From Le Vaudoué to Malesherbes

Start the stage in Le Vaudoué on Place Louis Pasteur, with your back to the town hall and the Tagada mini-market on your right.

The entire hike follows the red and white markings of the GR®1

(S). Walk along Place Louis Pasteur on the right. Continue straight ahead at the intersection, leaving the church on your left. At the end, make a quick first turn left then right before continuing on Rue de l'Ermitage, opposite, and reaching a Y-junction.

(1) Turn right onto Rue de la Fontaine de Fourches. Leave Le Vaudoué and you will come to a track on the left.

(2) Take this track and climb into the woods. Once at the edge of the woods, continue along the edge, leaving a fork on your left. Further on, stay on the main track heading left towards the ruins of the Ancienne Commanderie des Templiers.

(3) Keep going straight ahead at the next fork. Then leave another path on the left and another intersection, continuing on to the third fork.

(4) Descend to the right into a small valley (Vallée de Champlaid). Ignore a path coming from the right. When you reach the track, keep to the left and continue to a crossroads at the edge of the woods.

(5) Keep to the right, re-enter the woods and stay to the right at the fork to reach a small road. Follow this road to the left around the bend and continue to a farm track coming from the right.

(6) Take this path. At the crossroads in the Etampes Valley, enter the woods, keeping to the left. Cross the woods again. When you reach the exit, after an uphill climb, leave a path on the left and continue along the track until you reach a path on the plateau.

(7) Follow this path to the right. At the end, go straight ahead. Leave the crossroads on your right and reach a second one.

(8) Turn right and then left. At the entrance to the woods, turn left and continue until you reach a star-shaped crossroads.

(9) Keep going straight ahead. Then continue straight ahead until you approach the D152. Go up along the right-hand side of the road until the path joins the departmental road.

(10) Cross the road very carefully. Continue along the farm track opposite on the other side of the road. Ignore a fork leading to a wood. At a bend, do not take the path on the right; instead, continue to the next wood.

(11) Turn right along the woods. At the end of the field, enter the woods via the path opposite. When crossing a clearing, ignore the path on the left, then the path on the right at the next clearing. At the end of the path, facing the fences, turn right at a right angle to climb towards Auxy.

(12) Cross the neighbourhood, keeping to the left on Rue du Château d'Eau. Do not take Rue de Bel Air on the right, but the next street (Rue du Vieux Puits) on the right. Quickly turn onto a path on the left, which rejoins Rue du Château d'Eau.

(13) Go down this street on the right. At the car park, turn right, then right again at the next fork to reach a bend.

(14) Cross the road very carefully to rejoin the path that branches off to the left towards the water treatment plant. At the crossroads, keep left and cross the Essonne river.

(15) Continue along the path. Then pass under the departmental road before turning right onto Rue de l'Église Saint-Martin.

(16) At this point, turn left onto Rue du Château. Stay on this street until you reach the school on the left.

(17) At the corner of the school, go up Avenue Lewis Mirepoix, continuing straight ahead until you can go no further. Then turn left onto Avenue du Général de Gaulle, then take a "green alley" on the right. At the end is the Malesherbes RER station (E).

Refreshments available at the Tagada mini-market in Le Vaudoué.

Take care when crossing the roads at (10) and (14).

Picnic area between (13) and (14).

-Between (S) and (1): Saint-Loup Church.

-(3) Former Commandery of the Knights Templar and Fourche Chapel.

-(16) Saint-Martin Church.