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(S/E) The hike starts at Place de Verdun in Précy-sur-Oise.
Red and whiteGR® markings
(S/E) Leave the square via Allée Henri Youf. Continue along this road and, once you reach the end, turn left into Rue du Docteur Charles Andrieu, then immediately right into Cavée du Dieu de Pitié. This is a dead-end street that continues along a sunken path leading up to the plateau.
(1) Once on the plateau, at the intersection of several farm tracks, continue straight ahead across vast fields.
As thePR® markings are often missing due to a lack of supports, be sure to follow the map and the directions in the description.
Continue to the T-junction about a kilometre further on, turn left, then after 150 metres, turn right onto a small unpaved road. Continue to the start of a path on the right, 200 metres after an old dilapidated shed.
(2) Take this path and follow it for one kilometre. It will take you to the village of Blaincourt-lès-Précy, where you will see signs for a cycle route.
(3) Turn right and go to the crossroads with traffic lights to join the main street. Turn right and, about thirty metres further on, turn left into Chemin du Souage. At the next crossroads, turn left onto Chemin des Eyrolles, which will take you to Rue Leleu Robert, where you turn right. Continue to the church and turn right onto Rue des Sablons.
(4) At the next fork, leave Rue des Sablons, which turns left and ends in a cul-de-sac, and continue straight ahead along the Résidence des Sablons. At the edge of the village, this street becomes Chemin du Rocron, which climbs up the hillside to a crossroads near a property.
(5) Turn right onto the forest path closed by a barrier. After a fairly steep climb, this path runs along the edge of the woods for about a kilometre and joins a wide track at a T-junction.
(6) Take the track on the left that leads into the woods. It turns right after about a hundred metres. Continue straight ahead into the woods on this winding track, keeping an eye out for theGR® markings at each junction (they are quite visible). The path winds its way up and down, passing a small, well-maintained hunting lodge, and arrives at a junction with a signpost.
(7) Turn right towards Saint-Leu. You will leave the woods after a kilometre and will need to walk another two kilometres to reach a crossroads with a small road.
(8) At the crossroads, you will find a marker on your right bearing theGR® mark, which is embedded flush with the ground. Turn right and then, at the right-hand bend in the road, two hundred metres further on, take the grassy path on the left. In the middle, you will see another marker flush with the ground, also marked with theGR® symbol. This path connects diagonally with a tarmac road (D12), which you take to the right.
(9) At the next crossroads, turn left into Rue du Val, then immediately right into a passageway that continues as a footpath with steps and a log handrail. You will arrive near an archery range and see the abbey church in front of you.
Turn right into the passageway which descends via a staircase to an increasingly narrow passage (less than a metre wide) between two houses until you reach Rue de l'Église. It is called "Ruelle François Villon" (the plaque is at the lower end).
(10) Before continuing your walk, you can turn left onto Rue de l'Église and then right to climb up to the church square and enter the abbey church garden. This is a terrace overlooking the town and the Oise valley. The view is superb. Retrace your steps.
(10) Continue down Rue de l'Église and turn left onto Rue Jean Moulin until you reach Rue de la République, which you cross to take Rue Pasteur, which turns left a little further on.
Cross the level crossing. TheGR® continues straight ahead. Turn right onto Avenue de la Gare.
No signposts
(11) Walk past the station and continue along Rue de la Garenne. You will walk alongside a lake on your left, then pass the entrance to the Saint-Leu-d'Esserent Leisure Centre. Continue to the next level crossing.
(12) Turn right to cross the level crossing. Cross the D92 and follow Rue des Étangs straight ahead. At the junction with Rue de Saint-Leu, you will see a metal crucifix on a stone column on your left. Cross the junction and continue along Rue de l'Église to the Château de Villers-sous-Saint-Leu.
(13) Continue along Rue de l'Église, which ends at the junction with Rue de Boissy, where you will see a stone crucifix on a column on your left. Cross Rue de Boissy and continue straight ahead along Rue du Château d'Eau. You will leave the village. The road climbs up to the plateau in a wide curve to the left.
(14) A few metres before the water tower, turn left onto the farm track. Two hundred metres further on, at the crossroads, turn left. You will cross the cultivated plateau with beautiful views of the Oise valley on your left. After one kilometre, you will enter a wood where the track joins a small tarmac road. This leads you downhill to the first houses of Précy-sur-Oise a few dozen metres after leaving the wood. Continue to the junction of the D17 and D44.
(15) Cross the junction and continue straight ahead along Rue de Blancourt (the D17) until you reach a roundabout with a small three-tiered flower bed in the middle. Continue straight ahead along Rue Louis Coeurderoy.
(16) At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue du Château, which will take you back to Place de Verdun (S/E).
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Easy 
Moderate 
Very difficult 
