From Beynes to Verneuil-sur-Seine via the Étang d'Abbecourt

Starting point and access: Beynes station.
- Transilien - Line N, on the section between Plaisir-Grignon and Mantes-la-Jolie.
Take the only exit, on the side of platform 1 (towards Mantes-la-Jolie from Plaisir-Grignon). If arriving in the opposite direction, on platform 2, cross the tracks at the designated crossing, observing the traffic lights.

Signposting: Yellow + Green and Yellow
Signposting is generally sparse; it is virtually non-existent between the fields due to a lack of support structures.

(S) On leaving the station, follow Avenue de la Gare to the left. At the stop sign, turn left and cross the railway tracks at the level crossing. Turn right and head up a small road. Just before the top of the hill, leave the road and take a farm track uphill to the left.

(1) After about 75m, take the first path on the left (no signpost here). Head north along the hillside, cross a small road and continue along the path opposite. Continue northwards, skirting fenced gardens on the left and climbing slightly (beautiful view of the valley at the top of the hill). Head back down, ignoring a few paths branching off to the left. Then ignore a path coming from the right (barrier) and continue downhill. At the bottom, follow a small road to the left.

(2) At the crossroads, turn sharply right and follow Rue de la Vallée. Cross the Ru de Gally and leave La Maladrerie. When the road turns right, continue straight on along a gravel track with a 30 km/h speed limit. Climb, keeping to the right of a hedge and then a field. Pass a riding centre.

(3) At the crossroads, two gravel tracks lie ahead: take the one on the left which continues to climb, between two hedges. Then cross a small wood. After skirting a hedge on your right, at a junction (elevation 117), continue straight ahead. Walk north-east between the fields and descend to the D307 road.

(4) Cross the road (take care, as it is a busy road) and continue along the path opposite (EDF substation). Walk alongside an orchard on your right. At the end of the path, cross a small road, continue straight ahead on a gravel track and walk alongside a low wall on your left. Note the gate to Château de Boulémont on your left.

(5) The track continues through private property (meadow and horse stables on the left): turn left onto a narrow path that winds between two hedges. Follow this path, which is overgrown with vegetation (some brambles, some nettles, etc.), and continue along a wider path that climbs through the undergrowth.

(6) At the top of the hill, at a crossroads, take the first path on the right: there are two options on the right; the first simply bypasses a flooded section of the second path before joining it further on. At a three-way junction, take the path on the right (two^PR®® trails split here). Walk eastwards through fairly dark and damp woodland, ignoring vague paths branching off to the sides (the ‘Private Property’ signs apply to the woodland). You’ll emerge onto the D198 (barrier).

(7) Cross the road (take care) and follow it to the right. After 150m, at a clearing in the woods, turn left onto a track (not shown on the map) and follow a grassy area on your right. At the edge of a field, the track turns right (marker on a tree) and gives way to a path running along the edge of the field on your left (please respect the crops) and the woodland on your right. At the end of the path, turn left onto a wider track at the edge of the forest.

Yellow + Orange markings

(8) At the junction (forest gate on the right), continue straight ahead. Walk north-east between fields and woods. Cross a small road (you can’t miss the telecommunications centre on the left). Continue straight ahead along a gravel track which soon gives way to a path winding along the edge of a field or hedge (on the left) and a wood (on the right). After just under 1 km, turn right into the wood.

Yellow markings

(9) At the next three-way junction, take the path on the right (ignore the orange markings leading left). The path winds at first, then turns left and descends steeply. At a T-junction, make a zigzag turn left then right. Walk along the bottom of a small valley through pleasant undergrowth of ferns and note a parallel path on the right, which is falling into disuse as it is too damp. You will reach a triangular junction of paths (to the right, a possible return trip to Étang d’Abbecourt with picnic tables).

N.B. According to the IGN map, you are supposed to follow the^GR®®1from this point: this is not the case; the junction with the^GR®® is further on, and the purple route on the map has not been updated.

(10) Continue north-east and, at a fork in the road, turn right. On the right-hand side, you can make out a pond through the branches, then walk alongside a boundary wall. Pass through a forest gate and turn right into a small lane.

Orange markings

(11) At the end, turn left onto Rue de la Verte Salle. At No. 497 (a beautiful gate), turn left and head uphill along a gravel path lined with houses (no entry except for residents).

(12) Cross the D45 on leaving Orgeval (take care) and continue straight ahead onto Rue de la Vente Bertine. Go straight on, due north, ignoring all side roads, whether marked on the map or not (construction zone). Head downhill, following a wall on your left. At the bottom, ignore a street on the right followed by a cul-de-sac, and turn left.

