From Boutigny-sur-Essonne to Étréchy via Rocher Bizet

Starting point and access: Boutigny railway station.
- RER – Line D, on the section between Paris and Malesherbes.
Take the ‘Centre-ville’ exit, on the side of platform 1 (Paris to Malesherbes direction). If arriving from the opposite direction (platform 2), take the underpass.

Red and white + blue markings

(S) Cross the square at the station exit and, at the corner by the post office, turn left onto Rue des Cordeliers. Walk past Boutitgny Church. At the end of the street, turn left and cross the railway tracks at the level crossing. Pass a cul-de-sac on your right and continue straight on along Rue du Château de Belesbat, preferably on the right-hand pavement (which is wider).

(1) Cross the River Essonne and, just after the sign marking the entrance to Vayres, leave the road and turn right onto a path not shown on the map. Further on, you’ll come to a road; follow it to the right. Stay on this main road, which winds through the village, and ignore all side roads and alleys branching off to the sides. Note a wash house at No. 84.

(2) At the fork in the road where the war memorial stands, turn right onto Rue du Sourdet. A little further on, turn left onto this street. At the traffic lights, cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and follow it to the right along a tarmac path separated by a small hedge.

Red and white markings

(3) At the next set of traffic lights, on the corner by the school, turn left onto Chemin d’Orvaux, towards the stadium. After about a hundred metres, veer right towards the cemetery, still following Chemin d’Orvaux. After the cemetery, the tarmac gives way to a gravel path that leads into the forest. Ignore a path branching off to the left, go through a forest gate and continue through the pine forest on a sandy path. Ignore a path branching off to the right and, at the Fork in the road shortly afterwards, take the left-hand path, which climbs slightly.

Red and White + Blue signposting

(4) Turn left at the junction with the blue-marked path and continue uphill amongst birch trees, ferns and a few scattered small sandstone boulders. At a crossroads, go straight on (there are signs advising against turning off to the sides). At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead (west) and head downhill.

(5) You’ll come to the fence of a hydrocarbon storage area. Follow this fence on your right-hand side for about 900m. At a T-junction, turn right onto the^GR®®1(let the^GR®®111branch off to the left). Continue along the fence on your right-hand side for a further 500m or so.

No signposting

(6) Just before a tank near the fence, take a path on the left (not shown on the map) between a wasteland on the left and a woodland on the right. Follow this path straight on (see an alternative route in the practical information). You’ll come out onto a farm track; follow it to the left. At a junction directly beneath a high-voltage power line (elevation 67), turn right onto a track that quickly becomes tarmacked. Pass through a metal barrier.

(7) Before the Stop sign, turn right onto a track (not shown on the 1:25,000 map) closed to traffic ‘except for local residents and agricultural vehicles’. After going round a house and its garden on the right, rejoin the D145 and follow it to the right for about 50 metres. Just after the ‘Cycle path’ sign, turn left and cross first the cycle path and then the D145 (take care). On the other side, go through a metal gate and take a grassy path which starts with a hedge on the left. Then climb gently along the edge of the woodland on your right, enter the woodland and climb more steeply. Pass a fenced-off hut, ignore a turn-off to the right and continue climbing along a stony path.

Red and white markings

(8) At the top (transmitter), rejoin the^GR®®1and head straight on, due west, along a wide gravel path. Just after passing a forest gate, turn right onto an inconspicuous path that leads into the woods. On emerging, turn right and stay at the edge of the woodland. At the corner of the woodland, head due north between the fields, ignoring a path branching off to the left. Continue along the edge of the woodland on your right and enter the woodland.

(9) At the bottom of a steep slope, turn sharply to the right. Then turn left, following the path. At a fork in the road, take the left-hand path and wind your way through a plateau landscape of heather and exposed rocks. Pass the first pond some distance to your left and reach the edge of a second pond.

N.B. On the next two sections, the path winds about a great deal and the route is only approximate. Follow the signposting carefully and do not hesitate to turn back if you lose sight of it.

(10) Walk alongside the pond on your left and continue winding your way across the plateau. When you reach a pine tree with two arrows—one pointing right and the other left—turn right and pass under the leaning trunk of a pine tree (the arrow on the left is for walkers coming from the opposite direction). Turn immediately left (marker on the ground); note a partial viewpoint on the right and, when you reach a pine tree that appears to be in the middle of the path, veer right to reach a viewpoint (rock boulders).

(11) Then head left and descend via a series of hairpin bends, stepping over a large rock step. At a T-junction, head down to the right along a sunken path. At a Fork in the road, take the right-hand path and continue descending beneath the pine trees.

(12) At the bottom, follow a small road to the left along the^GR®®11(let the^GR®®1head off to the right). At a junction, turn right. At the crossroads (with a bar on the right), carry on straight ahead, slightly to the left, along Rue Margaille. Pass the war memorial on your left, cross Rue Sainte-Barbe on the right-hand side and turn left with the road.

