From Maisse to Malesherbes via the Moulin de Vicq and the Chemin de Grimery

Starting point and access: Maisse station.
- RER - Line D, on the section between Paris and Malesherbes.
Take the Rue de Milly exit at the end of the platform: at the front of the train when arriving on platform 1, travelling from Paris to Malesherbes, and at the rear of the train when arriving on platform 2, travelling in the opposite direction.

Blue signposting

(S) At the end of the pedestrian walkway, turn right (cross the railway tracks at the level crossing if you arrived on platform 1). Follow Avenue du Général de Gaulle, preferably on the left-hand pavement. Ignore the^first street on the left leading to the agricultural cooperative.

(1) About a hundred metres further on, turn left onto a wide, stony path. Pass a concrete silo on the left and, just before a metal silo, turn right onto a wide, grassy path lined with trees. Walk alongside a reed bed on your left. At the end of the path, turn right onto a track which soon becomes a narrow lane.

Blue + Red and Yellow markings

At the “give way” sign, turn left and rejoin Avenue du Général de Gaulle. Cross two branches of the Essonne in succession. At a fork, follow the D837 (Grand’ Rue) to the left towards Étampes (preferably stay on the left-hand pavement).

Red and yellow markings

(2) Take the^first left onto Rue de la République. At the junction, go straight on. At the stop sign, turn left onto Rue de Tramerolles. Walk through a residential area, staying on this street. At the next stop sign, go straight on into Chemin de Tramerolles. Go under a gantry and follow the handball stadium on your right. Pass a car park on your left and follow the tennis courts on your right.

No signposting

(3) At the junction located about fifty metres past the last tennis court (further than the purple line on the 1:25,000 map suggests), continue straight ahead (ignore the^GRP® branching off to the right). Pass a pink-plastered house on your right, then cross a small wood. Continue along the edge of the wood on your right.

When you reach the first houses, you’ll be back on the tarmac; carry on straight ahead. Cross the Chemin du Bout du Parc on your left and continue parallel to the D449, which runs higher up. At the crossroads, turn left onto the Chemin du Moulin, a cobbled street that descends and bends to the right, ending opposite the gate of the old Moulin de Vicq.

(4) Then take the footbridge on the left which crosses the Essonne. As you leave the footbridge, turn right onto a path through the woods and take another (smaller) footbridge over a tributary. Walk along the Essonne on your right and ignore all the turnings on the left (as well as a closed footbridge on the right, after which you’ll learn that the path you’re on is called Allée Uhlmann). At the end of the path, go through a wooden gate, continue straight ahead and pass under a chain.

(5) You’ll come out onto a road; follow it to the left. Leave Gironville, enter Buno-Bonnevaux, and cross a tributary of the Essonne. Cross the railway line at the level crossing near Buno-Gironville station.

(6) Turn immediately right towards Buno-Bonnevaux. Follow the road, which runs parallel to the railway line, preferably on the right-hand pavement (the hard shoulder on the left is very narrow). Go straight on and ignore the turn-offs to the left. At a fork, take the right-hand track, which is closed to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. At the next junction, turn right (red and white signpost). This will take you to a crossroads at the foot of Buno-Bonnevaux church.

(7) Climb the steps opposite leading to the church gate. Then walk past the church on your right and note a Neolithic grinding stone that has been placed at the foot of the bell tower. Join Rue de la Brosse and follow it to the right (east). At the crossroads, turn right and continue along Rue de la Brosse for about fifty metres.

(8) Then take the narrow lane that climbs between a house at No. 20 on the left and a farm shed on the right. The alleyway soon gives way to a grassy path running alongside a fence on the right-hand side. The path then turns left and becomes a woodland track, continuing uphill. When the track becomes overgrown, turn right onto a path that continues to climb.

(9) At the top, turn left onto a good track. Leave the woods, pass an improvised chicane and go straight on, with the edge of the woods on your left and a field on your right. Ignore a path branching off to the left and you will come out onto a small road. Then turn right, immediately ignore a path branching off to the right and follow the road for about 800m
N.B. On the map, the path to ignore on the right looks like a good way to avoid tarmac. However, the perpendicular path you would then need to take, between elevations 124 and 125, is very poorly maintained or not maintained at all; it is overgrown and difficult to walk along (as of July 2019).

(10) Leave the road and turn right onto a wide track between the fields. Keep heading south-southeast. Cross a track (elevation 121) and continue straight ahead along the edge of the woods on your right. Enter the woods and descend gently, ignoring the occasional paths branching off to the sides. Pass a forest gate and cross the^GR®111.

(11) First turn left then right to continue south-east along an unmarked path, with woodland on your right and a field on your left. At the edge of the woodland (hunting lookout), continue in the same direction between the fields. Further on, follow the woodland on your right again. Soon turn left with the path and follow a fallow field on your right.

(12) At the corner of a bush, turn right onto a grassy path with a hedge on the right-hand side. Immediately ignore a path on the left and enter a woodland. Stay on the main path, which is in good condition, heading south-east, and ignore all side paths (private property).

