Londe Rouvray Forest, Faidherbe district

The walk through the Forêt de la Londe-Rouvray, starting from the Quartier Faidherbe, offers a real escape into nature on the outskirts of the town. With its forest paths, peaceful clearings and the gentle rolling hills typical of the Normandy plateau, this route invites you to relax and explore. Accessible and rejuvenating, this walk allows you to enjoy a lush green setting whilst exploring one of the most beautiful woodlands in the Rouen region.

Details

93197462
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Last update:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.91 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 44 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 48 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 96 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 55 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Oissel (76350)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 49.345078° / E 1.059894°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1911ET
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking and start: coming from Les Essarts, just after the police academy, second car park on the left. Coming from Oissel, park 400 m to the right before the police academy, on Route Forestière du Fond du Catelier.

(S/E) Take the Route Forestière du Fond du Catelier to the second turn-off on the right.

(1) Turn right, continue for about 350 m and turn left. At the T-junction ahead, turn left and head down this path to the dip at the crossroads. Continue straight ahead (or, for those who find it a bit more challenging, first turn left then right: the slope is slightly less steep). Carry on straight ahead, ignore the first crossroads and at the second crossroads, turn left towards a roundabout.

(2) Turn right onto Route du Fond du Catelier towards Champs de Saint-Étienne. Pass under the power lines, ignore the first junction and continue to the Carrefour de Oissel. Turn left and carry on to the Carrefour du Chapeau à Trois Cornes.

(3) Turn left and immediately left again, onto Route du Fond de l'Essart towards Madrillet. Continue for approximately 430 m (until 50 m before the fence on the left), then veer right – be careful, the path is narrow. Keep going straight on until you reach the tarmac, Route de Belbeuf.

(4) Turn left, following the power lines; at the T-junction, turn left. Turn right onto the first path and immediately left; at the T-junction, continue straight ahead until you reach the road, Route du Fond de l'Essart au Madrillet.

(5) Cross the road and continue along the track opposite; ignore the turn-offs to the left and carry on until you reach the fence of the police academy. Follow the fence as it turns right, then for approximately 1,490 m. Then leave the fence, which turns right, and follow the track until you reach the circular bend in the road, Route du Fond du Catelier aux Champs de Saint-Étienne.

(6) Turn right and follow this road to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 92 m - Departmental Road 13
  2. 1 : km 0.19 - alt. 92 m - Route Forestière du Fond du Catelier
  3. 2 : km 2.06 - alt. 85 m - First roundabout
  4. 3 : km 4.13 - alt. 89 m - Chapeau à Trois Cornes junction
  5. 4 : km 5 - alt. 94 m - Route de Belbeuf
  6. 5 : km 6.06 - alt. 93 m - Route du Fond de l'Essart to Madrillet
  7. 6 : km 8.2 - alt. 75 m - Route du Fond du Catelier to Champs de Saint-Étienne
  8. S/E : km 8.91 - alt. 92 m - Departmental Road 13

Notes

The junctions are marked on the ground.

At the Chapeau à Trois Cornes junction there is a picnic table.

Reviews and comments

3.8 / 5
Based on 2 reviews

Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
3.5 / 5
Jean-François Chupin
Jean-François Chupin

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk for the first two-thirds of the route.
Following the fence in the final third isn’t particularly interesting.
Be careful between points 3 and 4: the path on the right is not very visible.

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jijiday
jijiday

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 20, 2026
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I didn’t use the route description. I prefer to download the route onto my phone and follow it on the screen; that way I’m free to have a chat with my hiking companions.
The start of the walk is lovely because the winding little paths are more picturesque than the wide, straight avenues of the Rouvray Forest that we usually take when starting from the exhibition centre side.
On the other hand, towards the end of the walk, we walk for several hundred metres along the barbed-wire-topped fence of the police academy (which we found uninteresting, even sinister, but that’s a matter of taste...) whereas it would have been much more pleasant to return to the car park via one of the forest’s many shaded paths.
In short, it’s a generally pleasant walk that could be improved by changing the final section.

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