From Montagne Blanche to the Amplier Valley

A long hike in the north of the Somme. Most of the paths are in good condition (even in late winter) and there are occasional tarmac sections, but no traffic.

A lovely variety of landscapes! I find the Amplier Valley very beautiful and the path between Beauquesne and Beauval is very interesting.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.23 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 8h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 827 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 827 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 499 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 213 ft

Description of the walk

Start at Halloy, Place de la Mairie.

(S/E) Take the D24 southwards (towards Orville). Ignore a road on the right, pass a junction and, shortly after the town sign, turn left onto a small road. After 500 metres, you’ll reach a junction.

(1) Turn right onto the track. Pass a fork in the road and join the D24, following it to the left to reach the hamlet of Caumesnil. Ignore the road branching off to the right.

(2) Immediately afterwards, leave the D24 and take a path on the right. A good path that descends gently (south-west) to Orville. At the school, turn left (Rue des Fosses), then immediately right onto a small lane that joins Rue de l’Église.
Take the road opposite (Rue Joseph Bellet), then turn left onto Rue de la Poste, which you follow to the right. Cross the Authie and reach the D938.

(3) Cross it – take care! – and head straight on into Rue Victor Gold. 150 metres further on, turn left onto a grassy path. At a T-junction, turn right. This good path climbs Montagne Blanche: follow it southwards, still uphill, until you reach a small road.

(4) Follow it to the right, pass under a power line and turn right onto a path. Pass under another power line and come to a small road; follow this for a few metres to reach a junction.

(5) Turn left towards the Bois de la Solette and come out onto the D23. Follow it carefully for a few metres to the right, then take the first path on the left. This path turns left and reaches a T-junction.

(6) Turn right, then immediately right again. Follow this track for a good while (an old railway line, I think) to reach a small tarmac road (Vallée du Preux). Be careful, as it’s late winter, there are a few tricky bits!

(7) Follow the road for 150 metres to the left, then take the path on the right. Pass under a power line and arrive near the first houses of Beauval.

(8) Just before the houses, take the path going uphill to the right. It leads to the D23. Follow it for about a hundred metres to the right, before taking a good path to the left. When this path turns left, continue straight on along the path leading down towards a wood. At the edge of the wood, turn right (there was a tree trunk blocking the path on 4 March 2020; it is possible to get past on the left) and, keeping in the same direction, join the D23.

(9) Follow it to the left for 400 metres and turn onto the first road on the left (Chemin d’Authieule). After 300 metres, take the path on the right which leads to the D24 (Rue d’Amplier).

(10) Follow this road to the right for about 200 metres, then take the first path on the left. About fifty metres further on, turn left again. Pass under a power line once more and arrive at a steep slope which you do not climb (some of you will be disappointed!).

(11) Turn left into the Vallée d'Amplier. Ignore a path on the left and continue along this good path until you reach the D24.

(12) Follow it to the right. At the roundabout, take Rue du Marais straight ahead. Cross the Authie and reach a junction. Turn left onto Rue Jules Lefebvre. Ignore the first street on the right. At the next junction (well), turn right onto Rue du Halot. The climb towards Halloy begins. Reach a three-way junction (calvary).

(13) Turn right to reach another three-way junction and follow the left-hand path to finish the climb. A flat section then leads to a three-way junction.

(14) Turn right (you can take a shortcut, hence the track). Another short climb takes you to Halloy cemetery.

(15) Turn left and you’ll soon reach a fork. Take the right-hand path to reach a T-junction.

(16) Turn right and join the D24. Follow it to the right to reach the Town Hall.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 479 ft - Halloy, Town Hall
  2. 1 : mi 0.69 - alt. 469 ft - Crossroads
  3. 2 : mi 1.41 - alt. 430 ft - Caumesnil hamlet
  4. 3 : mi 2.62 - alt. 223 ft - Junction with the D938 after the river – Authie (f
  5. 4 : mi 3.94 - alt. 469 ft - Junction with a small road
  6. 5 : mi 4.8 - alt. 482 ft - Crossroads
  7. 6 : mi 6.27 - alt. 433 ft - T-junction
  8. 7 : mi 7.89 - alt. 318 ft - Junction with tarmac road
  9. 8 : mi 8.87 - alt. 318 ft - First houses in Beauval
  10. 9 : mi 10.38 - alt. 423 ft - Junction with the D23
  11. 10 : mi 11.06 - alt. 472 ft - Junction with the D24
  12. 11 : mi 11.98 - alt. 364 ft - Facing the steep climb
  13. 12 : mi 13.36 - alt. 226 ft - Junction with the D24
  14. 13 : mi 14.05 - alt. 302 ft - Calvary
  15. 14 : mi 14.93 - alt. 443 ft - T-junction
  16. 15 : mi 15.66 - alt. 469 ft - Cemetery
  17. 16 : mi 15.99 - alt. 440 ft - T-junction
  18. S/E : mi 16.23 - alt. 479 ft - Halloy, Town Hall

Notes

Good walking shoes and walking stick(s) are essential. I’ve also got back into the habit of wearing gaiters, which provide comfort and safety.