(13) At the junction (with a beautiful gate on the right), go straight on along Rue de l’Orme Gauthier. At the stop sign, follow the D69 to the right. At the junction (elevation 124), take the first street on the left, Chemin du Moulin à Vent. After a few metres, ignore Rue du Champ Ferré on the left and continue due north. The tarmac soon gives way to gravel. Ignore a path branching off to the left and walk alongside a riding school on your right.

Red and white markings

(14) At the next junction, continue straight on (north) along the gravel path between the fields, following the^GR®®1and^GR®®26(look for markings further on, on a small isolated tree on the right-hand side). At the junction (elevation 85), go straight on again, cross a stream and reach the D113.

(15) Cross the road (take care, as it is very busy) and continue along the road opposite. Pass under the A13 motorway bridge and climb up to the entrance to Bures.

(16) At the junction, turn left into Rue de la Crette and continue slightly uphill (here too, the purple route has not been updated on the map: due to the narrowness of Rue Sainte-Anne, this route is extremely dangerous). Take the first right, Rue des Clos. At the end, turn right, pass the foot of a large building and, after a chain, follow Rue Sainte-Anne to the right on its left-hand pavement. After a right-hand bend, turn left into Rue du Chemin Creux.

(17) Just before numbers 255 and 257, turn sharply left, leaving the box-shaped houses on your right, and head up the famous sunken lane. At the corner of number 23, leave the lane and turn left onto a path with a fence on the right-hand side. At the end, cross Rue de l’Hermitage and continue straight ahead into Rue de Brezolles (dead end). Then continue along a path that climbs through the woodland. Follow a fence on your right.

(18) At the corner of the fence, at a three-way junction, turn right (be careful, there is no signpost beforehand). At a three-way junction (not shown on the map), veer left. Then walk through pleasant woodland at the edge of a slope on your right. Ignore a turn-off on the left (not shown on the map) and head down a gentle slope. At the bottom, at a T-junction, turn left; you’ll immediately come out onto a road and follow it to the left. Enter Marsinval via Rue du Louvre, cross Rue du Clos au Faîte on the left and head downhill.

(19) Just before a crossroads, turn right onto Chemin des Cours d’en Bas (gate, chicane). At the corner of the last house, turn left onto a discreet path (marker on a small rock on the ground). Head downhill through the undergrowth then continue along the edge of the field on your right. Ignore a turn-off to the left (information sign) and continue north-east. Near a roundabout, follow a small road to the left for about a hundred metres.

(20) Just after a ‘Narrow Road’ sign, turn right onto a faint path, with woodland on your left and a field on your right. The path, which is poorly maintained or not maintained at all, is overgrown with grass (as of May 2018)... At the end of the field, continue straight on along a well-trodden path, alternating between sections through the undergrowth and along the edge of the woodland. Pass under a high-voltage power line.

(21) At a three-way junction, turn left, follow a hedge on your right and pass at the foot of an electricity pylon (view of Triel church on the right). Pass through a gate and continue down a narrow lane. At the crossroads, go straight on. At the next junction, follow the Chemin des Carrières straight ahead and uphill. At the stop sign, go straight on along Chemin des Gloriettes. At the next stop sign, turn right onto Rue de la Fontaine Romé and walk along the cemetery wall on your right. At the end, turn left and go straight on. Turn right with the road and, at the end, go down some steps and walk round the church of Vernouillet on the left.

(22) In front of the church entrance, continue straight ahead onto Rue Paul Doumer. Ignore two dead-ends on the right and turn left. At the next junction (where two^{GR®® routes} split), go straight on towards Vernouillet station and pass the town hall on your left. Continue straight on, ignoring Rue Noël Gilles on the left. Go round the roundabout on the left and continue straight ahead along Rue Paul Doumer. At the end, turn left into Grande Rue. At the Stop sign, turn right into Rue Cléré towards the station. At the “give way” sign, follow the path straight ahead, slightly to the left, which leads to Vernouillet-Verneuil station (E).

To get back home:
- Transilien - Line J, towards Paris-Saint-Lazare or Mantes-la-Jolie.

Train timetables: see the Transilien website.

For motorists:
Arrange for at least two vehicles, one at the car park of each of the two stations, which are on different lines. With a single vehicle, travelling one way or the other by train would require a change between two stations within central Paris. N.B. The car park at Beynes station has limited capacity: if there are no spaces available, park at the castle car park.

No water points identified along the route. Restaurant in Orgeval (13).

Hiking boots required. Wet sections between (6) and (7) and between (10) and (11). Sections with dense vegetation after (5) and after (20).

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

Hike completed by the author on 26 May 2018.

- Views over the Mauldre Valley, between (S) and (2).
- Abbecourt Pond (10).
- Views of the Seine Valley, between (21) and (22).
- Saint-Étienne Church (12th–13th and 19th centuries), in Vernouillet (22).