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(S/E) From Place Carnot, take Rue Chanzy (D 946) on the left. Walk past the church until you reach a junction (where Circular Loop 1 of the GR® de Pays Argonne returns. This section is shared with Circular Loop 2 of the GR® de Pays Argonne.)
Continue along the D946. Cross the Aisne via a first bridge (remains of an old bridge, view of the river) and continue straight on. Cross a second bridge over the Bras de l’Aisne. Turn left to leave Vouziers via a straight road. It winds through fields and, 1 km further on, joins the D977. Cross it (take care!), follow it to the left for 20 metres and continue to the right along the D14D towards the centre of Chestres. Pass the Route de Vandy on your left, continue straight ahead and go round a bend (picnic table).
(1) Turn right into Rue du Champ Maquet. Reach the junction with Rue de la Fontaine. On the right, you’ll find a19th-century fountain and a picnic area. Carry on straight ahead, then, at the junction with a road running perpendicular to it, turn right. At the next fork, carry on straight ahead. About 1 km further on, a track takes over from the road. After passing through the fields, you’ll reach the edge of a wood.
(2) 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. At the next junction, follow a path to the left until you reach the edge of the forest.
(3) Keep going straight ahead and you’ll come out onto the D947; cross it carefully. Head left towards the village of La Croix-aux-Bois. Turn right onto the D319 for about 200 m.
(4) Follow this road and turn left onto the first track, heading towards a water tower. At the corner of the cemetery, head down a steep, narrow track to the right. At the bottom, go round the pond on the right. Continue straight on along the Ruisseau de Livry, past a second pond, then join a small road leading to the village of Longwé.
(5) At the war memorial, turn left onto Chemin du Moulin. Cross the stream, then follow its course whilst staying on the same path. Continue straight ahead and ignore a fork to the left. Walk alongside a pond.
(6) On the climb, take the third path on the left (a narrow, enclosed passage). At the top, continue straight ahead, ignore a path branching off to the left and, at the end, turn right (pay attention to the signposting). Follow a forest track, ignoring a path leading down to the right, then a second one.
(7) Then turn left at the right-hand bend and continue straight on until you reach a wide forest track; follow this to the left for a few metres until you reach a large crossroads, where the Chêne Paté and Bois de Termes forest tracks meet in the Croix-aux-Bois national forest (several walks allow you to discover the local biodiversity).
(8) Turn left onto the Route Forestière du Chêne Paté and follow it for about 800 metres. Continue straight on along the forest road for about 1.7 km.
(9) Pass the turn-off on the right (yellow markings, 15 mins round trip) to the Étang Demoiselle (wildlife to spot: dragonflies in season, amphibians, etc.).
(10) Then cross a road and continue straight ahead for about 800 metres.
(11) Turn right onto a straight, descending path, then head up the opposite side to join a wide path.
(12) You will emerge at the bend in the Rocan forest track, which you should take to the left, downhill. At the bottom, ignore the Grand Bourgogne forest track on the right and continue straight on uphill. Reach the junction with the Petit Bourgogne Forest Track, near the summit of Mont d’Arson (258 m).
(13) Turn right onto the Route Forestière du Petit Bourgogne. About 550 m further on, at the junction with a forest track, go left for 20 metres then right. Follow a path running parallel to the forest road. Soon, leave the path that descends to the left and continue straight ahead. You will reach a crossroads of forest paths.
(14) Turn right for a few metres and rejoin the Route Forestière du Petit Bourgogne: follow it to the left. At the end of the gravel track, continue straight on through the forest along a sunken path. You will reach a three-way junction.
(15) Turn right onto a path leading to a clearing at the end of a compacted forest track.
(16) Take the track on the left for just over 2 km. After a hunting lodge, continue straight on uphill and reach the start of a right-hand bend.
(17) Leave the track and continue straight on along a forest path which quickly descends through the Bois de Bourgogne. At the edge of the woods (on the left, the Notre-Dame du Châtelet picnic area), continue straight on and emerge at a bend in the road; follow the road to the right to reach Place René Bouré, in the centre of the village of Grandpré.
