Circular route via Orphin, Émancé and Saint-Hilarion, starting from Gazeran

Start from the car park in front of Gazeran Town Hall.

(S/E) Opposite the town hall, head to the right onto Rue de la Mairie. After 150 m, at the war memorial, leave Rue de la Mairie – which curves to the right – and continue straight on along Chemin du Moulin. After 1 km and a steep final climb, the path joins Route du Bray.

(1) Turn left onto Route du Bray and pass under the railway line.

(2) Immediately turn right onto the farm track which runs alongside the railway line, then moves away from it, goes round a small copse and leads to a T-junction.

(3). Turn left. At the junction (elevation 166), go straight on.

(4) Take the^first path on the right, which runs between two fields. Follow the edge of a small copse and carry on straight ahead until you reach the D150.

(5) Carefully join the road on the right and continue for about 350 m until you reach the small road heading towards Orcemont.

(6) Follow this, then after about 400 m, you’ll come to a path on the left

(7) Leave the tarmac road and continue along this path (^PR®, marked in yellow) for 3 km, ignoring any side paths on either side.

(8) At the crossroads, turn left then immediately right and walk alongside the Drouette (do not cross the bridge). The path passes close to a wash house, then comes out onto a street near the village of Orphin.

(9) Take the road on the right for 50 metres, then leave it to take a steep path which climbs for about a hundred metres. Turn left onto the small road leading to the D150.

(10) Avoid the departmental road by turning right onto the cycle path which runs alongside the D150 behind a hedge. At the end of the path, cross the road carefully to rejoin a yellow-marked^PR® path which leads into the woods.

(11) Follow this path, which runs straight on for about 1.2 km.

(12) Continue left on the^{PR® path}, passing a ruined tower on your left and then some large old villas on your right.

(13) When you reach Villa Léon, take the road on the right and walk alongside the tall poplars. As the road veers off to the left, carry on straight ahead along the path, skirting the large grounds of Château de Sauvage until you come to a road; take this to the right for 100 m until you reach the castle gates.

(14) Take the Route d’Émancé opposite the château for 50 metres, then take the small street on the left which leads uphill. Leave this street when it turns left, and continue straight on along the^PR®-marked path, which crosses a wooded area and then descends to the Route d’Émancé below on the right. Follow it for a few metres to the left.

(15) At the sign for Émancé, take the path on the right, cross two small bridges (without railings) and follow the Drouette stream to the left until you reach the road.

(16) Turn right onto Rue de Rambouillet, which climbs and, after a hairpin bend, leads to a junction.

(17) Follow the path branching off to the right for 300 metres until you reach a junction.

(18) Turn left^, following the^GR® markings^. Walk alongside a paddock and emerge onto a small road. Continue straight ahead until you reach the junction.

(19) Take the road on the right (Rue de Gazeran) and follow it for 800 metres until you reach the corner where two woods and two cultivated plots face each other (there is also a house on the right-hand side).

(20) Join the^GR® path on the left, which runs alongside the woodland. Follow it until you come out onto a road after a very damp stretch between two fences.

(21) Follow the road to the right for about 500 m until you reach a bend to the right.

(22) Turn left onto the track, then immediately right. Pass through a small hamlet, following the^GR® signposts, and head down a path to rejoin the road at the railway line. Go under the bridge and reach the hamlet of La Bellanderie.

(23) Turn right after the first house onto the^GR® path and follow it to the Étang de Saint-Hilarion.

(24) Carry on straight ahead on the^GR®, which follows the Guéville stream and climbs alongside the extensive grounds of the Château de Voisins.

(25) At the far end of the château’s ponds on your left, turn right and continue along the edge of the estate. Pass under the railway bridge, turn left and pass under the railway line a^second time. Follow the path until you reach the Haut de Gazeran.

(26) Carry on straight ahead along Rue du Haut de Gazeran. At the junction, turn right onto a small path that leads down to La Guéville. Take the path on the right before the bridge that runs alongside the river. You’ll reach the village hall and then Gazeran Town Hall, which is opposite it (S/E).