Country:
City:
(S/E) From Place Carnot, with your back to the town hall, take Rue Chanzy (D 946) on the left (junction with the return leg of circular loop no. 1 of the GR® de Pays Argonne. Section shared with circular loop no. 2 of the GR® de Pays Argonne.)
(1) A few metres below the church, continue straight on to cross the Pont Caquot and reach a junction on the left leading onto a path. Follow this path to the RD977.
(2) Cross with the utmost care and head towards the village of Chestres. Continue straight up the Grande Rue.
(3) Turn right into Rue du Champ Maquet. Reach the junction with Rue de la Fontaine (on the right, you’ll find a20th-century fountainand a picnic area). Continue straight ahead, then, at the junction with a road running perpendicular to it, turn right. At the next fork, continue straight ahead.
(4) About 1 km further on, a track takes over from the road. Continue along this track. After passing through the fields, you’ll reach the edge of a wood.
(5) Turn right down a small slope and follow the edge of a field until you enter the forest. Ignore the first path on the left, then the second.
(6) At the next junction, follow a path to the left until you reach the edge of the forest. Keep going straight ahead and you’ll come out onto the D 947.
(7) Cross it with care. Head left towards the village of La Croix-aux-Bois. Take the D319 on the right for about 200 m, then turn left onto the first path, heading towards a water tower. At the corner of the cemetery, go down a steep track on the right.
(8) At the bottom, go round the pond on the right. Continue straight on along the Ruisseau de Livry. Walk alongside a second pond, then join a small road leading to the village of Longwé.
(9) At Place de Longwé, turn left onto a street that ends in a path running alongside a wood. On the climb, take the third path on the left (sunken section). At the top, continue straight on, ignore a path on the left and, at the end, turn right (pay attention to the signposts). Then head up to the left at a right angle, then stay on the same path until you reach the forest road.
(10) Then turn left and continue to the centre of the large crossroads, where the Chêne Pâté and Bois de Termes forest roads meet. The route takes you through the La Croix-aux-Bois National Forest, where several walks allow you to discover the local biodiversity.
(11) Turn left onto the Route Forestière du Chêne Pâté and follow it for about 800 m. A path on the right leads to the Étang de la Demoiselle (yellow markings, 15 mins round trip; wildlife to spot: dragonflies in season, amphibians, etc.). Otherwise, continue straight along the forest road for about 1.7 km.
(12) Cross a road and continue straight ahead for about 800 m.
(13) Turn right onto a straight, descending path, then head back up the opposite side to join a wide path.
(14) You’ll emerge at the bend in the Piste Forestière du Rocan, which you should take to the left, heading downhill. At the bottom, ignore the Piste Forestière du Grand Bourgogne on the right and continue straight on uphill. Reach the junction with the Route Forestière du Petit Bourgogne, near the summit of Mont d’Arson (258 m) (Junction with the GR® 14. Separation from circular loop no. 2 of the GR® de Pays Argonne).
(15) Continue straight on. After a telephone pylon, continue downhill on a hard-packed track to Briquenay.
(16) On the outskirts of the village, just before a bend in the D54, turn left onto Chemin de la Gazonnette, which curves to the right. Continue straight ahead (on the left, just before the climb, there is a picnic table and a wash house). At the crossroads, continue straight ahead.
(17) At the D42, cross carefully and continue straight ahead along the Route d’Harricourt. At the farm, continue straight on along the road through the cultivated fields and pastures (viewpoint). Pass in front of the Malmaison farm (farmhouse-castle). The road, briefly lined with plane trees, leads to the village of Harricourt (Maison de la Montgonière). At the junction of Rue du Moulin and Rue de la Malmaison, go straight on towards the church (Église Saint-Georges (12th century)). Pass the church, then walk past the town hall. Continue on to the cemetery, at the D947.