(18) Cross the D946 at the pedestrian crossing and continue straight on, following the D6. Pass a campsite and, on a bridge, cross the Aire, which rises in the Meuse and joins the Aisne after a course of 125 km. After the bridge, turn left onto the D342 for about 1 km.
(19) Turn right onto a track towards La Noue-le-Coq. You will arrive near the entrance to a château. Built in 1619, it is a fine example of 17th-century seigneurial architecture in the region.
(20) Turn left onto a grassy track and cross a stream. To head back up the opposite side, ignore the first track on the right, continue up the steep slope and take the first track branching off to the left at the edge of the woods.
(21) At the end of the field, turn left. Once you’ve emerged from a sunken path, ignore a path branching off to the right and continue straight on along a track. Further on, cross a stream and pass a pond, then come out onto a small road running perpendicular to the path at a cross.
(22) Turn right and, as the road continues, turn left onto a path. About 1 km further on, ignore a track on the left leading to Marcq and reach the Besogne ponds (fishing ponds).
(23) Take the track that runs between the two bodies of water and head up into the Bois Communal de Marcq. Stay on this forest track until you reach a crossroads at a place called La Côte Chanchardron.
(24) Continue straight ahead, staying on this track for about 2.5 km until it joins the D4 (where there are picnic tables).
(25) Do not take the road, but follow a forest track to the left. Walk along a field at the edge of the woods and reach a junction at a place called Les Pierrettes.
(26) Turn right onto a path climbing through fields and copses, then winding its way between cultivated plots. Cross the D4 and continue straight ahead along a forest track.
(27) Join the Haute Chevauchée forest track; follow it to the left for about 1.7 km until it joins the D442. Turn left towards the Apremont-sur-Aire military cemetery.
(28) Just before the cemetery, turn right onto a wide forest track that crosses the Bois d’Apremont. Pass a hunting lodge and stay on the track. Enter the Pont à l'Aune national forest.
(29) Turn left and follow a straight track to a junction.
(30) Turn right onto a wide grassy path. Pass a memorial stone (the Kreuser grave, 50 metres to the right). Continue straight on until you reach a forest track.
(31) Continue straight on, passing a memorial stone (commemorative stone in honour of the 150th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the ‘Régiment de Bagatelle’) and continue along this same path, which winds for nearly 4 km through the forest. You will come out onto a wide forest track; take this to the right until you reach the D63. Cross the road, follow it to the right for about 60 metres and turn left into a forest lane for a few metres.
(32) Follow a path to the right running parallel to the road. Ignore the first two paths branching off to the left and take the third. Continue straight on, ignoring a path on the right. Leave the forest and continue along a straight farm track leading to a road (crossroads), at the entrance to the village of Servon-Melzicourt.
(33) Turn right towards La Noue (German military cemetery at Beauregard). Reach the La Noue de Beaumont farm, walk along the edge of the yard and continue along a path. Further up, this turns left (water tank). Then cross the main road.
(34) At the hamlet of La Mare aux Bœufs, follow a track to the right that descends to the riverbank. At the end, take a footbridge on the right to cross a stream, then follow it through the forest. About 200 metres further on, turn right and reach the remains of a First World War camp. Follow the path as it winds through the undergrowth, descends a steep slope, then crosses the stream. At the edge of the forest, continue along a wide grassy path to reach Condé-lès-Autry (16th-century church), in the southern part of the village. At the road, turn left for 50 metres.
(35) Turn right onto a dirt track. Continue to a bench and carry on straight ahead. Stay on this track as it winds along the side of the Côte Bayard, through woodland bordering the River Aisne (Autry meadows: Natura 2000 site, birds, butterflies and flowers). Further on, follow a dirt track to Autry. At the D21, turn left towards the church. Walk past the campsite. Cross the River Aisne via two successive bridges, walk past the town hall and reach a large square in the centre of the village.
