From Villers-Cotterêts to Crouy-sur-Ourcq

White and red markings

(S) With your back to Villers-Cotterêts station, take Avenue de la Gare on the right. At Place Alexandre Dumas, cross Avenue de La Ferté-Milon (D936) and follow it to the right to cross the level crossing. Follow the^GR®®11A(red and white markings) and, at the roundabout, take Rue du Marchois on the left.

(1) At the crossroads, cross Rue du Marchois and take the pavement on the right. Rue du Marchois continues as Route d'Oigny, which leaves Villers-Cotterêts. At the crossroads under the first trees of the Retz National Forest, take the path on the right for 100 metres.

(2) Then turn left (south-east) onto the grassy path between plots nos. 962 and 1001.

(3) At the Carrefour du Poteau Coquetier, go under the bridge. At the exit, first turn left then right to follow Route Coquetière between plots nos. 964 and 1008 with the^GR®®11(ignore the GR® 11 sign opposite towards Vallée de l'Automne and Crépy-en-Valois). Head south-east and pass the Rond de Chatillon crossroads.

(4) At the Carrefour d'Hornoy, turn left onto the path that winds between plots nos. 972 and 973. Leave the woods via a farm track that becomes the Allée du Puits des Sarrasins in Oigny-en-Valois. This alley leads to Rue des Bourgeois.

(5) Follow this street to the left and turn left again. Opposite the church, turn right onto Rue Saint-Antoine. The street runs alongside the village square (water point) and continues opposite (^16th-century château). Rue Saint-Antoine ends in a cul-de-sac in front of the gate of the last property in Oigny-en-Valois: take the grassy path to the right of the gate and follow the hedge surrounding this property. The path descends through the woods.

(6) At the Fond d'Enfer crossroads, leave the Route de Faverolles, which veers sharply to the left, and take the second path on the left (in plot no. 1057;^GR®® markings). The path runs alongside a pond on the right (muddy), then turns right to follow the bottom of the valley of a tributary of the Ourcq.

(7) About 20 metres after a track starts on the left, leave the Route du Fond du Haut Oisel and climb to the right along a grassy path between plots nos. 1057 and 1065. The Laie du Pont Robert leads to the Carrefour du Pont Robert (junction of^{the GR®®11}with the^GRP®® Tour de l'Omois).

(8) Turn left (south-east) onto Laie du Fond d'Enfer (^3rd path on the left on the map). Go around a flooded section on the left and, at a fork, continue straight ahead.

(9) At Carrefour du Haut Oisel, descend to the left via Laie de Silly. 100 metres further down the descent, turn right to descend towards Route du Fond du Haut Oisel (the purple line on the 1:25,000 IGN map is not up to date).

(10) Take Route du Fond du Haut Oisel on the right. At the T-junction, turn right, still on Route du Fond du Haut Oisel. At Port-aux-Perches, follow the D17 to the right for 100 metres.

(11) Go up to the right via Rue des Hureaux, the gravel lane to the right of Rue du Chemin Vert. At the fork (elevation 100.5), continue straight ahead.

(12) At Silly-la-Poterie Castle, descend into the village via Rue de l'Abbé Latz on the left.

(13) At the junction with Rue Louis Toulot, leave Silly-la-Poterie via Sentier Saint-Médard on the right. The path runs along the hillside and then descends through the woods. At the T-junction, continue downhill along the path on the left. Cross the weir of a pond and walk along the left-hand side of it.

(14) At the T-junction, take the path on the left. It continues along a farm track, then along Rue de Bourcq to La Ferté-Milon.

(15) At the three-way junction, descend via Rue des Galets on the left. Continue down Rue de la Chaussée, which is a continuation of Rue des Galets (Agricultural Machinery Museum). Cross the level crossing (La Ferté-Milon station on the right).

(16) At the post office, turn left into Ruelle Melaye. Walk along the back of the gardens, then turn right. Cross Avenue de Verdun and continue opposite along Allée des Soupirs. The lane leads to Chemin de Halage de l’Ourcq, Rue de la Cité, which you follow to the right for 50 metres to the footbridge at La Ferté-Milon lock.

(17) Cross the first branch of the Ourcq via the lock footbridge. Follow the tree-lined path on the left. Cross the second branch of the Ourcq, the Bras du Moulin, via the Eiffel footbridge. Cross Place du Port au Blé and take Rue Pomparde on the right. Turn into the^{first street} on the left, Rue Racine (statue of Jean Racine on Place Racine). Go around Notre-Dame Church on the left and leave the^GR®®11, which descends the stairs on the right.

No markings

(18) Continue uphill along Rue des Rats on the left (access to the ruins of the Château de Louis d'Orléans by going up Rue du Vieux Château on the right). Rue des Rats leads to Rue du Vieux Marché (at the top of a staircase that was used by the^GRP®® before being closed off).