(18) Cross the D947 (take care) and head straight on along the D6. About 250 m further on (calvary), turn left onto a small road which quickly becomes a track. Gravel-surfaced and stabilised, this track winds through the fields. Follow it for over 3 km to Fontenois.
(19) At the junction, turn left onto the D24 (there is a memorial to the victims of 31 August 1914 in Fontenois). After leaving the hamlet, pass the junction with Rue du Moulin and continue straight on for about 200 m. Turn right onto the first stabilised track.
(20) At a bend, take a path on the left to cross a field, going slightly downhill and then uphill again. At the end, turn left and you’ll come out onto a track which you should follow to the right, descending into the valley near the Étang de la Côte Gueille. Continue towards Saint-Pierremont.
(21) You will arrive at the Church of Saint-Pierre in Saint-Pierremont, which features a 13th-century Gothic choir with a flat apse and ribbed vaults, whilst the nave and portal date from the 18th century. It houses a black marble high altar with Corinthian columns. The church has been listed as a historic monument since 1926. It was here that Jean Mabillon, a 17th-century scholar, was baptised. Opposite the church, turn right onto the Grand’Rue and continue to the war memorial. Turn left onto a small uphill road. At the next crossroads, carry on straight ahead, then, after about 300 m, turn left onto the first path which climbs upwards through the fields.
(22) At the top of the Saint-Pierremont hill (viewpoint), continue straight on. Then head back down through the fields to reach Oches. At a junction marked by a triangular traffic island, continue straight on to enter the village, leaving an uphill path on your left. Reach a central crossroads.
(23) Turn left towards Verrière via Rue de la Fontaine (D 424). Cross a stream (Ruisseau la Bièvre) then, at a shed, turn right onto the road that climbs through the fields. On the plateau (panorama), at a left-hand bend, leave the road and turn right onto a farm track.
(24) Reach a crossroads at a place called Le Ginoivre. Continue straight on to the D130 (waymark).
(25) Turn left to head down to Les Grandes Armoises (picnic area, drinking water, Sainte-Catherine Church). In front of the church, continue straight on and pass the town hall.
(26) At the large crossroads, turn left onto the road towards Le Chesne for about 500 m. You will reach a T-junction.
(27) Follow the Chartreuse forest track to the right for about 2 km. You will reach a crossroads in the heart of the Bois des Barbières. Continue along the forest track.
(28) When the track splits in two, turn left and take a path. Head downhill alongside the meadows (view of the Chartreuse du Mont-Dieu on the right) and emerge at the bend in the D230a (where it separates from the GR® 14). The Chartreuse du Mont-Dieu was the first Carthusian monastery to be established in France. Founded in the12th century, it was rebuilt in the17th century.
(29) In front of the entrance to the monastery, turn left and follow the road.
(30) About 1 km further on, cross a road and continue straight on along a small descending track, initially tarmac, then dirt. Head up the slope along a tree-lined lane and continue to the Nocièves farm and the D30.
(31) Turn right onto the D30. At a pylon (signpost for elevation 266), turn right onto a path. This turns left (panoramic view), then joins a road leading down to Tannay. In the village, turn left towards Saint-Martin Church (16th century, listed as a historic monument, Square Bournard, wash house and millstone).
(32) Turn right onto the road (D8) which descends and leaves the village. After passing some farms, cross the Bar (a tributary of the Meuse) via a bridge and reach the Canal des Ardennes (an 88 km canal linking the Aisne and Meuse valleys, featuring 44 locks and a tunnel): cross it. On the other side, continue along the D8, which turns right. The road climbs the Côte Henry and descends into a valley. You’ll reach a junction 50 m before a stream.
(33) Turn left onto a farm track leading to La Baronnerie through the fields. Pass the farm, then continue straight on. Cross through wooded areas.
(34) Cross the D12 and continue straight ahead. Head up a tree-lined lane, keeping to the left-hand path (view of Lac de Bairon). Continue towards the houses of Saint-Brice and emerge onto the D312. Lac de Bairon consists of two ponds separated by a dam. The Vieil Étang, to the north, is a nature reserve home to a rich and varied array of wildlife: crested newt, little bittern, marsh warbler, marsh harrier, polecat, dragonflies, etc.
