In the deep forest, from Valprofonde to Corvisard

The starting point is Place de l'Église Notre-Dame-des-Bois, in the centre of the hamlet of Valprofonde. Please note that there is no water or food available at this location.

Parking is available under the lime trees or, if it is busy, in the field below the church.

(S/E) With your back to the church, turn left onto the D232, then immediately left onto Rue Notre-Dame des Bois to descend to the bottom of the valley and cross the Ru Galant.

(1) Take Chemin des Grelots on the left, then immediately right onto the small road that goes up to the cemetery. Enter through the small gate to fill your water bottle at the tap near the entrance, which is open.

(2) Otherwise, continue climbing and take the first path on the left, where the tarmac ends. Continue along this path until the next crossroads.

(3) Follow the gravel path that climbs to the right, crossing an agricultural area called "Les Champs de la Grange".

(4) At the crossroads, enter the forest and continue along the path until you pass under the high-voltage power line, then arrive at the Route de Flandres.

(5) Cross it and continue along the path. On the left, there is a large shallow pond: the pond, between the trees, is dry if the summer is dry, and then turns into a wet meadow. It is full of water in spring. Continue along the path to the road, at Cerisier Enté, which joins La Tuilerie to Les Fourneaux.

(6) Take this road on the right. Leave it when it turns, continuing straight ahead on the path.

(7) Ignore the path on the left, towards the Haie Traverse, and continue towards the woods. Continue along the edge of the woods until you reach a large farm track on the right, which enters the Bois de Corvisard.

(8) Follow this road until you reach the Route de Flandres, opposite the Corvisard barrier. Beyond the barrier and the "Bois de Corvisart" sign, there is a majestic double avenue of old lime trees. This is private property comprising a house, a tower and a pond. Do not enter.

(9) Take the road on the right, then immediately left at the entrance to the forest path. Continue down this long path through the beautiful, wild forest, staying on the public path. You will need to make a detour and descend into the valley. At one point, the path passes under the high-voltage power line before emerging into the fields of the valley. The path follows the edge of the woods, then crosses the fields (at a place called La Petite Madeleine) to reach the road from Valprofonde to Les Brûleries.

(10) Turn right. After a few hundred metres, you will pass an enclosure and a small building that houses a spring tapped for the needs of the Sénonais. The stream that flows out of it and emerges into the open air under the bridge on the other side of the road is drinkable at this point. A little further on, the road passes in front of a pond that is usually dry (wet meadow), except in winter or after heavy rain. It can be seen through a hedge. It was once used as a fish pond.

(11) Take Chemin de la Prierie on the right, which continues straight ahead, while the road turns to the left.

(1) When the Ru Galant rejoins the path, take the street on the left and you will find the Notre-Dame-des-Bois Church (S/E).

The clay plateau is very muddy when it has rained or during the wet season. Bring boots if this is the case.

You can refill your water bottles at the start of the trail, in the cemetery. Go ahead, the gate is open all summer. The tap is next to the entrance.

The stream flowing from the spring at the end of the trail is the second water supply on the trail – or the first if you take the trail in the opposite direction.

The woods are private property, so do not venture more than a few metres from the marked path, which is public. Do not take any other paths, as they are often dead ends. Wildlife needs peace and quiet, and the best way to help nature is to observe it from the main path! Please keep your dogs on a leash from 15 April to the end of July: this is the wildlife breeding season.

The woods are actively hunted, so do not walk there without caution during the hunting season.

The Notre-Dame des Bois church, the Buisson-Souef manor house, 200 metres to the left when you arrive at (5), and the Corvisard tower near (9) are the most remarkable buildings near the route.

At the start of the forest path that descends from Corvisard towards the valley, admire the large oak trees, two of which are particularly remarkable: one with "three brothers" and another with "four brothers". The latter faces a beautiful large pond.

The Notre-Dame-des-Bois Church is sometimes open for exhibitions.

There is a restaurant in the village of Les Bordes and another, more recent one in the centre of Dixmont. And, of course, there are restaurants in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne.

A geological curiosity can be found at a place called "Le Sucré" near the road from Valprofonde to Les Brûleries, a little further than the (10) after the course: the Rubignon, an active stream, suddenly disappears into the ground. It then reappears as Ru Galant, roughly at the level of the captured source.

A little north of Les Bordes, La Roche au Diable is a site with a fountain and large sandstone rocks.

La Tuilerie de Talouan is a seminar centre with a large estate, orchards, ponds and woods. To the north-west of the point (6), by road.