From Mortcerf to Esbly via the Grand Morin valley

Starting point and access: Mortcerf station.
- Transilien - Line P, on the section between Paris-Est and Coulommiers.
Take the only exit, Place de la Gare, on the side of track 1. If you arrive on track 2, take the footbridge.

Red, white, yellow, purple and blue markings

(S) With your back to the station, turn right and walk along the car park. At the end, turn left twice and take a stony path. Then follow the path closed to motor vehicles that goes around a house on the left. Go through a chicane and follow a narrow path, then a wider path through the woods. Keep a meadow on your right and ignore a few paths on your left. At a crossroads, continue straight ahead and, further on, cross a stream. After another narrow passage, go through a chicane and you will come out onto a small road.

(1) Follow the road to the left and note an old lime kiln on the right. Pass under the railway viaduct.

Red, white, yellow and purple markings

In a left-hand bend, ignore a path coming from the right and stay on the road. After a "No entry for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes" sign, leave the road and take a stony track on the left. Pass a farm building on your left, ignore a vague start on the right and head towards the forest.

Yellow markings

(2) At the crossroads just after an electricity pole and at the edge of the forest, turn right and stay on the edge. Cross a stream and go up opposite under cover. Ignore a path on the right and continue flat inside the forest but at the edge. Further on, go down slightly and you will come to a crossroads (gate on the left).

(3) Go straight ahead on a track between a fence on the left and a field on the right. Pass by an isolated house. Further on, the track gives way to a paved road that begins to descend.

(4) At the crossroads, cross the road and follow it to the left uphill, on the right-hand side (wider and better protected than the left-hand side).

Yellow + green markings

Take the^first left, Rue de Bréhal. At the end of the tarmac, continue along a stony path and climb. You will soon rejoin the tarmac and continue on a slight incline. At the stop sign, turn left. Walk alongside the Manoir de Bellevue on your left and leave Tigeaux (be careful, narrow verges).

(5) After a 30 km/h speed limit sign and at the corner of the manor wall, turn right, cross a stream and follow a path between a wood on the left and a field on the right. At the end of the field, enter the wood and descend slightly.

(6) Come out onto a road and first turn right then left to join a path. Immediately after, at a fork, turn right. Follow a grassy path between the fields.

No signposts

(7) At the crossroads, turn left (ignore the signpost opposite) and climb between the fields.

Blue signpost

Cross the D235 carefully and continue straight ahead on Rue de Lagny. When the street turns right, continue straight ahead on a gravel track.

No signposts

At the crossroads, go straight ahead (the blue-marked path branches off to the right but there is no arrow to indicate this).

(8) Just after crossing a path on the left, turn right onto a grassy path not shown on the map. After a left turn, walk between a field on your left and a wood on your right. Come out onto a small road and follow it to the left for about 75 m.

(9) When the road turns left, turn right, go through a metal gate and follow a gravel track again. Go uphill and, at a crossroads, continue straight ahead on the track. Go through a metal gate and turn right onto a grassy path. At the next fork, keep left and rejoin the tarmac road at the first houses.

(10) Just after crossing a lane on the left, turn right, go through a metal gate and follow a grassy path that enters a wood. Continue straight ahead on a slight downhill slope, keeping to the left of the meadows and gardens. Further on, continue along a gravel path. At the end, go down a road on the left. At the stop sign, follow the D406 to the left and enter Dainville.

(11) When the road turns left, turn right onto Chemin des Roches and go downhill. The winding street has little traffic but the shoulders are narrow.

(12) Just before a T-junction and at the corner of No. 23 (long white wall), turn left and go up Rue de Montaigu (signposted further on). Shortly after a 30 km/h speed limit sign, turn right onto Chemin des Carreaux. Go through a metal barrier and continue straight ahead through a wood. Pass a second metal barrier and join a wider path.

Yellow + green signposting

(13) Then turn right at an acute angle and pass under a wooden archway. At a fork, take the path on the right and descend along a stream below on the right. Pass an old wash house and continue downhill with a few steep sections. Finish with a very narrow section along the stream and join a road. Follow this road to the left and pass under the A4 motorway bridge.

(14) At a "No entry for vehicles over 12 tonnes" sign on the left (and therefore behind you), leave the road and take a path on the right (red and white barrier). Go under a railway bridge and follow a path parallel to the railway line on the left. Return to the tarmac at a level crossing and continue straight ahead. Pass Couilly station and you will immediately come to a crossroads (stop sign).

Yellow signposting

(15) Cross the road, continue straight ahead and leave a lawn on your right at the edge of the Grand Morin and the facilities of a canoe and kayak club. When the road turns right towards a small bridge, turn left, go through a forest gate and follow a riding centre on your right. Continue straight ahead on a path, first along the railway line on the left, then along a canal on the right.

Remains of an old blue signpost

(16) At the end of the path (forest barrier, old metal bridge opposite), turn right and cross the canal. Then head left to pass between two industrial buildings (a skip across the path acts as a chicane). Continue along a path that crosses a wasteland and runs alongside Grand Morin (note the stone bridge that allows the Aqueduc de la Dhuys to cross the river). At the first houses, continue along a gravel track and then a tarmac lane.

No signposts

(17) At the crossroads, follow Rue de Condé to the right (D85p; be careful, busy road). Cross the canal and then the Grand Morin and you will immediately reach the entrance to the grounds of the Château de Condé.

(18) Turn right with the road and follow the castle grounds on your left, then the church. Continue straight ahead until you reach the towpath of the Canal de Chalifert.

Red, white, yellow and purple markings

(19) Turn left and cross the Grand Morin again on the canal bridge. Continue along the towpath and follow the canal on your right. Take the first bridge to cross the canal, then follow the canal on your left.

No markings

(20) Shortly before a second bridge, turn right and cross a lawn slightly to the left.

Red and white signposts

On the other side, cross a major road at the pedestrian crossing and continue straight ahead, walking alongside a small car park on your left. Then follow Rue du Général Leclerc straight ahead, ignoring all the side streets. At the end, at the corner of a bar, turn left and you will immediately reach Esbly station (E).

To return home:
- Transilien - Line P, towards Paris-Est or Crécy-la-Chapelle (immediate access), or Meaux (take the footbridge).

Train timetables: consult the Transilien website.

For motorists:
Arrange to have at least two vehicles, one in the car park of each of the two stations, which are located on different sections of the P line. If you only have one vehicle, you will need to change at Paris-Est station.

Hiking boots are required.

No water sources identified along the route. Bars, restaurants and shops near Couilly station (15) and in Esbly between (20) and (E).

15.5 km alternative route:
It is possible to shorten the hike by stopping at Couilly-Saint-Germain-Quincy station (15). From there, take the train to Esbly (connection to Paris-Est or Meaux) or Crécy-la-Chapelle.

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

Hike completed by the author on 28 August 2022.

- Pleasant walk through fields and woods, between (2) and (4) and between (5) and (7).
- Bellevue Manor, shortly before (5).
- Old wash house between (13) and (14).
- Aqueduct bridge over the Grand Morin, shortly after (16).
- Condé Castle (18).
- Canal bridge over the Grand Morin (19).
- Pleasant walk along the Chalifert Canal, between (19) and (20).