(35) Follow the road to the right, then take the path that crosses over and leads to the lake (rest area by the lakeside with picnic tables). Return to the D312, then take the D212 which crosses the lake. At the end of the dyke, turn left onto a dirt track running alongside the lake. About 1.2 km further on, turn right and cross a small canal via a footbridge. Climb the Côte du Petit Moulin along a small road. Pass the Stade Louis Page, then turn right into Le Chesne. Take the D991 on the left to reach the Place du Parlement.
(36) Turn right (view of Saint-Jacques Church, situated on the Way of Saint James. It was partially destroyed during the bombings of May 1940, with the exception of its imposing13th-century tower. The nave and choir were rebuilt in the15th- and16th-century Gothic style), then take the cycle path (Sud-Ardennes Greenway) which runs alongside the canal on the right. Follow it for 5 km (caution: this is a shared path). The route winds through the Montgon locks valley: there are fourteen locks along the way. Reach lock no. 14 and a bridge at Montgon. In this village you will find the modern Church of Notre-Dame as well as the eco-museum in the 1950s-era school.
(37) Cross the canal via the bridge and immediately turn right onto Rue de Mélimé. Wind your way between the properties and stay on this road as it climbs through the fields (Mélimé Castle is private). Continue straight on, passing the edge of the Bois de la Carrière. After this section, ignore a path branching off to the left and continue in the same direction. Head down to the bend in the road.
(38) Continue straight on, following the road uphill. After a house, turn left onto a path. At the next fork, take the right-hand path. Continue across the fields, ignore the first path on the right after a bend, then take the second path. It turns at a right angle and heads towards the forest.
(39) At Les Taillettes, take a path running perpendicular to the road (an old Roman road) and head to the right. Pass by a water tower hidden in a copse. Continue straight ahead. At the junction of several roads, carry on straight ahead and reach a grassy square in Voncq (see the Church of Notre-Dame).
(40) Follow the D14 towards Vouziers as far as the war memorial (remarkable view over the Aisne, orientation table, picnic table). Turn right onto the downhill road. At the bottom, by the wash house, take a road on the left for about 70 m.
(41) Turn right onto a descending path. Further down, turn left, then rejoin the road and turn right. Cross the Aisne via the Voncq bridge (the river rises in the Argonne and flows into the Oise after a course of 356 km). Continue along the road (take care!), then cross the Canal de Vouziers at Voncq Lock No. 3 and the lock keeper’s house towards Gare Quai Rimbaud.
(42) Turn left onto the cycle path and follow it for nearly 5 km along the canal (take care: this is a shared path). After a wide bend to the right, the canal approaches the meanders of the Aisne at lock no. 2 in Vrizy and the lock keeper’s house. After the lock, the Canal de Vouziers widens. Continue along the towpath until you reach a bridge over the D19, at the entrance to Vrizy. The village centre is 900 m away, following the D19. There you will find the Gothic-style Saint-Maurice Church, renovated in 1890.
(43) Go under the bridge and continue straight on until the next one, near Condé-lès-Vouziers (there is a small park between the canal and the Aisne).
(44) Continue straight on, passing a final lock. This is Lock No. 1 at Vouziers, which marks the start of the Vouziers Canal. Stretching 12 km, it features 4 locks with a total drop of nearly 9 m. This canal is a branch of the Ardennes Canal. After passing large grain silos visible on the opposite bank, continue until you see Vouziers church. Before the bridge over the Aisne, turn right into Rue Taine, which climbs (junction with the start of Circular Loop No. 1 and with Circular Loop No. 2 of the GR® de Pays Argonne).
(1) Walk up Rue Chanzy towards Place Carnot to return to the starting point (S/E).
Local authority
Moderate 
Easy 
Visorando Member
