From Étréchy to Lardy via the Juine Valley

Starting point and access: Étréchy station.
- RER - Line C, on the section between Paris and Étampes.
Take Exit 2, Rue de Vintue, on the side of Platform 1B, the platform for trains travelling from Paris to Étampes (if arriving from the opposite direction, use the underpass).

No signposting

(S) On leaving the station, follow Rue de Vintue to the right. At the stop sign, turn left into Rue de Gravelles. At the next stop sign, turn right into Rue Albert^Ier. At the end, turn right into the tunnel under the railway line (narrow passage).

(1) As you exit the tunnel, turn left and walk alongside a car park. Continue along a path and walk alongside a lawn on your right. Take a footbridge over a stream, turn right and walk alongside the stream and allotments on your left. Go through a gate and you will come out onto Avenue d’Orléans.

Red and white + yellow markings

(2) Follow the avenue to the left. At the roundabout, keep left and stay on the left-hand pavement of the avenue.

Red and white markings

Cross Impasse Saint-Nicolas on the left and go under the railway line again (narrow but safe passage).

Red and white + blue markings

Pass the first roundabout on your right, cross Allée des Aunettes at the pedestrian crossing and continue straight ahead on a tarmac path running parallel to the road. Go under a road bridge and go round a second roundabout on the left. Cross Rue des Tulipiers then Route de Saint-Fiacre (D148). Follow this road to the left for about fifty metres. Then turn right onto a small road with a 30 km/h speed limit. Reach the River Juine and follow it on your right.

(3) Cross the Juine via an old stone bridge and go round the old Moulin de Vaux on the right. The street turns left and runs alongside a disused brick building. At the T-junction, follow the D148 to the right and enter Auvers-sur-Orge. After about 100 metres, cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and continue along the left-hand pavement.

Red and Yellow + Blue markings

At the roundabout, turn left onto the D17 towards Lardy. Walk through the village to No. 31bis.

(4) Then turn right onto Ruelle aux Anglais and head gently uphill.

Red and Yellow + Yellow Markings

At the first junction, turn left onto a gravel path which soon gives way to a track running alongside horse pastures. Further on, you’ll return to tarmac. Cross a small road and continue straight ahead onto a gravel path.

Red and yellow + yellow + blue markings

After about a hundred metres, at a three-way junction, turn right onto Chemin de la Rue du Bois. Follow this grassy path along a fence on the left, then between the fields.

Red and yellow markings

(5) You’ll come out onto a small road; follow it to the left, slightly downhill. Ignore a street on the right and continue along the Chemin des Motillons. At the T-junction, turn right.

Red and yellow + blue + yellow markings

At the roundabout, take the^first left onto Rue des Écoles. You’ll reach a junction (church on the left).

(6) Cross at the pedestrian crossing on the right, then cross a small square. Continue along Rue Fontaine (beautiful gate at no. 1). Wind your way along this narrow lane. At no. 24B, turn left onto Sente des Dames (a fairly wide lane). At the end, turn right onto a very narrow path between two walls. At the end, turn left. At the next junction, turn right onto Rue du Cimetière.

Red and Yellow + Blue markings

(7) At the junction, turn left. Further on, go round a roundabout on the left and turn left onto Rue du Moulin, which slopes gently downwards. After the last houses, continue along the tarmac road to a junction (old mill opposite on the left).

No markings

In November 2021, the road taken to the left by the signposted routes was blocked after about 1 km and it was absolutely impossible for pedestrians to pass. On site, the end of the works (bridge repairs) was announced for July 2021...

(8) Continue straight ahead along a small road, leaving the old mill on your left. Pass the sign for the exit from Auvers-sur-Orge, ignore a road coming from the right and pass the sign for the entrance to Gillevoisin. Keep going straight ahead.

Red and white + red and yellow markings

(9) At the stop sign, turn left onto Rue de Chamarande and cross the Juine. Ignore a path on the right and you will come to a T-junction with the D 146.

No markings

(10) Follow the road to the right, preferably on the right-hand verge (better visibility). Cross the access road to Château de Gillevoisin and take a tarmac path to the right of the D 146 that runs parallel to it. Enter Lardy and continue straight on along the D 146. At number 56, turn left towards the RER station and head up Rue du Bois Michelet.

(11) At the end, for those who wish, turn left onto Rue de la Roche qui Tourne. Go straight on and, after the last houses, you will find the rock in question by the railway line.

(12) Retrace your steps.

(11) Continue straight ahead along the street. Ignore a street coming from the right. Just after the police station, turn left and head uphill to reach the car park at Lardy station. Cross the car park to reach the station and access the tracks (E).

To get back home:
- RER - Line C, towards Étampes (direct access) or Paris (use the underpass).

Train timetables: please check the Transilien website.

For motorists:
Park in the car park at one of the two stations and take the train for either the outward or return journey. The car park at Lardy station (on the side of platform 1B, Paris-Étampes direction) is recommended as it is larger and easier to access.

Good walking shoes are sufficient for this hike.

No water points identified along the route. Bar-tobacconist opposite Lardy station. Shops in Étréchy and Lardy.

Gate opening hours (2): 07:00–20:00.

Warning:
Hikers are advised that this route is mainly on tarmac.

A 1:25,000 map is useful (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Hike undertaken by the author on 18 November 2021.

- Passes through pretty villages.
- The old Vaux Mill on the banks of the Juine (3).
- Church of Auvers-Saint-Georges.
- Old mill on the River Juine (8).
- La Roche qui Tourne (12).