Pierrefitte-en-Auge and Saint-Hymer

Hike starting from Pierrefitte-en-Auge and passing through Saint-Hymer.

Details

n°145531

Creation:
19 Aug 2015

Last update:
23 Jan 2024

Last review:
01 Jul 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 9.31 mi
Average duration: 4h 50
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 623 ft
Descent: - 607 ft
Highest point: 443 ft
Lowest point: 141 ft

Country: France
City: Pierrefitte-en-Auge (14130)
Start/End: N 49.258639° / E 0.201351°
IGN map(s): Ref. 1711OT, 1712SB
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Description of the walk

Park in the car park of the church and town hall of Pierrefitte.

(S/E) Take the road south, then on leaving the village, follow Chemin de la Grande Fontaine on the right. Continue, leaving the paths on your right, until you reach Chemin Rural and continue south.

(1) Turn right onto Chemin des Grieux and continue uphill. Cross the hamlet of La Froide Rue.

(2) After 400 metres, turn left. After 250 metres, turn right and continue for 250 metres.

(3) Turn right, then immediately left onto the road heading north. After 700 m, take the path heading north towards Champs du Bocage, passing under a power line.

(4) At the T-junction, turn left.

(5) At the next T-junction, turn left again (south). At the fork, turn right onto Chemin les Pétions. At the next fork, turn right again to head towards point 121 on the map and the Hauvel area.

(6) Turn left onto Chemin du lieu Hauvel, then at point 124 on the map, turn right, then right again and after 100 metres, turn left to continue straight ahead.

(7) Take this road north, leaving a road on your left. After 200 metres, leave the road on your right, then after 300 metres, leave the road on your left at the top of the hill and turn right towards the Calvary.

(8) At the crossroads, turn left, then continue straight ahead for 700 metres, then turn right to join the road that descends to Saint-Hymer. Be careful when leaving the path, turn left to reach the car park of the church of Saint-Hymer.

(9) Take the path above the car park and pass in front of the village hall. Continue on your right through the Bois de Gassard to reach the Calvary of Croix Poulain.

(10) Cross the Saint-Hymer road (take care) by first turning right then left and continuing east-south-east for 300 metres.

(5) Turn left onto the path you took at the start of the hike.

(4) At point 119 on the map, leave the path you took on the way there, which branches off to the right, and continue straight ahead. After 150 m, turn left (north). Then turn right onto the D280a road.

(11) Take the path on your left. After a descent, turn right and, at the T-junction that follows, turn right. This will take you back to the church and town hall of Pierrefitte-en-Auge (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : mi 0 - alt. 210 ft - Church/town hall car park
1 : mi 1.11 - alt. 144 ft - Chemin des Grieux
2 : mi 1.81 - alt. 440 ft - Turn left
3 : mi 2.16 - alt. 440 ft - Crossroads
4 : mi 3.02 - alt. 387 ft - Cote 119
5 : mi 3.32 - alt. 384 ft - T-junction
6 : mi 4.2 - alt. 397 ft - Crossroads at elevation 121
7 : mi 5.26 - alt. 276 ft - Les Epinettes
8 : mi 6.23 - alt. 361 ft - Croix de la Bruyère
9 : mi 6.82 - alt. 207 ft - Passing in front of the village hall
10 : mi 7.61 - alt. 371 ft - Carrefour de la Croix Poulain
11 : mi 8.68 - alt. 331 ft - Path on the left
S/E : mi 9.31 - alt. 210 ft - Church/town hall car park

Worth a visit

You can visit the cemetery in Saint-Hymer to see the tomb of "La mère Denis", who was made famous by a television advert for a brand of electrical appliances.

Reviews and comments

4 / 5

Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.4 / 5

Ease of following the route
4 / 5

Route interest
4.4 / 5

User 7817479

01 Jul 2025 at 08:26 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The GPX app is essential and very effective for tracking your hike. The description alone is insufficient, but we know it's not easy...
Be careful, the Chemin des Grieux at the start of the hike is overgrown with brambles: take the field on the left and climb towards the forest, which you will reach after crossing a bramble patch with a small trail...

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Lui Moi

20 May 2024 at 11:46 7200

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The description is random, the left and right turns every 100 metres serve no purpose except to confuse us. We did the hike using the .GPX file, which is very reliable.
There are beautiful landscapes and beautiful houses, but the first hill after 2 km is difficult in wet weather and the ground is slippery.
We stopped for lunch in the little village of Saint-Hymer, which was a complete waste of time.

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Monster59co

27 Jun 2022 at 21:43 7200

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 27, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

There are numerous markings, but you should not follow any of them. The commentary provides too many details, mentioning paths to the left and right, and it is unclear at which point on the route they are located. We therefore followed the map and did not go wrong.

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Gillou35

27 May 2021 at 19:28 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We completed both circular loops on two separate days.
We preferred the Pierrefitte-en-Auge loop, with its harmonious Norman architecture.
The animals we encountered along the way delighted the youngest hikers.
Thank you for the route.

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Conqué

21 May 2021 at 22:53 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route that takes you through some beautiful parts of the Pays d'Auge. A few beautiful houses, cows, horses, not too many tarmac roads. The parish churches of St Hymer and Pierrefitte are very photogenic.
Thank you for the walk!

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benoitrando

27 Apr 2018 at 11:30 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 24, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

There was a minor issue with the reliability of the description at the start of the route, which in my opinion was not due to JJD14 but certainly to a small change on the ground. On site, the Chemin des Grieux is not marked as shown on the map.
I turned right onto Chemin des Grieux as indicated in the description and on the sign at the start of the path, but at the top of the slope, there was no longer any correspondence. In fact, on site, Chemin des Grieux is indicated by a sign at the first path on the right just after the wash house, and if you look at the map, you should ignore it and go straight ahead and take the second path, which is indicated on the map as Chemin des Grieux.
Point 7 can also cause problems: two right turns?
At point 124, just note that you need to turn right and take the second path on the left.
Point 8 can also be confusing.
halfway up, there is a Y-shaped crossroads; take the path that turns 180 degrees to the right to reach the Calvary of the Bruyère Cross.

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bibi

28 Jun 2017 at 12:27 7200

Thank you for your feedback. Please feel free to let us know what improvements could be made to the description so that someone with your profile can find their way around.
To help you find your way, there is also the Visorando app.
Kind regards

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FLO61

28 Jun 2017 at 09:00 7200

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 20, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

This review is from a beginner (first hike with a guide) who has no sense of direction, hence my average rating of the Visorando guide. But this experience has made me want to go hiking on other trails. We made several mistakes, so we had to backtrack several times, but the important thing is that we enjoyed discovering the bocage.

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JJD14

30 May 2017 at 15:37 7200

Hello phidel27
Thank you for your comments on this hike
See you soon

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phildel27

30 May 2017 at 13:45 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 11, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Nice hike, just be careful with the local markings!

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JJD14

11 Apr 2017 at 20:49 7200

Good evening, jlg95
Thank you for your comments on this hike, which you enjoyed so much.
See you soon

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jlg95

11 Apr 2017 at 19:56 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 09, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A varied route: Woods/Meadows/through the villages of Pierrefitte and St Hymer.
Views of green landscapes and flowers at this time of year.
Peace and quiet and birdsong await you!
Very reasonable time and distance.
No particular difficulty.

A good hike.