From Faremoutiers to Mortcerf via the mills of Grand Morin

Starting point and access: Faremoutiers-Pommeuse station.
- Transilien - Line P, on the section between Paris-Est and Coulommiers.
Take the only exit (single track).

Yellow signposts

(S) When you leave the station, turn left, cross the car park and turn left again to cross the railway line at the level crossing. Then turn left onto the D25 road towards Meaux. Shortly after the second car park, turn left onto Rue du Mont, which is a grassy path. Follow a fence on your right and ignore a path on your right. At a crossroads (level crossing on the left), continue straight ahead on a stony path and follow the railway line on your left.

(1) At the foot of a transmitter, turn right and descend onto a wide path through the woods. Follow a meadow on your left, ignore a path on your left and you will come to a small road at the entrance to Pommeuse.

No signposts

(2) Follow the small road on the left and leave the signpost on your right. Ignore a road on the left and follow the Grand Morin on your right. Stay on the road (very little traffic) and follow the fence of a llama farm. At the stop sign, follow the road to the right, ignore Rue des Roches coming from the left and you will come to a crossroads.

Yellow signposts

(3) At the second stop sign, turn right onto Rue du Grand Morin. Cross a first branch of the river (old mill on the right), then a second (information sign, picnic table) and finally a third. Continue slightly uphill on the road, ignoring the paths branching off to the sides. At a fork, take Rue de la Dragée on the left. At the end of the street, continue along a path that enters a wood. Ignore a path on the left that descends and continue gently uphill for a few dozen metres.

(4) At the next crossroads, leave the^PR® "Rives du Grand Morin" trail on your right and continue straight ahead on the^PR® "Guérard et Génevray" trail (both marked in the same colour). Stay on the main path through the woods and walk along a wall on your left, which is dilapidated in places. Ignore two successive paths on the right, then turn left at the houses.

(5) Cross Rue de Coulommiers and continue opposite on a path with a fence on your left. Cross a stream and climb up between meadows. At the end, turn right and, after a few metres, at the corner of a house, take a path between two hedges on your left. Then walk along meadows, hedges and old orchards.

(6) At the end of the path, follow the small road downhill on the left. At the corner of an old small orchard on the right, and before the slope becomes steeper, leave the road and turn right onto a path that enters the woods. At the T-junction, turn left, cross a stream (not shown on the map) and turn right. Walk westwards on fairly flat ground and ignore two paths on the right.

Yellow + green markings

(7) At a three-way junction, turn left at an acute angle (you can shorten the route by taking a short steep path on the left). Descend steeply and you will come out onto a road (Guérard church in the distance opposite). Follow the road to the right, enter Guérard and walk alongside the houses (be careful, the road is narrow).

(8) At the stop sign (bridge over the Grand Morin on the left), cross the Grand Rue and follow the Rue de Bicheret opposite (ignore a green arrow indicating to cross the river and a green cross; two green-marked trails intersect here). Immediately turn right onto Ruelle de la Grimpette. The tarmac quickly gives way to a path that climbs through the woods, gently at first, then steeply (the lane certainly lives up to its name). At a crossroads (water pipe cover on the ground), turn right and continue climbing up a sunken path.

(9) At the top, follow a paved road to the left (note an old well in a garden on the right) and wind your way through the village.

Yellow + blue markings
Blue markings are rare. There are intermittent green markings: ignore them.

At the stop sign, turn left onto Rue de Georgevilliers. Stay on the road downhill and ignore a few paths branching off to the sides.

(10) At the crossroads (stele), continue for a few metres and, at the entrance to the horse farm, follow the farm track that branches off to the right between horse paddocks (no entry sign). Walk west then west-northwest along the meadows on your right, ignoring a few side tracks. Finish in the undergrowth and descend for a few dozen metres.

Yellow markings

At a three-way junction (elevation 70), turn left, continue downhill and reach a crossroads.

Red and white + yellow markings

(11) At the crossroads, follow the^GR®1to the left and pass under a power line. Then take a footbridge over the Grand Morin: note the Moulin de Prémol on your left and the fast-flowing river.

(12) At the end of the footbridge, turn left, ignore a path on the right and walk alongside the mill on your left. Go uphill, walk alongside a wall on your left and then orchards on your right. At the corner of an orchard plot (elevation 93), cross a small road and continue climbing up a grassy path with a hedge on your left (ignore the yellow arrow pointing left; two^PR® trails of the same colour intersect here; follow the "Trois châteaux" signs).

(13) At the top of the hill, turn left and take the bridge over the railway line. A few metres after the bridge, at a T-junction, turn right. After a few dozen metres, turn left (south). Ignore a path on the left, walk along a meadow on your right and then cross a strip of woodland. Continue along the edge of the field on your left.

(14) A few metres after the end of the field, turn right downhill and follow the edge of the woods on your right. Cross the D20 road (take care) and continue along a path at the edge of the field. Cross the D20E1 road and follow a small tarmac road opposite.

(15) Just before the entrance to the tunnel under the railway line, turn left onto a grassy path below the railway line on your right. Go through the undergrowth, ignore a turning on the right and turn left to move away from the railway line; climb slightly. Continue along the edge of the woods on your right and the field on your left. At the end of the path, follow the D20E1 to the right for a few dozen metres.

(16) At the corner of a house on the right, turn right onto a grassy path at the edge of the woods. Enter the woods and follow a stream on your right. Once you come out into the open, at a fork, take the path on the right, at the edge of the woods and downhill. Find the stream on your right, go down a steep slope, ignore a path coming from the left and take the tunnel that passes under the railway line. At the exit, turn left and go down towards a small road.

Red, white, yellow and purple markings

(17) Follow the road to the left with the^GR®14(the^GR®1goes to the right). Go under the railway viaduct and then turn right with the road. When you reach a large square tower on the left (an old lime kiln), leave the road on the right, go through a forest gate (chicane) and take a path through the undergrowth. After crossing a stream, the path widens. At a crossroads, continue straight ahead and walk along the edge of a large meadow on your left. The path narrows again. Go through a second forest gate (also a chicane) and continue below the car park of the station on your right. At the end, turn right twice to reach Mortcerf station (E).

To return home:
- Transilien - Line P, towards Paris-Est or Coulommiers (check the screens for the departure platform).

Train timetables: consult the Transilien website.

For motorists:
Both stations are located on the same section of the same line: leave a vehicle in the car park of one of the two stations and make a return trip by train. It is also possible to organise two vehicles, one at each station.

Hiking boots are necessary, as several sections may be muddy in winter. No drinking water available. The route does not pass through town centres, where there are a few shops.

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

Variants:
- At the point (1), you can continue along the railway line on another path marked in yellow (two paths cross here). Turn right at the next junction, then left to walk alongside the cemetery. First turn right then left onto Rue d'en bas and walk alongside the church on your right. Then turn right onto Rue des Roches and rejoin the main route shortly before (2). There is no significant difference in distance.
- At the point (8), if you want to avoid the famous "climb", continue straight ahead on Rue de Bicheret, follow the Grand Morin on your left, climb slightly and rejoin the main route at (10).

Hike completed by the author on 3 March 2017.

- Views of the Grand Morin Valley.
- Banks of the Grand Morin and llama farm between (2) and (3).
- Mill at La Celle en bas (3).
- Guérard mill, off the route on the other side of the Grand Morin near (8).
- Prémol mill (12).
- Old lime kiln (19th-20th century) between (17) and (E).