Farms and castles of the Hermonville plateau

The start is at the town hall square in Hermonville (car park).

(S/E) From the town hall square, follow the yellow PR® signs along Rue de Prouilly, heading south-west. On leaving Hermonville, ignore the roads on either side and continue straight ahead. The road then becomes a track.

(1) At a fork, turn right and go uphill. At the crossroads (elevation 171), go straight ahead. Leave the forest and walk between the fields (west-southwest). Pass the Ferme Saint-Joseph and you will soon reach a crossroads.

(2) Turn right (leaving the PR®) and walk north-west between the fields.

(3) Join a road, follow it to the left, and pass the Luthernay farm.

(4) After the farm, leave the road and take a path on the right. Heading north-west, walk between fields, then along the edge of a wood on your right. At the crossroads, when you reach the castle wall, turn left.

(5) Come out onto a road and follow it to the right. Pass in front of the Château de Vaux-Varennes and turn left with the road.

(6) At the fork, continue on the road on the left and go straight ahead (west). Pass a wash house on the left and enter Bouvancourt via Rue du Lavoir. At the fork, keep right.

(7) Cross the D30 at the pedestrian crossing and leave the town hall on your right. Cross Rue de l'Église and continue along Rue de la Vignette.

(8) At the end, turn right onto Rue Saint-Fiacre and pass the church of the same name and its adjoining cemetery. At the end of the tarmac road, continue north on a path. Then turn left and go uphill. Ignore a path coming from the left and continue north-northeast between the fields.

(9) At the edge of the forest, at a T-junction, take a path that descends to the left and immediately turn right to enter the woods.

(10) At the crossroads, turn right. Pass the foot of a wayside cross, then enter Guyencourt via Rue de Ventelay.

(11) At the intersection, continue straight ahead on Rue Ovide Boulanger, leaving the church on your left. At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue de Bouffignereux. Ignore a street on your left and, at the hangars, take a path on your right.

(12) At the crossroads shortly after, turn right. Continue straight ahead (south-east) until you reach an intersection near the Château de Châlons-le-Vergeur.

(13) Go straight ahead and go around the buildings on the left. Then turn right, leave the castle on your left, and go uphill.

(14) At the T-junction, turn right and continue uphill. At the next junction (elevation 189), go straight ahead (south-east) between the fields.

(15) At an intersection, continue straight ahead on the GR®145 (red and white markings). Pass at the foot of a wayside cross and head south-southeast.

(16) At the next intersection, turn left at an acute angle with the GR®. Turn right onto the path and continue to a crossroads.

(17) Then turn left and follow a PR® (let the GR® go straight ahead). Follow a motocross track on your left. Stay on the main marked path and ignore the paths branching off to the sides.

(18) At the crossroads, turn left. At the next crossroads, turn right, still following the PR®.

(19) At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead with the PR® and descend gently towards Cauroy-lès-Hermonville. Enter the village via Rue des Carrières.

(20) At the end, turn right and take Rue Jeanne D'Arc. Cross Rue d'Hermonville on the right and continue straight ahead.

(21) When the road turns left, continue along a path, still following the PR®. Ignore a path on the right, then one on the left, then another on the right. Cross a stream.

(22) At the crossroads on the other side, turn right and follow the stream. At the next crossroads (elevation 90), turn left.

(23) You will come out onto a small road; follow it to the right. At the crossroads, take the second road on the right, Rue de Reims (D30). After about 300 m, turn left into Place de la Mairie. Cross Rue de Marzilly (war memorial) and you will immediately return to the car park where you started (S/E).

At this point, you can also take a shortcut to reach Hermonville at point (E) without going through Cauroy. Continue on the GR® 145 by taking the path that descends opposite. This will shorten your route by just over 4 km.