrace your steps.

(1) Turn left again to head down Rue Saint-Joseph. At the end of the street, turn left onto Rue Saint-Charles and continue to the junction after the left-hand bend.

(2) Turn right and carry on straight ahead. At the Stop sign, continue straight across, taking the small path that runs alongside Rue de la Porte du Bas. At the end of the path, turn right, walking alongside the road (take care), leave Amance and walk along the cemetery wall to the end.

(3) Take the track on the left, follow the GR®5 signposts and join the D913.

(4) Cross the road with care and head left for a few dozen metres, then turn right to climb the track through the meadow at the edge of the woods. After about 300 m, leave the GR®5 by continuing straight on and join a small road near a cemetery.

(5) Turn right to reach Bouxières-aux-Chênes via Rue de la Paix. At the ‘Stop’ sign, carry on straight ahead; then, at the roundabout, head left via Place du Chêne, then Rue de l’Armée Patton. Walk past the church and the fountains and reach a junction after a right-hand bend, followed by a left-hand bend.

(6) Keep left onto the uphill road, Chemin des Noisetiers, until you reach the^first junction.

(7) Head downhill to the right onto Chemin de l’Aulny. The road turns into a track which begins to climb, leading to Rue du Fort in Écuelle.

(8) Turn right; at the end of the street, turn left onto Rue du Général de Gaulle. Walk past the château and continue to the fountain.

(9) Just after that, pass between the Chapelle Saint-Étienne and the fountain, turn right, then left to go down Rue du Château to the washhouse.

(10) Continue downhill to the left along Rue du Cheval Rouge, then turn right onto Rue des Vergers and join the D913 at the ‘Stop’ sign.

(11) Cross it carefully and carry on along the small road opposite, Chemin de la Justice, until you reach the end.

(12) Turn 90° to the left onto Chemin de Fontenis and, after passing under a power line, you’ll reach a Y-junction.

(13) Carry on along the small road on the right, ignoring the turnings on either side, and rejoin the GR®5 at a T-junction

(14) Take this path to the left for about 300 m until you reach the edge of the forest.

(15) At the T-junction where the two gravel tracks meet, carry straight on into the Brin Forest for about a hundred metres; a small path is on the left.

(16) Take this path to visit an area with three World War I shelters and earth mounds – these are former bunkers – then retrace your steps.

(16) Continue along the dirt track opposite for a few tens of metres to visit another shelter. Retrace your steps to exit the forest and return to the edge of the woodland.

(15) Turn left onto the Route de Bouxières. At^{the first junction} , leave the GR®5 and carry on straight ahead until the^second junction at a place called Rond Bouteiller.

(17) Turn right and follow the path for about a hundred metres until you reach the cycle path. Continue to the right along this path, pass the^first junction and then the^{second, and} carry on for about 200 metres. 

(18) Where the barrier is open, turn left down the embankment to visit another WWI shelter, then return and continue along the cycle path. After passing under the high-voltage power line, keep left down the embankment; you’ll notice a wall – this may be an old railway branch line leading to a tunnel. Carry on for a few hundred metres to reach a picnic area near the old Bouzule station and a memorial stone. 

(19) Carry on to the right, heading due north, along the straight, ascending track. As you emerge from the woods at a place called Grand Pâquis, take the 90° right-hand bend and pass under the high-voltage power line. The path turns north-east and leads to a bend in the track.

(20) Follow it to the left. The track turns into a road. Pass under the high-voltage power line again and continue past the SPA to the junction near the silos.

(21) Turn left, rejoin the GR®5, walk past the Château de Fleur Fontaine and continue uphill, then enter Amance.

(22) Carry on straight ahead along Rue du Faubourg Saint-Jean, then keep left onto Rue Saint-Jean and head towards the church and the car park (S/E).

Before setting off or on your return, visit the church – a listed building – and the viewpoint at the far end of the park.

There is also a viewpoint at the junction of Rue Saint-Joseph and Rue Saint-Charles.

There is also a viewpoint on the track after the cemetery, on the descent. 

In Bouxières-aux-Chênes, the wash house at the roundabout, the church, the three fountains and a few lintels.

In Écuelle, the château, Saint-Étienne Chapel, the fountain and the wash house.

On entering the Amance State Forest, there are a number of remains from the First World War.

On the cycle path, which is a former railway line, there are further remains from the First World War. If you could provide me with any information about what appears to be a railway junction and a tunnel, I’d be grateful.

The memorial stone at a place called Prés Moisis.

On the way back, Fleur Fontaine Castle.