The southern circular route from Bergueneuse

Date of your route : May 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I did the hike as a trail run, so just using the map... I had a bit of a problem in Anvin near the cemetery, which was closed and I had to cross. I think it was because I was passing through at around 5.30 pm! Otherwise, everything else was fine... a lovely route.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Jan 29, 2018
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Route completed on Sunday 28 January 2018, starting from Anvin. Parking is available between points 7 and 8 in the church car park, or in front of the village hall.

You’ll have no trouble finding your way around with the map. Be careful at Bergueneuse if you print the map: when printed, the two pins marked ‘12’ and ‘S/E’ obscure the route. Otherwise, as tof1967 noted, shortly after point 5, just before reaching Mont de Fleury, the path literally cuts straight across a field, although a GRP sign points in the right direction. You won’t get lost; you can make out the rest of the path (posts topped with plastic containers), and you can vaguely see the tracks left by a farm machine. However, in the middle of the fields, it does indeed make sense to walk through the furrows.

Pleasant stretches through meadows and woodland between points 10 and 12. The villages you pass through are charming, with a few old buildings. And there are lovely unobstructed views over the vast cultivated areas at the top of the plateaus at points 2, 4 and 11. Be careful – it’s windy up there; you’ll understand why there are wind turbines in every direction.

Following the unusually heavy rainfall in December 2017 and January 2018, all the unpaved paths were waterlogged, but nothing that really blocked the way. A classic feature of Sunday walks in rural areas during the hunting season: the sound of gunshots punctuates the entire route. On that particular day, there was no hunting in the fields, only in the woods and on private land, so there was no problem walking along the paths.

Finally, the estimated time of 5 hours 20 minutes provided by VisoRando is very generous. I completed the route in 4 hours 45 minutes, at a moderate pace, with frequent stops to watch birds through binoculars, a 20-minute detour at point 5, a ten-minute lunch break, and the ground saturated with water.

Note that at the start in Anvin, an information board suggests a shorter version of this route: set off from point 7, continue to Bergueneuse via point 12, then return directly to point 8 across the fields. The board states 8 km for a 2 hour 40 minute walk.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

I preferred this circular route to the one in the north. The sections along the Ternoise, the leafy paths and the woodland.
The path disappears for about 500 metres at point 5; after turning left, 500 metres further on the path no longer exists – the farmers have ploughed it up – but the GRP sign is still there. (I walked through the furrows of the field).
Otherwise, nothing to report – a well-planned route, a top-notch map and very clear instructions. Thanks, joorange.

Machine-translated