(36) Cross the square and take Rue de Saint-Lambert (wash house), then turn left onto the road to Grandham. This road, which is steep and ascending, leads out of the village. Further up, the gradient eases as you reach the fields (calvary).
(37) When you reach the edge of the forest, take a path on the left to reach the Forêt Domaniale de la Terrière, then follow it on the right. At the end, join a road and continue straight on to the centre of Montcheutin.
(38) Follow Avenue Georges-Clémenceau (D 6) to the left to cross the village. A few metres before leaving the village, turn right onto a small road towards the fields. Head slightly uphill and turn onto the first track on the right leading to a shed.
(39) Just before the hangar, leave the track and head left across the fields onto a wide grassy path. About 700 metres further on, continue to the right towards the forest. At the edge of the forest, take a path that goes straight ahead, then turns left. Stay on this sunken forest path until you reach the fields. Keep going in the same direction and head for Vaux-lès-Mouron.
(40) In front of the town hall, turn right towards the church (Église Saint-Sébastien and its18th-century Virgin and Child). Head straight on along the D215, which leads to Mouron in 1.5 km. You are now entering the Special Protection Areas (SPAs) ‘Vallée de l’Aisne à Mouron’ and ‘Confluence des vallées de l’Aisne et de l’Aire’ (diverse natural habitats that are highly attractive to many birds). At the end of the D215, turn right onto the D15.
(41) Just before the church, turn left into Rue Tabure. Stay on this road, which winds its way through farmland for nearly 3 km and leads onto a small road at the edge of the Bois de la Sarte.
(42) Go straight on, taking a wide, compacted track that runs along the edge of the woodland at first, then descends into the woods. At the bottom of the descent, take a path branching off to the right. 50 metres further on, continue straight ahead. You’ll reach a forest junction: follow the path down to the right. At the bottom, turn left to leave the forest. Cross the fields and come out onto the D 41 (on the right, 1.5 km away, on the D 946: Argonne Découverte park). Turn left towards Olizy and reach a junction in the centre of the village.
(43) Turn left onto Rue de la Baronnerie (D 241), which soon bends to the right. Turn left into Rue des Lionnes, then cross a small stream via a bridge. Follow Rue Richard Noble (wash house) to the right, passing the16th-century Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens church in Olizy-Primat, built in the Flamboyant Gothic style. It has been a listed historic monument since 1913. It features fine architecture with a flamboyant portal, a bell tower over the nave, 18th-century marble and limestone furnishings, and a painting by Alix de la Perelle. Return to the D241, which climbs to the left and leaves the village, passing a wayside shrine. Continue carefully along the roadside for around 2.5 km through the Aisne valley. Reach Brières and Place du Général Veilande.
(44) Turn right into Rue de Savigny and walk past the church. At the end, follow a farm track to the right. Cross a ditch and turn left onto a path climbing through a strip of woodland. Further up, stay on the path as it winds through the fields. Join a sunken, tree-lined track that descends to the entrance of Savigny-sur-Aisne. Pass a wash house. Reach the village square.
(45) Stay on the pavement of the main street, heading towards Vouziers. At the last houses in the village, you’ll reach the start, on the right, of a track.
(46) Take this track and, after about 900 metres, you’ll come out onto a small road. Turn left towards Bagot. Cross the D982 (take care!), go right for a few metres and cross a bridge.
(47) At the corner by a wine merchant, turn left and follow an uphill road. Ignore the Route de Sainte-Marie on the left and continue straight on. At the Ferme de la Come, turn right onto a track through the fields. Continue along the sunken path, descend slightly to the right and immediately turn left between fields and copses, along the edge of the Gaize cliff. At the end, turn left, then immediately right onto a grassy, sunken track. When you reach a house, continue straight on along an uphill path, passing in front of the Château de la Corre. Take the first street on the right and rejoin the D 982 (Rue Gambetta). Turn left to return to the centre of Vouziers, passing the Cinéma des Tourelles with its unusual architecture. At the end of the street, turn right onto Rue Chanzy to reach Place Carnot and the starting point (S/E).
Local authority
Moderate 
Easy 
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