Medieval churches of Brie: the Templar church of Rampillon

Starting point and access: Nangis station.
- Transilien - Line P, on the section between Paris-Est and Provins.
Take the Place de la Gare exit, i.e. the platform for trains going from Provins to Paris (if arriving from Paris to Provins, take the underground passage).

No signposts

(S/E) When you leave the station, turn left. At the level crossing, cross Avenue du Maréchal Foch and continue opposite on Chemin de la Gare, which quickly becomes a path running alongside the railway tracks on your left. At the houses, continue along a wide gravel path. At the end, turn right and then immediately left into Rue Barthélémy. At the T-junction, turn left onto Avenue du Général du Taillis. At the stop sign, cross Avenue de Verdun (D419, caution) and follow Rue des Castors diagonally to the right. At the roundabout, cross the street coming from the left and turn left.

Green signposting

(1) Leave the^GRP® trail on the right, which will be taken on the way back (red and yellow arrow at the roundabout), and continue along the street for a few metres. At the fork, follow the small road to the right towards Rongenvilliers and keep the two Nangis cemeteries (the old and the new) on your left. At the Nangis exit sign, note an arrow indicating a fork to the left in 500 m. The road becomes narrower but there is little traffic.

(2) Just after a bend to the right, leave the road and take a path that branches off to the left (east), as indicated above. The path between the cultivated fields quickly becomes grassy. Cross a stream. Continue eastwards on a slight incline, parallel to a power line on your left. At a bush, the power line branches off to the side. Continue eastwards, ignoring a turn-off on the left towards Ferme de La Borde.

(3) At the T-junction, turn left. At the corner of a hedge, turn right and follow the hedge on your left. Leave the water tower and a path on your left. At the next junction (metal gates opposite), turn left and go slightly uphill. At the end, follow the road to the right (Rue du Grand Maître). Cross Rue Basse on the right, then Rue du Pressoir, pass the war memorial on your right and the town hall on your left, and you will come out opposite Rampillon Church, Place de la Commanderie.

No signposts

(4) Leave the church on your left and pass a hiking map (according to this map, we will follow the dotted line to Beauguichet, then the solid line to La Boulloye). Go down Rue de la Commanderie, turning left then right. At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue des Templiers (D76 towards Provins). Stay on this main road, ignoring the side streets.

(5) When the road turns left (pond on the right), leave it and continue straight ahead on a gravel path, walking alongside the cemetery on your left. The path becomes grassy and turns left. At the end, cross the Ru des Grilles (small tree on the right).

(6) Just after crossing it, follow the stream on your right and stay on the grassy bank. Pass a copse on your left and continue along the stream towards the radio tower (which you can't miss). At a crossroads (shrub on the right), continue straight ahead, still following the stream. At the next crossroads (cement pipe channelling the stream), the path ahead appears poorly maintained (and is probably private). Turn left and take the grassy bank of a perpendicular stream, also on the right. Wind your way between the cultivated fields towards a house whose roof is visible. At the corner of the house, turn right and you will come to a farm track (with a railway line opposite).

(7) Follow the track to the right, again towards the radio tower. Cross the Ru des Grilles and come out onto a small road at the foot of the tower. Then turn left and follow the road for about 300 metres.

Yellow signposting

(8) At the entrance to Beauguichet, turn right onto Avenue Saint-Hubert. Stay on the tarmac and pass a small pond on your right. After the last house (on the left), at an elevation of 138 metres, turn right onto the grassy path that starts at the foot of an electricity pole. Walk south-west parallel to a power line, skirting a small wood on your right and ignoring the paths that branch off to the left.

(9) At a three-way junction, turn right (northwest) towards some houses. Note the view on the right of Rampillon Church and, further away and in significantly different architectural styles, the Nangis water tower and the silos of Nangis station. At the next three-way junction, turn left.

(10) Cross the D62 road and enter Les Vaux via Rue de la Moinerie. Cross the hamlet on the small road with a right-hand bend followed by a left-hand bend. After La Moinerie (house with garden and row of poplar trees), the tarmac gives way to a grassy path. At a three-way junction, take the farm track on the right (north-west). This comes out onto a small road in a bend and follow it to the left.

