From Tournan-en-Brie to Verneuil-l'Étang via the Marsange fords

Starting point and access: Tournan station.
- Transilien, Line P, on the section between Paris-Est and Coulommiers.
- RER - Line E, terminus of the line departing from Paris-Hausmann.
Take the exit through the main building towards Rue Georges Clemenceau, on the side of the tracks coming from Paris on the Transilien P line. If arriving in the opposite direction on the P line (from Coulommiers), or if arriving on the RER E line, take the underground passage.

Yellow signage

(S) When you leave the station, turn right immediately and go down Rue Georges Clemenceau. At the bottom, turn right and take the tunnel under the railway line. At the traffic lights, turn left. Go under the N4 bridge, ignore the access ramp on the right, and continue along a tarmac path.

(1) Then turn right and follow a path, leaving the pumping station (small fenced building) on your left. Climb gently parallel to the N4, then veer left (property wall and woods on your left). After about 100 metres, at a fork, take the grassy path between the fields on the right (west-southwest). Ignore a path on the left that leads to the woods. At the corner of a wooded area on the right, descend along a hedge on your right. Pass a second pumping station on your right and follow a good path with a wooden fence on your left.

(2) At the crossroads (houses), turn left, pass the gate of a private property on your left and take a gravel path starting after the concrete blocks. At the end of the path, pass some small rocks and follow a small road on the left. You will come to a roundabout.

(3) Then take the first left, the D32 towards Presles-en-Brie. Follow this road for about 750m, initially on one of the two grassy verges and then, after the last buildings, preferably on the right-hand side on a footpath and cycle path that is well separated from the road.

(4) At the end of a hedge on the left and before a 70km/h speed limit sign on the right, take a path on the left (the cable stretched across the beginning of the path is only there to prevent vehicle access). Walk eastwards, ignoring the vague paths branching off to the sides. At the end of the path, make a first turn right then left, and take a footbridge to cross the Marsange for the first time.

(5) At the end of the footbridge, turn right onto a grassy path between two hedges. At a vague junction with a poorly marked path (not shown on the map; old isolated fence post on the left), continue straight ahead. Then turn right onto the path and climb slightly, still between two hedges (the 1:25,000 map is inaccurate here, the route has been based on the satellite photo). At the top of the hill, turn east-southeast.

(6) At the start of a right-hand bend in the path and before a copse (no marker here), turn right at a right angle and follow a path that descends towards Presles-en-Brie, whose church tower rises above the woods on the right. At the bottom of the descent, cross the Marsange river via a footbridge (on the right, there is a pond where you can stop for a break).

(7) At the end of the footbridge, turn left and walk up a wide lane. When you reach a barrier for vehicles, leave the lane and take a path on the right (not shown on the map) at the edge of the woods towards some houses. Cross a stream on a wooden footbridge and ignore a staircase on the left. Ignore a path coming from the right and turn left between two hedges. Cross a small square lined with pedestals without statues (an old pond?). Cross Allée de la Saussaie and continue straight ahead, passing an EDF substation and then a playground on your right. Cross a street, take Rue de l'Église slightly to the right and you will arrive at the foot of the imposing bell tower of the church.

Yellow + green markings

(8) Go through a small gate and continue along a path, passing a garden and the town hall on your left. At the end, continue left (south) along Rue du Marronnier. At the stop sign, continue straight ahead along Rue de la Tour (not shown on the 1:25,000 map but visible with a higher zoom). At the T-junction at the end of the street, turn left and go downhill. At the stop sign, make a first turn right then left and follow Chemin des Vignes. Walk alongside the plots and greenhouses of a market garden and cross the Marsange for the third time.

Yellow markings

(9) At the end of the bridge, turn right towards the fitness trail (sign) onto a gravel path which quickly gives way to a grassy path. Turn right then left with the path and walk along the Marsange river on your right and pastures on your left (there are a few fitness trail equipment along the path).

Yellow + green markings

(10) At the footbridge over the river (not shown on the map), continue straight ahead and take the tunnel under the TGV line. Continue south-east with pastures on your left, then a hedge. Cross the D10 road and continue along the path opposite, between the fields and hedges on the left and with the river more or less close by on the right. At a fork at the end of a field, turn left at a right angle (ignore the ford over the Marsange on the right). Climb gently up a meadow on your left. At the first houses, at a fork, turn left.

(11) At the end of the lane, follow the small road on the right. After a hundred metres, turn right with the road, go downhill and ignore an access to private property on the left. At the bottom, cross the Ru de la Berthelérie. Immediately after and before the D96 road, take a grassy path on the left, leaving a house on your left. Climb between hedges and meadows. At a three-way junction, take the path on the right (no signpost here). At the immediate fork (elevation 100), continue straight ahead on the path on the left. Note the vineyard on the right, a very rare crop in the region.

(12) At the entrance to Liverdy, cross the departmental road and continue straight ahead on Rue de la Bernoiserie. At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead on the same street. Turn left (old wash house with a drinking trough and a well next to it) then right (ruined chimney of an old tile or brick factory).

Yellow markings

(13) At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead (ignore the green markings on the left). At the stop sign, continue straight ahead on Rue des Fontaines. Ignore Impasse de la Noisette on the left. Turn left with the street, then right. Ignore the downhill path and walk alongside "les Fontaines de Liverdy" on your right (spring and wash house). Continue straight ahead on a gravel track that is closed to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. At the crossroads, turn right at a right angle, keeping a horse pasture on your right. Go down a stony path and cross the Marsange again.

