Canal, woods and ponds in Ploegsteert

Park on Place de la Rabecque in Ploegsteert.

(S/E) Join the N 365, Rue d'Armentières, and follow it south towards Armentières.
After a good hundred metres, turn right into Rue Sainte-Marie.
Ignore the street on the left and continue to a fork. Turn right onto Chemin des Alouettes. Pass a farm on the right and continue to a T-junction near another farm.

(1) Turn left and, after 300 metres, you will reach another T-junction.
Then turn right onto a wide path, which is very damaged after the field work. After this difficult passage, you will reach a small road.

(2) Turn left onto Chemin Mitoyen: Frontière. At the end, turn left, then immediately right onto Rue Clef de Hollande. You will reach the junction with Chemin du Pont de Nieppe.

(3) Turn left onto this road. After the houses, the road becomes a good path and eventually reaches Rue de la Lys.

(4) Continue straight ahead on Sentier de la Planche. Turn left before reaching a crossroads. Then turn right onto Rue Albert Ier and continue to Rue Marc Sangnier. Follow this road straight ahead, looking out for a small lane on the left.

(5) Follow this small path to cross the beautiful green space. Continue straight ahead for as long as possible, then turn right into the passageway with wooden flooring. At the end of the first duckboard, turn right and join Avenue Léon Blum. (This part is difficult to describe, but the OpenStreetMap world map is very accurate).
On 24 November 2023, the water was very high and lapped at the boards, giving the impression of walking on water: not unpleasant!
Cross the avenue and take the path opposite for about 50 metres until you reach a fork.

(6) Then turn left to reach a beautiful pond (Étang Bleu) and walk around it (I went to the right, but you can, of course, do the opposite).
Back at the fork, turn left and continue through the green space to Rue des Marronniers. Follow it a few metres to the left before turning right onto a good path that passes behind the houses and then runs alongside the cemetery. Reach the southern end of the cemetery.

(7) Turn right, pass in front of the cemetery entrance and, a few metres further on, turn left into a small lane. You will soon reach Rue Denis Cordonnier. Follow it straight ahead until you reach a T-junction.

(8) Turn right. A little further on, turn right again and finally, take a sharp left turn to cross the canal on the beautiful Pont Bayard bridge, which is closed to cars. At the end of the bridge, go down to the left to join the towpath and find the^GR® 121B.
Follow the canal eastwards to the^fourth bridge, not counting the Bayard Bridge. After the lock, the path becomes wooded and very pleasant.

(9) Pass under this bridge, then immediately turn right to join the departmental road. Follow it on the right to cross the canal. Continue on this road, taking the left-hand pavement, until you reach a fork.
Turn right and continue until you reach the ponds.

(10) Turn onto the path on the right to pass between the ponds. At the end of the ponds, turn left and join a small road.

(11) Follow it for a moment on the right, then turn left into Rue de la Briqueterie. There are boats on the right, and you will reach a T-junction facing a pond.
Turn right to walk along the pond, stay on the small road, Chemin du Bon Coin, to arrive near the main road.

(12) Take the beautiful path on the left (barrier) and join the road.
Then turn left to pass under the ring road. Be careful here: this is an unpleasant section with cars and lorries, but it is short. Just after the bridge, turn right and cross the slip road to join a small road. Be careful here: above all, do not take the slip road.

(13) Follow this small road on the right. Pass in front of a farm and, shortly after, take the road on the left. Pass a crossroads, ignore a road on the left and reach another crossroads.

(14) Then take the beautiful path on the left. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead, then ignore the road on the left, with a view of a pretty pond on the left. You will reach the military cemetery. Go to the memorial.

(15) Turn left to walk along the cemetery, then cross the remains of trenches and join a wide path. Follow it to the right, this is the^GRP® Monts des Flandres, towards the Bois de Ploegstert.
Ignore the paths that branch off to the left into the woods and continue straight ahead on the^GRP® to reach the N365.

(16) Follow it for a few metres on the left before turning right into Rue du Petit Pont. Follow this road until you find a path on the right with a barrier. Take this slippery path which climbs steeply into the woods. At the top, at the edge of the woods, find a path in the middle of the fields (very wet on 24 November: water up to mid-shoe height in places) which joins a wide track. Follow this track on the left and you will come to a T-junction. Turn left and descend via a fairly slippery path into the woods. You will come to the junction with Rue du Petit Pont.

(17) Take the Plugstreet 3 path opposite. Then continue along the Chemin des Vaches. You will then come to the N 365. Follow it to the right and you will come to the Place de la Rabecque car park (S/E).

Caution: difficult passages after (2) and after (16). Make sure you wear sturdy footwear. Walking poles are also useful.
(10) Note: there is an access point on the left from where you can see the largest pond.
(11) Just after the pond, there is a lovely picnic area in a charming spot.

Christmas Truce Monument
Christmas Truce