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Departure from Crécy-la-Chapelle station, which is accessible by train (Transilien line P, Paris-Est sector) or by bus (route 7717, from the RER A / TGV station at Chessy-Marne-la-Vallée).
(S) Leave the station by walking past the car park, turn right onto Rue de Bouleurs, then turn left before the roundabout into the lane that runs alongside a canal. When the canal bends to the right, turn left before a bridge. Ignore the roundabout on the left, cross the small car park and follow the road to the junction (traffic lights). Cross the main avenue, then turn left onto Rue de Baulnes, where you will soon come to the bottom of a long flight of steps.
(1) Climb the 295 steps. At the top, continue straight ahead along a tarmac path. When you reach the first houses, turn right onto a grassy path opposite the Sentier des Rougets. Turn left and you will come to a tarmac road. Follow it down to the right and after about 200 m you will reach a right-hand bend.
(2) Take the path (tarmac at the start) on the left, then turn left onto a stony track. At the crossroads, head left uphill, cross a small wood, then some farmland, and arrive at a five-way crossroads at Férolles.
(3) Take the second path on the right, which is well-graveled. Pass a first crossroads after about 1 km, then a second one 1 km further on (I didn’t see the well marked on the map: has it been filled in?). 300 m further on, you’ll reach a fork.
(4) Take the path on the right, then the first on the left, which leads to the village of Sancy: church and Château de Sancy (4-star hotel).
(5) Continue along Rue de l'Eglise, then turn left onto a small, barely visible path, which rejoins the path you left earlier.
Turn right, cross the main road and continue straight ahead on a small tarmac road. When you reach the gates of the Château de Vaucourtois, turn left, pass the town hall and the church, and continue until you reach Chemin du Lavoir on the left. Follow it to the end.
(6) The site of this beautiful lavoir with a basin is fenced off and closed by an unlocked gate, which you simply need to open. The lavoir is a suitable spot for a picnic, whatever the weather.
Return to the road, continue left and pass the Fontaine Saint-Quérin. At the fork, continue straight ahead. Just before the hamlet of Lihou (abandoned), take the grassy path that climbs up to the left and reach a tarmac road after walking alongside the fence of an oil well.
(7) Take the road on the right, cross over the motorway, then turn right. Take the path on the left that runs alongside the fence of this second oil well, which you leave on your right, then follow the first path on the left to reach an oil storage site.
(8) Opposite this well, take the grassy path. You’ll reach a tarmac road; head left towards the village. Pass in front of the church; 150 m further on, you’ll reach a small triangular square lined with two rows of lime trees. Turn right, then right again onto Rue de Meaux. After 50 m, at the bend, take the lane on the left. Continue until you reach a road, first turn right then left and arrive at the Dhuys Aqueduct. Turn left and arrive at the wash house with picnic tables.
(9) Continue along the Aqueduc de la Dhuys path to the Meaux-Boutigny golf course. Walk alongside it on the aqueduct, then take the path on the right which runs between the golf course and the housing estate. The path turns left to continue alongside the golf course.
(10) At the crossroads, with a sign on the left reading: ‘No entry, danger, landslides’, continue straight ahead between the fields, then reach the bottom of the valley in the forest. Continue along this path to the D228. Cross it and head straight ahead to the Marne.
(11) Continue to the left; the path then leaves the banks of the Marne and rejoins the tarmac. Turn immediately right, running parallel to the Marne. Follow this road, which serves the large estates along the Marne, to the water treatment plant. Leave the tarmac to get closer to the banks of the Marne and continue along a dead-end path.
(12) When you reach the lock, climb the steep path on the left then turn right. Cross the bridge, and avoid the main road by taking the small side streets to the right. Cross the bridge over the Canal Cornillon, head down to the right, then follow the banks of the Marne before the bridge. Go under the next bridge, follow the mooring quays and cross the Marne via the next bridge.
(13) When you reach Quai Victor Hugo, turn left towards Meaux station (E).
For the return journey:
- bus to Chessy-Marne-la-Vallée, Torcy or Val d’Europe.
- train to Paris
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