Red and yellow markings

(11) The field path coming from the left is the^GRP® Thibaud de Champagne, but due to a lack of signage, there are no markers here. Continue along the small road and cross La Boulloye (signpost: beautiful old farmhouse at no. 4). At the T-junction, turn right onto the C5 road towards Nangis.

(12) At the fork that follows immediately, leave a^PR® trail that branches off to the right and stay on the road that turns left (yellow and green cross; no^GRP® signpost here...). After heading north-west, the road goes north for about 750 m, with a wood on the right beyond a field.

(13) Shortly before the end of the woods on the right, turn left onto another small road. Be careful, there are two red and yellow arrows at ground level on the left side of the road, but they may be hidden by vegetation (this was the case in early July 2016).

(14) Just before the entrance to the Courtenain farm, turn right then immediately left between two agricultural sheds (the purple line on the IGN map is not entirely accurate). Before a pond, turn right with a shed on your right and head towards an electricity pole with a beacon. Cross a stream and turn north-west onto a farm track. Before the first houses, the track veers slightly to the right and heads north. Keep to the left, passing a copse and then some fenced gardens.

(1) At the end of the road, turn left onto Rue du Faubourg Notaire. At the roundabout, continue straight ahead on the same road and follow it straight ahead, ignoring the side streets.

No signposts

(15) At the Valmy roundabout, take the second left, Rue de la République. Stay on the left-hand pavement and, at the next junction, cross Rue des Écoles and then a car park. Continue west-southwest with a lawn on your left and go around the Château de Nangis on the left. At the southwest corner of the castle, turn right and walk along the castle (on your right) in its former moat. A small staircase will take you to a street opposite the church.

(16) Turn left and head north, taking Rue du Maréchal Delattre de Tassigny, Rue Aristide Briand and Avenue du Maréchal Foch in succession. Just before the level crossing, turn left and you will find Nangis station (S/E).

Train timetables: consult the Transilien website.

This hike is best undertaken in dry conditions (avoid the day after rain) as the grassy paths and stream banks can become very wet in wet conditions. This hike takes place in cultivated plains with almost no shade. In summer, avoid the hottest days and times of day and bring suitable sun protection.

No water sources identified. Bar-restaurant opposite Nangis station (S/E). Shops in Nangis town centre, between (16) and (S/E).

The hike includes unmarked sections and, on the marked sections, signposting is very rare except in towns (mainly due to a lack of support). A 1:25,000 map is therefore essential (at least the one accompanying this description). A compass may be useful...

Shorter alternatives (13 km) (if you are concerned about the monotony of a route through cultivated plains):
For train users - At Rampillon church (4), retrace your steps to the crossroads (3). Continue south on the grassy path. Then continue along the small road, keeping to the right. After a right-hand bend, leave the road and take a field path on the right. At altitude 136, turn left and head south-west to La Boulloye (yellow and green markings). Return to the main route at the point (12).
For motorists - Park at Place de la Commanderie in Rampillon and start the route at the point (4). At La Boulloye (12), leave the route, follow the yellow and green marked trail to the right and follow the alternative route described above in reverse, i.e. between points (12) and (3). Finish on the main route to the church in Rampillon (4).

Hike completed by the author on 8 July 2016.

In Rampillon (4):
- Saint-Eliphe Church (13th century). A church belonging to a former Templar commandery, it features fortification elements, including a round tower on the left of the façade. The tympanum has a beautiful representation of the Last Judgement and work in the fields.
Church opening times:
- From Easter to All Saints' Day, Sundays and public holidays, from 3pm to 6.30pm.
- During the week, ask for the key (in exchange for a form of ID) at the town hall during opening hours: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 1.30pm to 4.30pm; Friday from 5.30pm to 7pm.

In Nangis:
- Saint-Martin-et-Saint-Magne Church (13th-17th centuries) (16).
- Château de la Motte-Beauvoir| (12th-17th centuries), which now houses the Town Hall (16).

Briard farms:
- La Boulloye, at No. 4 on the street, just before (12).
- Courtenain (14).