Thilay’s historic wash house route

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A beautiful route in the Semoy Valley at Thilay and its hamlets, focusing on the heritage of old wash houses and fountains. These 19th- and early 20th-century buildings allowed residents to collect water and wash their clothes. Two types of wash house can be seen on this route: vaulted structures resting on the rock on the hillside, or those built from schist slabs in the village.

Details

n°23025918
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.95 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 222 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 225 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 229 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 149 m
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Photos

Bridge over the Semoy
Along the Semoy
The Naux footbridge
Church square - start of the hike

Description of the walk

Parking at the starting point: Place de l'Église in front of the village hall or nearby in the adjacent streets.

(S/E) In front of the church, turn left into Rue des Paquis, then left into Rue Marie Bonnefoy. Follow the path to the Voie Trans-Semoysienne.

(1) Turn right and after 500 m climb up to the Lavoir - Grotte de la Roche.

(2) From the Lavoir - Grotte de la Roche, stay on the small path to the right until you reach Thilay and head to the Neuve Fontaine, 20 m up the hill on the left. You can view the exhibition by collecting the key from the Café de la Semoy opposite the town hall

(3) From La Neuve Fontaine, head downhill, turn left and cross the D31 with care. Take Rue du Moulin opposite and, at the war memorial, turn left onto the road (Rue de la Roche) leading up to the cemetery. After 200 m, take the sharp left-hand bend and continue to a fork in the road.

(4) Head left and go round to the back of the cemetery. Take the path on the right and follow the signs to the Lavoir Pasteur.

(5) At the wash house, turn back towards the rear of the cemetery.

(4) Turn left and then, after 100 m, turn left again at the small bridge and follow the path uphill tothe GR®16(red and white markings).

(6) Follow it to the right, pass the Source du Charnois water intake and arrive at the Moulin de Naux.

(7) Cross the Pont du Moulin and follow the path running parallel to the Trans-Semoysienne route to the waterfall on the Ruisseau de Nantanru.

(8) Leave theGR® and take the Trans-Semoysienne path to the Grotte de Nohan wash house, follow the yellowPR® markings and follow the signposts along the edge of the path. At elevation 157, turn left towards the wash house.

(9) From the Grotte de Nohan wash house, turn around and return to the Voie Trans-Semoysienne, cross it and take the path towards Nohan. Turn right into Nohan and continue to the bridge over the Semoy on the D31 heading towards Thilay.

(10) Immediately after the bridge, turn left and then straight away right onto the path leading up towards Les Hays.

(11) At the top, at the junction, take the path leading up to the right towards Thilay. Cross the formerGR®16and continue straight on towards Thilay, passing under the high-voltage power line.

(12) At the Narbruay water tower, continue straight on to return to the church (S/E) after crossing the bridge over the Semoy.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 152 m - Church square
  2. 1 : km 0.96 - alt. 152 m - Junction on the Trans-Semoysienne route
  3. 2 : km 1.57 - alt. 172 m - La Roche wash house
  4. 3 : km 1.81 - alt. 167 m - Neuve Fontaine
  5. 4 : km 2.63 - alt. 185 m - T-junction for the return route to the wash house
  6. 5 : km 2.95 - alt. 170 m - Pasteur wash house
  7. 6 : km 4.47 - alt. 223 m - Le Charnois. GR16
  8. 7 : km 5.7 - alt. 162 m - The Moulin de Naux. La Gire stream
  9. 8 : km 6.57 - alt. 170 m - Nantanru Stream Waterfall
  10. 9 : km 8.34 - alt. 165 m - Washing place – Nohan Cave
  11. 10 : km 9.55 - alt. 160 m - Nohan Bridge over the La - Semoy (rivière)
  12. 11 : km 10.13 - alt. 214 m - Les Hays junction
  13. 12 : km 10.92 - alt. 190 m - Narbruay Water Tower
  14. S/E : km 11.95 - alt. 152 m - Church square

Notes

Watering hole at the cemetery.
Walking shoes.

Worth a visit

On the route through the hamlet of Naux with its footbridge.
Picnic tables available.
Here you can see swans, herons, egrets and barnacle geese.
Nantanru Waterfalls.
Beaver nesting boxes before the Lavoir Grotte de la Roche.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Downloads
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Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 5 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
User 22250407

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

It's a great walk, definitely worth doing.

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ArinaTomberg
ArinaTomberg

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A delightful walk along forest paths and the RaVel, with gentle ascents and descents. The charm of the walk is enhanced by the old wash houses, restored by enthusiasts. In the Neuve Fontaine wash house, you can see the traditional equipment used in the past for washing clothes. The views of the Semois are magnificent: here, close to its confluence with the Meuse, the river is surprisingly wide and peaceful, contrasting with its wilder and more torrential course in the Belgian Ardennes. Please note that the Naux footbridge will be closed for restoration from March 2025 until the end of the works. Benches at points 7 and 8.

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Bretagne22
Bretagne22

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a lovely walk with no particular difficulties. We visited two wash houses along the way, as we changed route at point 3 to avoid the tarmac road leading to point 4. We climbed above point 3, passed through Wachelot, reached La Blossette (where you can eat every day except Monday and Tuesday, with a rather original bar) and joined the GR 16, passing above the source of La Blossette and resuming the original route at point 6.
There was tarmac again on the Transsemoisiène, but in the end it wasn't a problem and we continued on to Nohan and the planned route.

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fzutterman
fzutterman

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 25, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It may not be the most scenic walk in this area, but it has the advantage of being easy (with little elevation gain). The wash houses are interesting (look at the water seeping through the rock at the wash house at point 2!). The description is a little vague at point 4. We followed a path “leading up to the GR16”, but it wasn’t the one marked on the map accompanying the description (the route suggests following the stream, but we couldn’t find that path). The path we followed leads straight to point 6. It isn’t on the IGN map, but it’s the most obvious one.

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lebrun patrick
lebrun patrick

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route
Best avoided in wet weather

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jpconson
jpconson

I haven't used this route yet.
The ones I’ve used so far haven’t been satisfactory

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