Yellow and red markings

Turn right onto Place du Vieux Marché.

(19) At the last houses in La Ferté-Milon (road sign indicating the direction of Saint-Quentin-sur-Allan), take the path on the right. After three uphill bends, you will reach a plateau. Continue straight ahead, south-southwest (view of the first houses of Vaux-Parfonds).

(20) At the crossroads (former Vaux-Parfonds water tower), take Rue de la Ferté on the left. Cross Vaux-Parfonds. At the T-junction, take the road on the right. After the Borny forest house, the road descends into the Bois de Borny (unsafe verges, especially in the right-hand bend).

(21) At the end of the bend (road sign indicating the direction of Saint-Quentin-sur-Allan), go down to the left and cross Saint-Quentin-sur-Allan. At the calvary, cross the D83 (dangerous crossing). Take the D83 to the right for 50 metres, then the road on the left. Cross the Ru d'Allan.

(22) At the fork (road sign for "Louvry"), turn left and walk alongside a farm. At the corner of the farm, turn right onto Chemin des Chapelles and cross the farmyard. Go up to the left along the tree-lined path that enters the Bois de Montigny.

(23) At the fork, turn right. The path turns left, then right before heading south-west in a straight line for 3 kilometres. After passing two ponds (Mare aux Carpes and Belle Mare), the path descends to leave the Bois de Montigny.

(24) At the crossroads, turn left. After 150 metres, take the road on the right (follow the^GRP®® access and let the^GRP®® itself continue straight ahead). Pass the Montigny-l'Allier cemetery (water point). At Place des Tilleuls, take the Grande Rue on the right (D9).

Yellow markings

(25) At the intersection, take the D910 on the left towards Crouy-sur-Ourcq ( unsafe hard shoulders). After the bridge over the Clignon, Rue de Crouy becomes Rue du Clignon. At a place called "La Chaussée", Rue du Clignon turns right.

(26) At the end of the bend, go up the path on the left. Head south-southwest, first between the fields and then through the Bois de la Grande Laie. Cross a road and continue opposite (southwest) along the path between the fields. At the fork, turn left and walk alongside a farm.

(27) At the intersection at the corner of the Crouy-sur-Ourcq stadium, go down to the right along Rue de la Récompense. Ignore a street on the right and, at the fork, continue down Rue Raphaël on the right. In the left-hand bend, leave Rue Fontaine des Tuyaux on the right.

(28) At the T-junction, take Rue Montanglos on the right.

No signposts

Cross Place du Marché. Continue along Rue du Général de Gaulle on the right and stay on this street.

(29) At the end, turn left onto Rue des Étuves. Turn right and walk along the right-hand side of Place du Champivert.

White and red markings

(30) At the fork, turn left onto Avenue de la Gare. Pass at the foot of the keep of the former Château du Houssoy and turn right towards Crouy-sur-Ourcq station (E).

Hike completed by the author on 26 August 2018.

For train timetables:
- To Villers-Cotterêts via the TER line between Paris-Nord and Laon: consult the SNCF website.
- Return from Crouy-sur-Ourcq via the P line between Paris-Est and La Ferté-Milon: check the Transilien website.

For motorists: organise at least two vehicles, one in the car park of each of the two stations, which are not on the same line.

At the start of the route, the white and red markings of^{the GR®®11A}are faded from Villers-Cotterêts station (S) to the junction of^{the GR®®11A}with the^GR®®11(3).

For groups and children, take particular care:
when crossing:
- the D83 in Saint-Quentin-sur-Allan between (21) and (22),
the verges are not safe:
- along the road that descends into the Bois de Borny between (20) and (21) from the Maison forestière de Borny,
- along the D910 in Montigny-l'Allier between (25) and (26).

In the Retz National Forest, the plot numbers are shown on the IGN 1:25,000 map.

Two water points:
- Oigny-en-Valois: village square,
- Montigny-l'Allier: cemetery.

In La Ferté-Milon: SNCF railway station, all shops.

In Crouy-sur-Ourcq: shops and bar-café.

Retz National Forest.

The typical villages of:
- Oigny-en-Valois, 16th-century castle on Rue Saint-Antoine,
- Saint-Quentin-sur-Allan.

The valleys:
- Ourcq,
- Ru d'Allan,
- Clignon.

Ourcq Canal.

Silly-la-Poterie: Castle.

La Ferté-Milon:
- Museum of Agricultural Machinery,
- Lock on the Ourcq Canal,
- Ruins of the Château de Louis d'Orléans.

Bois de Montigny: Mare aux Carpes, Belle Mare (no need to look for the grave of the famous late ORTF presenter).

Montigny-l'Allier: Commandery of the Knights Templar of Moisy.

Crouy-sur-Ourcq: Houssoy keep.