(13) At a fork, take the left-hand path, which is also the best marked (the two paths join further on). As you approach a row of trees blocking the path ahead, veer left. Then ignore a path branching off to the right and stay on the main path, which descends slightly. Leave the woods, walk past some picnic tables and facilities for tethering horses during a break, and reach a small road.

Yellow markings

(14) Follow the road to the right. Enter the Gâtinais Français Nature Park and pass through the hamlet of Bois Minard towards Nanteau-sur-Essonne. After the water tower, when the road turns left, continue straight on between two farm sheds. Continue westwards between the fields. Pass the posts of an old forest gate and continue straight on along the edge of the woods. Enter the woods, keep heading west and ignore all side paths.

(15) At the junction immediately after a path on the right (which you must have ignored), turn left. Descend gently, heading south-southeast then southeast. Further on, climb back up alongside a fence on your right. Pass a forest gate and continue south-east along a track between private properties that alternates between gravel and stony surfaces. At a three-way junction, turn left and rejoin the tarmac.

(16) At the T-junction, follow the road to the right, keeping to the right-hand pavement. When the road bends left, continue straight on down a path between two fences (Nanteau church clearly visible). You’ll come out onto a track; follow it to the right, passing below the cemetery and then the church.

When you reach a green metal gate on the right-hand side, leave the signposted route for a moment and turn left onto a path that runs alongside a fence on the right. You’ll come out onto a narrow lane (with a lovely view of the church on the left); head down it to the right and pass the war memorial.

At the next junction, turn left and rejoin the signposted route. Pass the ruins of an old castle on the right, then the town hall on the left. Continue along the Clos Corbin for about twenty metres.

(17) Then turn right (post markers) onto the Chemin (tarmac) de la Brèche, between two walls. At the end, turn right onto a road. Pass a gate on the right and, at the corner of a wall on the right-hand side, turn right onto the Chemin de Rouville. Pass a forest barrier and head west-south-west, following a wall and then a fence on your right. Cross the Essonne via a footbridge and cross a small wasteland opposite.

Red and white + yellow markings

(18) Turn left onto a path and follow a woodland on your right. At the end of the path, follow a road to the left. At the end of the tarmac, continue along Chemin de Rouville. Climb up with a wall on your left.

(19) At the entrance to the château (calvary on the right), continue straight on up a grassy path. Follow the wall of the château grounds on your left and a field on your right. At the end of the field, ignore a path branching off to the right, turn left, stay as close as possible to the wall and head downhill.

At the bottom, at a crossroads (elevation 75), continue straight ahead and follow the boulders on your right. Return to the property wall and turn right. Pass a hairpin bend and return to the tarmac. You will reach a street (junction between Rue de la Charlotterie, on the right, and Rue de la Martillière, on the left).

No signposting

(20) Head straight ahead onto a tiny path (not shown on the map) that climbs between walls and fences. Reach a small lawn and pass some picnic tables on your left. You’ll come out onto a street (Rue Joseph Kessel on the map) and follow it to the left. Walk past the Foyer Age d’Or on your right and cross the Impasse des Vignes on your left.

At the next junction, turn right uphill. When the street bends sharply to the right, veer left, passing a small car park on your right. At the end, climb a small flight of steps and continue along a grassy path. Turn right with the path and, at the junction immediately ahead, turn left uphill.

(21) At the top, follow the street to the left (Rue des Collèges on the map). Ignore a flight of steps leading down to the left, turn right with the street and walk alongside Collège Gutenberg on your right. At the stop sign, turn left. At the end of the street, cross Avenue du Général Leclerc and follow it to the right. At a small roundabout, continue straight ahead. At a large roundabout, take the^first left. After about fifty metres, you will find Malesherbes station on your right (E).

To get back home:
- RER - Line D, towards Juvisy and Paris.

Train timetables: see the Transilien website.
N.B. Although the town of Malesherbes is located in the Loiret department, the Navigo Ile-de-France pass is valid as far as Malesherbes station.

For motorists:
Both stations are on the same section of the same line: leave a vehicle in the car park at one of the two and make a return journey by train.

Hiking boots recommended.

No water points identified along the route. Bar-restaurant in Maisse, near the station (S). Farmhouse goat’s cheese on sale in Bois Minard, between (14) and (15). Bakery and bar-restaurants in Malesherbes, near the station (E).

Hike undertaken by the author on 6 July 2019.

- Former Vicq Mill (4).
- A very pleasant walk along the Essonne, between (4) and (5).
- Saint-Léger Church (12th–13th century) in Buno-Bonnevaux (7).
- Neolithic polishing stone at the foot of the bell tower of Buno-Bonnevaux Church (7).
- A pleasant forest walk between (12) and (14).
- Church of Nanteau-sur-Essonne (12th–14th centuries), between (16) and (17).
- Château de Rouville (15th–19th centuries) (19), in Malesherbes. Open for visits from¹ April to 30 September, Saturdays and Sundays, from 10.00 am to 12.00 pm and from 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm.