Route of the churches and their porches, starting from Livilliers

Start and finish: Livilliers car park, Rue de la Chaise, opposite the town hall and near the church.

(S/E) On leaving the car park, turn right. Shortly afterwards, when the main road (D79) bends to the right, carry on straight ahead along Rue du Moulin.

(1) On leaving the village, carry on straight ahead along Rue de la Comblaise, passing the cemetery. Stay on this small road for about 2.5 km. After passing two large trees visible from a distance, you’ll reach a fork in the road.

(2) Leave the road and take a track on the left. You’ll come out onto a small road; follow it to the left. Pass through the hamlet and past the Mézières farm. At the end of the tarmac, continue along a track between the fields. Pass some sheds on the right-hand side and reach a junction.

(3) Then head up the path on the left. At the end, turn right. After about fifty metres, when the main path turns left, go straight on (^PR® marked in yellow) and follow a hedge. At the end of the path, turn right onto the Chemin de la Vieille Rue.

(4) You will immediately come out onto the main road in Épiais-Rhus, the D64, and follow it to the left along the pavement. Cross Rue Saint-Didier on your left, then Route de Rhus on your right, and follow the signs for Grisy/Marines whilst staying on the pavement. At the next junction, turn left onto Rue des Bruyères.

(5) At the crossroads opposite the cemetery, turn sharply right and head up a sunken path (^PR®). Cross the D64 and follow the Sente du Moulin opposite. After about a hundred metres, veer left and leave the^PR® behind, which continues straight on. Follow a footpath uphill and pass through the hamlet of Le Moulin (a lovely house). Then enter a woodland and continue straight on (west-north-west). As you emerge from the woodland, pass a playground on your left and reach the Grisy cemetery.

(6) Continue straight on along Rue de l’Isle. At the end, turn left onto Rue de Berval, following the^GR®1(red and white markings). Join the main street of Grisy-les-Plâtres, Rue du Vexin, and follow it to the left. Take the^first right, Rue de l’Église.

(7) After about fifty metres, turn left to cross the church forecourt (information signs). On the other side, you’ll come out onto Rue Robert Machy; follow it to the left. Ignore the first two streets on the left and take the^third on the left, Rue Butelle, following it for about thirty metres.

(8) Then turn right onto a narrow path (take care to spot this turn-off; follow the^GR® markings closely). After crossing a field, the path enters a woodland offering lovely views over the Vexin. Further on, ignore a turn-off to the left and enter Épiais-Rhus via the Sente de Butard. At the end, turn right into Rue des Bruyères, then immediately left into Rue du Pressoir (leaving the^GR®1).

(9) Take the^first right into Rue de l’Église and walk past the church. At the end, turn right into Rue Saint-Didier. Take the^first left, Rue de la Vanne, and rejoin the^GR®1. Turn right, then left as the road bends, and continue along a path. At the edge of a wood, ignore a path branching off to the right and you’ll soon reach a junction between the fields.

(10) Then turn left, still following the^GR®1, and head south-east.

(11) At the T-junction, turn right onto the^GR® (markings on the ground). Head due south, skirting the copses on your left.

(12) At the junction, go straight on and cross through a copse. Follow the^GR® south-east and ignore all side paths. You’ll emerge onto the forecourt of Livilliers church. Turn left and you’ll immediately see the starting car park on your right (S/E).

Shops available only in Grisy-les-Plâtres: café, bakery.

In the hamlet of Mézières, between (2) and (3), a scallop shell is carved into a farmhouse porch.

The porches of the churches in Livilliers (S/E) and Épiais Rhus.

Combine this with a visit to the Grisy flower market (enquire at the town hall).

From late March to early April, between (8) and (S/E), the woods are ablaze with daffodils!