There are no water points or refreshment stops along the way, so you’ll need to bring your own supplies.

Note: by parking along the D938 (small car park) near the roundabout (12), you can shorten the walk by taking the path that crosses "Les Bas Prés" and joins (3).

Worth a visit

This morning I spotted a few hares, a bird of prey and a large roe deer. Good luck!

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
yoshi
yoshi

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 13, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a route with views of sheep pastures...

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Marc 62
Marc 62

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with a great variety of scenery.
Much nicer than the Champs d’Argent.
Good walking boots are essential, and walking poles are a must; I had a bit of a slip and slide, not very graceful… Quite a few very muddy and slippery sections.
Thanks to the author

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joorange
joorange

I’m always chuffed to see there are people as ‘mad’ as me!
The walk can’t have been a walk in the park, and judging by what’s falling this morning, it’s not going to get any better!

It’s a region I discovered many years ago, back when the Somme CDRP offered a few marked trails in this area. They’ve now almost all disappeared.

So I’ve tried to revive them with the two walks I’ve created (this one and “Les Champs d’Argent”)

As for the extension you’re considering, it’s a lovely route, with the descent to Thièvres via the PR and the climb back up—even more pleasant—via the GR 124 to reach point 2. But it must add a good 7 or 8 km. I’ll probably give it a go in the spring. It’s a circular route I included in my route from Pas-en-Artois in the summer of 2020.

This summer, at point 13, I headed left to see the two oak trees. They aren’t particularly interesting, but after the second one, you can quite easily (across a field, then along the path at Fossé Longuet) reach point 14. With the app, it’s no problem.

“marcherverslebonheur”, I couldn’t agree more.

Have a lovely Sunday

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marcherverslebonheur
marcherverslebonheur

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk through hills and valleys. I wasn’t familiar with the area, so it was a wonderful discovery. Today, the Montagne Blanche certainly lived up to its name, as snow had blanketed the region this morning. With the thaw, the paths were muddy, but that’s part of the charm: almost the entire walk takes place on tracks unsuitable for vehicles; there’s hardly any tarmac at all.

I’d love to do the circular route again in the warmer months to enjoy the different colours of the meadows and crops. A public footpath south-east of Halloy could extend the circular route by a few kilometres and take you down to Thièvres. Something to try another time, then!

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BaudouinB
BaudouinB

Oh yes, I forgot to mention one small detail. I set off from the car park at Halloy Town Hall. It seems safer for the car than the pavement outside the old café in front of the church...

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BaudouinB
BaudouinB

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello Joorange, and thank you for this brilliant route!
The only real difficulty I encountered was between waypoints 8 and 9, when you head up towards the D23 and then down towards Les Fosses. The path is really in poor condition and you have to be careful not to twist your ankles.
Otherwise, I didn’t come across any hikers or mountain bikers. A real immersion in nature with few stretches through built-up areas.
The Amplier Valley is truly magnificent. It feels as though you’ve stepped out of civilisation.
I also found the section north of the Authie more enjoyable than in *Les Champs d’Argent*.
Thanks again!

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joorange
joorange

If you haven’t been there yet, there are two walks that can easily be combined:
- start from Canettemont and follow the “de la Canche au Bois de Mortagne” route to point 8.
- Then join the “Ubac de Rebreuve-sur-Canche” route towards point 7 and complete the entire route to point 6.
- After point 6, as you leave the woods, turn right towards the Bois de Mortagne and rejoin the first route.

It should be about 23 km and it’s right in the heart of the countryside with a lovely picnic spot at Bouret, just after crossing the Canche.
I did it this morning, adding a short circular extra loop (not very interesting) to make it 27 km.

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tof1967
tof1967

I was thinking of doing a circular hike with these two hikes; I haven’t done the last one yet, but I’ll definitely be doing it. 😉

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joorange
joorange

In the same area, there’s also “Les Champs d’Argent”, starting from Amplier.
And also near Lucheux, “La Cavée”, about which I’d like to hear another opinion (the first one was rather negative)
Best regards

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tof1967
tof1967

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route, quite challenging due to its length, and very dry for this time of year in July. Very little tarmac and a well-maintained path.
I wasn’t familiar with these valleys; the views are stunning.
Thanks to our guide, joorange.

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