Trail along the little paths of Houdain via Mont de la Comté

Although I too don't find this walk very difficult, the app would never classify it as average.
But with the weather forecast to be very wet over the next few days, there's no doubt that the difficulty will increase.

As far as the villages are concerned, I generally do my best to avoid them (even if it means extending the distance).

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Lovely walk with some nice little climbs. Beautiful views all along the way. It's a shame we don't pass through enough villages.
At the Shire, I was disappointed not to be able to take a photo near the Hobbit house. There's a lovely water mill there.
On the other hand, would you classify it as difficult? The length perhaps?

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A very interesting route.
The start is clearly not very enchanting: you walk along a busy street, cut through a housing estate and then walk along a road with less traffic (which you can follow below in a greener setting).
Once you leave the road, however, the setting is much nicer, a tunnel of greenery leading into a long wood where you can rest on the banks of the Lawe.
A few kilometres further on you come to the stadium, which has been the subject of several comments. The local authority has now installed permanent access, so it's no longer a problem.

The short detour to La Comté is very refreshing, with its reproduction of a Hobbit's house, its mill and its waterfalls.

Make sure you have good shoes, as some of the muddy gradients are technical, but I imagine that in dry weather they'll make things a lot easier.

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parish specific to Brittany, a beautiful circuit, a little monotonous at the start along the old railway line.but very pleasant afterwards.bring good shoes.

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A very beautiful route. The old railway line forms a long tunnel of vegetation, which must be particularly pleasant in summer. The route passes through places that offer magnificent views of the Artois hills. There is very little tarmac, which is appreciated. There are a few muddy stretches, which is normal at this time of year and with the rain of the previous few weeks. Loop completed in 5? hours without getting worked up. Best done early in the morning or late in the afternoon for those who want to watch the wildlife (the animals are out and about and there are fewer people to disturb them).
Do it again

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A very pretty, undulating route alternating between woods, paths and villages, with the old railway track a little long but pleasant in warm weather. We spotted a doe and 2 youngsters at point 7. 5 hours 15 minutes. Patrick and René

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There was a nasty surprise this morning. It's still possible to enter the sports field at point 8, then walk along the Lawe, but it's now impossible to leave via the north gate.
It would appear that walking is not a major concern for the Mairie de La Comté (we're on a signposted route here!). A house was even built on another route a few years ago.

For pleasure, you can always enter the sports field and turn right to join the Lawe and walk alongside it. At the very end, turn left to reach a "superb" fence. Follow it to the left to find an exit onto Rue du Château, which you follow to the right. At the T-junction, turn right into Rue du Moulin.

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I'm surprised to see this prohibition sign at point 8.
The passage through the sports ground is part of the signposted "Haute Vallée de la Lawe" walk, so this part is perfectly signposted, but in the other direction.
I therefore think that this prohibition can be ignored.

As for roe deer, I haven't seen any in this area for a long time. But a squirrel is good enough, because they're becoming rarer and rarer. I've seen them on the old railway line.

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Magnificent hike on 10 October.
Despite the rain of the previous few weeks, the paths were not very muddy.
The bridleway is monotonous because of its length and straight line, but there is plenty of shade, so it must be pleasant in very hot weather.
As for crossing the La Comté stadium (point 8), there is a chain with a sign that says "forbidden to the public" at the entrance, in which case you should continue along rue du Château, turn right and resume the walk at the main entrance to the stadium.
Points 6 to 7: At the top of the steep road, there's a lovely view over the valley.
The description says that you can spot roe deer between points 6 and 7, but all I saw was a squirrel crossing the road 2 metres in front of me.

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Walked today. Very pleasant despite the length of the path on the old railway line, which means it's almost straight. As for the passage towards the La Comté sports ground, if it's the one I saw, it seems to be closed off by a fence (it seems to serve as an entrance to the house just over the bridge). A few dozen metres further on, there's an entrance to the stadium, so no problem there. On leaving the stadium, I found the Hobbits' house but no trace of them (it's July, they must have gone on holiday ). Thank you Joorange for this route.

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I passed through La Comté this morning.

Just after the bridge, there's still an open passageway (quite narrow, so be careful) into the sports field.

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This is surprising, as 2 short hiking trails (Haute Vallée de la Lawe and Folie de La Comté) use this passage.
But local councillors sometimes make astonishing decisions!

I'll take a look.

Luckily for you, we're in a very dry period, as the Lawe is quite wide at this point.

And, as Brel said, "l'aventure commence à l'aurore de chaque matin".

All the best.

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A pleasant walk with beautiful views.
The description is very detailed.
Note that we did the walk on Thursday 16 August and that at La Comté (point 8 on the map), we couldn't get out at the sports hall because a barrier that couldn't be crossed had been installed with a lock....so we had to ford the Lawe... a bit of an adventure!

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A beautiful walk with varied scenery.

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A pleasant walk with no difficulties despite heavy thundery rain. Fortunately, we found a shelter and the route and description were very detailed. At the end of the route from the church in Houdain we were unable to find the right itinerary.

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