(13) After house number 5, turn right onto a path that leads into the woods (take care to spot this start). Climb a steep slope through a pine forest and between some rocks. Cut left and continue up a less steep slope. Then, wind your way along on roughly level ground, first through a plateau landscape of heather moorland and then through the undergrowth. At a fork in the road, take either the left-hand path (marker) or the right-hand one; the two paths join up further on. Leave the woods and continue along the edge for about a hundred metres.

(14) Ignore the start of a path leading into the woods on the left (marker) and continue along the edge (the^GR®® takes a short, uninteresting detour here). You’ll soon rejoin the^GR®®, walk along the right-hand side of a field and enter the woods again. On emerging, turn right (west) onto a field track (red post on the left). You’ll come out onto a small road; follow it to the right until you reach the junction with the D148.

Red and white + blue markings

N.B. On the following section, the route of^{the GR®®11}has been altered from the purple line shown on the IGN map, and the route requires caution and a good sense of direction.

(15) Cross the D148 and go down a flight of steps which starts behind the crash barrier. Continue along a path. At a fork in the road that appears shortly afterwards, leave the path and turn right. You’ll emerge at the foot of a sandy slope and turn left. Stay along the edge of the woodland on your left. Walk on the sand, heading west-north-west. Pass the first tree with signposts on your right, then a second on your left, and head towards a path that leads into the woods.

(16) Follow this clear path through the woods. Walk west-north-west, alternating between shaded and open sections, and pass a few fenced-off huts.

Red and white + blue + yellow + orange markings

(17) At a crossroads (signpost), continue roughly straight ahead towards the equestrian centre. Walk through the woodland heading north-west until you come out onto a small road. Cross the road, temporarily ignore the markings which direct you to follow the road to the left, and go straight on between a wood on your left and a fallow field on your right (see an alternative route in the practical information). At the T-junction, turn right and rejoin the signposting a little further on. Alternate between walking along the edge of the woods, through the woods themselves, or along the edge of horse pastures. At a Fork in the road, turn left and you’ll soon reach a crossroads.

Blue + Yellow + Orange signposting

(18) At the junction, head straight on towards the equestrian centre. As you leave the woodland, continue between the fields and meadows. After the equestrian centre buildings, the path gives way to a tarmac road.

Yellow signposting

Cross a small road and take the farm track opposite. Further on, you’ll rejoin the tarmac road.

Blue markings

(19) At the junction with a dead-end road on the left, carry on straight ahead. At the end of the street, turn left.

Blue + red and white markings

At the roundabout, follow the D148 to the right towards Étréchy. Then take the^first left, onto Chemin de Vaux. Walk past an old factory, turn right where the road bends and cross the Juine on an old stone bridge.

(20) Turn left as you come off the bridge, follow the river on your left and then move away from it. Join the D148 again and follow it to the left. Go round the large roundabout on the right, continue straight ahead towards the Domaine de Chamarande and pass under the N20 bridge. At the next roundabout, turn right onto the D146 towards Lardy and pass under the railway bridge. Then follow the Avenue d’Orléans along a tarmac track running parallel to it on the right-hand side. Follow this main route, ignoring any side roads.

Blue signposting

(21) At a fork in the road (the right-hand track leads to Paris), cross the avenue and follow it to the right towards the town centre. Continue straight on along the Grande Rue.

No markings

At the corner of No. 21, turn right onto Rue Caroline Berchère. At the end, turn right, walk alongside a car park and you’ll find Étréchy station (E) on your right.

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

Train timetables: see the Transilien website.

For motorists:
Arrange to have at least two vehicles, one in the car park at each of the two stations, which are on different lines. If using just one vehicle, travelling to or from the start/end point by train would require a change between two stations within central Paris.

No water points identified along the route. Bars, restaurants and a bakery near Boutigny station (S). A bar in Boissy-le-Cutté, between (12) and (13). Bars, restaurants and shops on the Grande Rue in Étréchy, between (21) and (E).

A 1:25,000 map is essential (at the very least, the one accompanying this description). The sections between (10) and (12) and between (15) and (16) require caution and a good sense of direction.

Alternatives:
- At point (6), it is possible to continue straight on along the^GR®®1. At the T-junction, turn sharply left onto a farm track and rejoin the main route further on. Allow for an extra 1 km or so.
- After point (17), when you come out onto the small road (elevation 88), you can follow the signposting. Follow the road to the left and, after about a hundred metres, take the path on the right which leads into the woods. You’ll rejoin the main route about a hundred metres further on.

Walk completed by the author on 7 July 2018.

- Church of Boutigny-sur-Essonne (12th–19th centuries) (S).
- Pleasant forest walks, particularly in the Bois de Misery, around (4).
- Plateau landscapes between (9) and (12) and between (13) and (14).