The "owl" walk...

Animal-themed walking trail created by Year 4-6 pupils at Villevallier Primary School in June 2015 as part of the "Un chemin, une école" (One trail, one school) initiative run by the Yonne branch of the French Hiking Federation.

Details

150101
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.99 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 70 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 67 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 137 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 72 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from the Villevallier school.

(S/E) From the sign on the gate, head to the church square. Turn right and walk up Rue de l'Église towards the village centre until you reach Rue de la République. Turn left and continue until you reach the war memorial.

(1) Take the path on the right that leads to the D606 national road, which you should cross carefully. Walk along the cemetery and climb up to the signpost for the second path on the right.

(2) Follow this path on the right until you reach the farm at the corner of the junction with Route du Château de Feys. Follow this road to the left until you reach the calvary.

(3). Take the path on the right to an orchard (signpost). Then cross the orchard off the path, heading south-west.
N.B. Permission to pass has been obtained from the owner, so please respect the premises.
When you reach the end, take the path on the right and then immediately take the path on the left at the foot of the water tower.

(4) Follow the main path (green markings), making a wide circular loop to the left, roughly following the contour line. You will reach the entrance to the village of Villecien.

(5). Go down Rue du Bas des Caves, then turn right at the first crossroads into Rue du Château de Feys. Continue, ignoring all the streets on your left, until you reach the crossroads with Rue de Lyon (on your left) and Rue de Paris (on your right).

(6) Cross the road (carefully) and go down Rue des Carons opposite to the banks of the Yonne. Then turn right. Go under the D606 bridge and turn right immediately afterwards.
At the fork that immediately follows, continue along the main path (the one that goes left) and return to the banks of the Yonne. Continue along the river until you reach a lock.

(7) Continue along the Yonne and you will reach a crossroad shortly after the sports field.

(8) Turn left. Ignore all the streets on your right and continue along the river. Pass under the bridge on the Villevallier road. About 40 metres further on, take the towpath to the first tarmac road used for launching boats. Turn right towards the church and head for the school (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 75 m - Villevallier School
  2. 1 : km 0.33 - alt. 77 m - War memorial
  3. 2 : km 0.58 - alt. 109 m - Post + question
  4. 3 : km 1.14 - alt. 106 m - Calvary
  5. 4 : km 1.46 - alt. 130 m - Water tower
  6. 5 : km 3.37 - alt. 121 m - Villecien
  7. 6 : km 4.07 - alt. 85 m - Rue de Paris (D606)
  8. 7 : km 7.1 - alt. 74 m - Lock - Yonne (l')
  9. 8 : km 8.29 - alt. 74 m - Crossroads
  10. S/E : km 8.99 - alt. 75 m - Villevallier School

Notes

This path is marked with green signs.

Worth a visit

Nine riddles about the animals you might encounter along the way (posted near their habitat) will add to your enjoyment of the walk: you will find the answers with the next question...

You can download the game description that the pupils have created to enhance your walk and print it out before you set off.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 12 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
Virginie89
Virginie89

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful route. There are no difficulties. I recommend it 😃

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ALMP
ALMP

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant route.

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Sylviepetit
Sylviepetit

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Great hike

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mmechain
mmechain

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very well marked route. We followed the markings on the ground: red arrows made by schoolchildren (which, today, do not quite correspond to the map). After the D606 bridge, we went straight ahead instead of turning right. This took us along the Yonne river on a shaded concrete path, avoiding the need to walk through cornfields in the heat.
It's a shame that the path between the cemetery and Villecien is not maintained.
We enjoyed this route.

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hukan89
hukan89

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 20, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Well done to the pupils of Villevalier Primary School...

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Sylviepetit
Sylviepetit

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 12, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

BEAUTIFUL ROUTE overlooking the Yonne Valley, accessible to all. Well done to the students of Villevallier.

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Fitoto
Fitoto

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 18, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Overall, an enjoyable experience.
It's a shame that the question-and-answer panels on the theme of animals are very difficult to see and partly incomplete.
On the first part of the trail, the noise from vehicles travelling on the RN6 motorway is a bit of a nuisance.

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GERALDINELUDIVINE
GERALDINELUDIVINE

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 02, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike that alternates between hillsides and the banks of the Yonne River - superb view of the chapel of St Julien du Sault.

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arno&pascale89100
arno&pascale89100

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 25, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant route, but unfortunately the first part is very noisy as it follows the A6 motorway. I can't imagine what it must be like during the week...
There's a slight issue with the question and answer signs, as two-thirds of them have disappeared or are not at eye level,
which is a shame because the riddles and answers are very entertaining.
A very pleasant route in hot weather.

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SiobanS
SiobanS

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 18, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Great little hike. Beautiful, varied landscapes. And we really enjoyed the little puzzles that dotted our path!

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marmotte89330
marmotte89330

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 16, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

It is worth noting the main attraction this May: the diverse vegetation along the trail between Villevallier and Villecien.

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Dekpat
Dekpat

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 11, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Noisy itinerary

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