From Villers-Cotterêts to La Ferté-Milon through the Forest of Retz

Access: Villers-Cotterêtsstation (TER Hauts-de-France).

No signposts

(S) With your back to Villers-Cotterêts station, take the street on the right, then the one on the left, Rue Alexandre Dumas, to head towards the town centre. Then take the second right, Rue de Verdun, until you reach the church.

(1) Walk past the Cité Internationale de la Langue Française, then take the path on the left in the car park to the alley perpendicular to the castle.

(2) Take Rue Jean-Baptiste Clément opposite, then the road that continues on from it, Allée de la Tulipe Noire, then at the end, turn right onto Rue Jacques Bonhomme, which leads back to the main road. Turn left and walk 100 metres, passing in front of a hotel entrance, then turn left onto the path just behind it. Continue to the tower marking the north-east corner of the castle grounds.

(3) Continue slightly, then turn left through the opening in the wall and walk up the path to the castle. Go around it on the left and return to the perpendicular path.

(4) Continue left along this lane, cross the road (D81), then the bridge over the railway line. Join the D231 at Carrefour du Désert.

(5) Cross it carefully and continue straight ahead into the forest. After 200 m, at the star-shaped crossroads, take the second path on the right. Join the Carrefour du Tréfond and take the Laie de la Marmitte on the right to the D973.

(6) Cross it and follow the Route Tortue, which is almost straight ahead, to the Carrefour de la Matreuse. Cross the Laie de la Matreuse and continue straight ahead to the Laie de la Queue d'Oigny, an old elevated railway line. Pass under the bridge and join the Carrefour du Poteau Coquetier on the other side, where you will find the GR®11.

Red and white markings (GR®11)

(7) Take it diagonally to the left via Route Coquetière, continuing straight ahead while passing a road at Carrefour du Rond de Châtillon. Continue straight ahead to Carrefour d'Hornoy 300 m away.

(8) Leave the GR® trail on your left. Continue straight ahead to the edge of the forest. Then follow the path that turns left, and after 300 m rejoin the GR® at the next crossroads. Follow it to the right as you leave the forest. Cross the farmland to the village of Oigny-en-Valois. Turn left and continue to the church square.

(9) Take Rue Saint-Antoine on the right and pass in front of the castle. Leave the village to return to the woods and reach the Carrefour du Fond d'Enfer with wider paths.

(10) Follow the GR® which descends slightly to the right. In the valley, join a wider path for 100 m.

(11) Take the first path on the right, Laie du Pont Robert, which climbs steeply. Reach the Carrefour du Pont Robert crossroads on the plateau. Take the wider path on the left, which continues on from Laie du Fond d'Enfer to the next crossroads, Carrefour du Haut Oisel. Take the path on the left to descend, then follow the path on the right at the bottom of the valley. Continue until you leave the woods and reach a road that runs alongside the canalised Ourcq river.

(12) Follow it to the right for 100 metres, then turn right onto a beautiful cobbled road that climbs up to the château of Silly-la-Poterie.

(13) Pass in front of the castle gates and descend gently, following the road to the village. When you reach a road coming from the church (you can take a short detour to the left to visit it), take the path that branches off to the right into the fields. Follow it until you descend into the neighbouring valley and reach the dyke of a pond.

(14) Cross the dyke and climb up the other side after turning left. Follow the path to the first houses of La Ferté-Milon. Follow the road, Rue de Bourcq, until it crosses Rue des Galets.

(15) Go down Rue des Galets on the left until you reach the railway line. Find the station (E) by turning right just after the level crossing.

Return: La Ferté-Milonstation (terminus of a branch of the Transilien P line)

(S) Departure from Villers-Cotterêts station, on the Hauts-de-France TER network (Paris-Laon line). Check the SNCF or Hauts-de-France TER websites for timetables.

(E) Arrival at La Ferté-Milon station, the terminus of a branch of the Transilien P line (Paris-Est network). One train per hour, usually a shuttle between La Ferté-Milon and Meaux, with a change required in Meaux for Paris. Check transilien.com or Île-de-France mobilités for details. Please note that as this station is located in the Aisne department, Île-de-France fares do not apply.

The circular proposed in Villers-Cotterêts at the start is of course optional (and also depends on a possible accommodation option in Villers as proposed in the previous stage). If you do not do it, go directly from point (2) to point (4) (almost superimposed) in the description.

Crossing the Retz forest: same recommendations as for the previous stage, the paths may be muddy or even waterlogged, so bring suitable equipment. Particular attention should be paid to the climb up Laie du Pont Robert after point (11), as the path is steep and narrow and can be a real quagmire that is particularly difficult to cross. If the terrain is truly impassable, there are alternative routes: either via the plateau, taking the Laie du Fond d'Enfer on the right at the crossroads of the same name to reach the Carrefour du Pont Robert directly, or via the valley, continuing after (11) to reach (12) directly via the path that runs along the bottom.

Hike completed on 15 December 2024 with the aim of covering the entire GR® 11.

• Centre of Villers-Cotterêts, from (S) to (2)
• Villers-Cotterêts Park and Castle, Cité Internationale de la Langue Française, from (2) to (4)
• Retz Forest, from (5) to (12)
• Oigny-en-Valois, its church and castle (9)
• Le Port aux Perches, upstream end of the Ourcq Canal (12)
• Silly-la-Poterie and its castle (13)