(14) Go up opposite on a shaded path. Enter a wood and ignore an access to private property on the left. Near the edge, turn left. Further on, turn right then left and continue south-southeast along the edge. At the junction with a path leading off to the right to cross a railway line, continue straight ahead (no signpost here). Walk along the railway line below on the right, then turn left towards the roof of a farm building. Descend and leave the building on your right. Cross the Marsange again on a footbridge parallel to the Gué de Retal.

(15) Go up opposite on a small road and ignore the Chemin de la Garenne on the left. Further up (bus stop), ignore the small road on the left and, immediately after, follow a road on the right. Pass a wash house on the right, then a large house with a dovecote. Then turn right into Rue des Données (dead end). Follow this street to the end, ignoring the accesses to properties on either side. At the end of the tarmac road, pass a concrete block building on your left.

(16) At the next crossroads, take the path on the left (the "No Entry" sign only applies to the area off the path). Turn right onto this path, continue along the edge of the woods, then enter the woods and keep heading south. At a T-junction, turn left at an acute angle and walk slightly uphill. Leave the woods and continue east along the edge. At the next junction, turn right and re-enter the woods. Continue along the edge of the woods and downhill, crossing the Marsange river on a bridge without a railing (wet crossing).

(17) Climb up between the fields. At the top of the hill, cross the railway line at the level crossing and continue straight ahead on a tarmac road. Pass a large shed on your left, then a riding centre. Ignore three small roads on your right, then two small roads on your left. At the stop sign, continue straight ahead on Rue de la République, which soon turns left. Cross Rue Renard and arrive at a small grassy square at the foot of the church on the left.

(18) Pass the church and turn left onto Rue de la Mairie. At the fork that follows, continue right onto Rue de la Mairie and pass the square of the same name and the town hall on your right.

(19) At the T-junction with Rue Jude de Cresne, there are two options depending on the conditions:

- In December 2020, the upstream footbridge over the Yerres was closed (thanks to Cyclochica for reporting this). While waiting for the footbridge to be repaired, follow the detour suggested by Cyclochicia (not signposted): turn right into Rue Jude de Cresne; take the^first left, Rue de la Fontaine; rejoin the main route at the EDF substation and go straight up into the woods.

- If the footbridge is open, turn left onto Rue Jude de Cresne. After passing the post office on your right, turn right onto Rue du Clos Pottier and go downhill. At the next junction, at the corner of No. 14, continue straight ahead. At the next junction, continue straight ahead along a path that descends between two hedges. Take the footbridge and cross the Yerres (the Marsange flows into it about 700m upstream). Turn immediately right onto the grassy bank that runs alongside the river on your right.

(20) At the second footbridge, turn left and leave an EDF power station on your right. Continue straight ahead on a path that climbs into the woods (marker with a No. 1, towards Verneuil). Ignore a perpendicular path on the left and then a path that branches off diagonally. Veer slightly to the right and follow a long straight line through the forest (east-southeast), ignoring all the paths branching off to the sides.

(21) At a crossroads, turn left. Then ignore a path branching off to the left (not shown on the map) and pass through a forest barrier near the N36. Then veer left and walk alongside the N36 for about 200m. Turn left to move away from it, ignore a path on the right and follow a railway line below on the right. At the end of the path, turn right and take the bridge over the railway line. Turn right and cross the N36. Continue straight ahead (east) on a farm track.

Yellow + green markings

(22) At the junction with a path coming from the left, continue straight ahead. Walk along the left-hand side of the gardens, which are full of fruit trees. At the next junction (house on the left), follow a small road on the right that quickly turns left. At the next junction, continue straight ahead and follow the small road along an industrial estate on the right.

(23) Cross the D402 road (take care), continue straight ahead, enter Verneuil-l'Étang and pass Rue Georges Brassens on your right. At the next junction, turn right into Rue Pasteur towards the station (signposted). At the end of the street, turn right to return immediately to Verneuil l'Étang station (E).

To return home:
- Transilien - Line P, towards Longueville and Provins (immediate access) or Paris-Est (use the footbridge).

Train timetables: consult the Transilien website.

For motorists:
Organise yourselves with at least two vehicles, one in the car park of each of the two stations, which are located on two different sections of the P line. With only one vehicle, travelling there or back by train would require a change at Paris-Est station.

Hiking boots are required. Potentially wet sections in the second half of the straight line ahead (21): possibility of bypassing on the right (well-marked trail).

Bar-restaurant-grocery store in Presles-en-Brie, Rue de l'Église. Grocery store and bakery in Ozouer-le Voulgis, near the church. No drinking water points identified along the route.

Signposting is generally sparse, even in the forest, and non-existent in cultivated areas due to a lack of support. A 1:25,000 map is therefore essential (at least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed by the author on 24 September 2016.

In Presles-en-Brie:
- Former guardhouse of the Château de Presles-en-Brie, front (8).
- Notre-Dame de l'Assomption Church (13th-16th century) (8), with a bell tower that was probably used for defensive purposes.

In Liverdy-en-Brie:
- Chimney of a former tile factory (18th century), Rue de la Bernoiserie, front (13).
- Fontaines spring and wash house.
- Large old house with dovecote, in Retal.

In Ozouer-le-Voulgis:
- Saint-Martin Church (13th-16th century) (18), with a bell tower that also appears to have been used for defensive purposes.

In Verneuil-l'Étang:
- The tall, numerous silos overlooking the station (E) are a reminder that Brie is a vast grain-growing plain.