Medieval churches of the Brie region – The Priory Church of Voulton

Start in front of Voulton Priory Church. Preferably park on Rue de l’Église, alongside the church, or failing that, in the space in front of the church.

Yellow markings
These markings are generally sparse. Between the fields, they are absent due to a lack of suitable surfaces.

(S/E) Set off with your back to the church façade and walk along a small square lined with plane trees. Turn left into Rue des Platanes (as the name suggests), then take the first right into Rue Guingard. Note the arrow on the left indicating a left-hand bend in 500m: consequently, immediately after this arrow, ignore Rue Marcel Rouffy on the left and continue straight ahead. The tarmac gives way to a grassy path; follow it westwards, ignoring a path branching off to the right.

(1) At the T-junction (with an electricity pole opposite in a field), take a wide track to the left. At the end, follow a small, gently sloping road to the right. Enter Gimbrois and pass a few houses. At the next junction, continue straight on along the C5 road towards Les Hautes Mézières (ignore the C1 road on the left) and cross a stream.

(2) Immediately after the stream and level with a gate leading to a farmstead, leave the road to the right and take a farm track that starts to the right of a long, narrow livestock building. At the end of this building, the track veers right (north-north-east) and climbs slightly. At the top, pass a patch of hedge on your right and continue north. The track gives way to a grassy path which soon curves gently to the left. Cross a stream (elevation 153) and continue north-north-west. After a right-hand bend towards a wood, cross the Ru de Barcq.

(3) Then turn right. N.B. What is most clearly visible here is the Yellow Cross on the left, whilst a yellow marker seems to invite you to enter the woods, which you must not do. Walk alongside the woods on your left and the stream on your right.

No signposting

(4) At the corner of the woods, continue straight ahead on the grassy path alongside the stream (ignore the yellow markings turning left). You will then notice a patch of woods on the right on the opposite bank. Pass a fence running alongside these woods with a ‘No Entry’ sign and emerge at a crossroads where two streams meet.

(5) In addition to the path taken so far, there are three paths at the crossroads: to the right, along the stream followed until now; to the left, along a perpendicular stream; in the middle, between the fields. N.B. Only the middle path appears on the IGN map, but both streams are shown. Take the grassy path in the middle, which heads south-east between the fields.

(6) At the next junction (electricity pole on the left), continue straight ahead (east). At the next junction, take the path furthest to the left (east-north-east) towards a house. The path gives way to tarmac; pass a few houses on the right and a well on the left. At the T-junction, follow the D71 road to the right into Le Grand Tremblay (farmhouse on the left). Leave the hamlet and continue for about 200m along the road.

(7) At No. 41 (metal cross on the left), turn left onto a wide grassy path. After passing two poplars on the right, at a fork, turn right, keeping a fence on your right. Continue between two fences, come out onto a street (cemetery on the left) and follow it to the right. At the three-way junction ahead, turn right into Rue Creuse and reach the church via its apse (S/E).

In wet weather, the paths between the fields can be muddy and the stream banks very soggy: wear proper walking boots.

No water sources or shops were spotted along the route.

A map is essential (at the very least the one accompanying this description). A compass may prove useful.

Alternative route:
At the junction (6), take the path on the right (south) running parallel to the power line. After about 500m, you will reach the junction (1) taken on the way out (power pole nearby in the field on the right). Then head to Voulton church via the same path as on the way out. Expect to cover approximately the same distance as for the main route.

Walk completed by the author on 26 October 2016.

- Priory Church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption (12th–13th centuries) (S/E). A church with a simple layout, without a transept, featuring both Romanesque and Gothic characteristics, and notable for its choir with an octopartite vault (eight-sided, which is extremely rare). According to the Provins website, the church is supposed to be open every day from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm. I visited on a Wednesday morning in October, at 9.00 am and 11.00 am, but it was firmly closed... I hope that anyone attempting to visit this remarkable church will have better luck than I did...

- Gimbrois Manor (16th century) (2). Part of it can be seen through the gate along the road. Another part is visible if you continue a few metres along the road (hamlet exit sign, Yellow Cross).