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Departure from Saint-Rémy-Lès-Chevreuse station (RER line B, terminus of section B4). For access by car, see the "Practical information" section.
Red and white signposting
(S/E) On leaving the station, go straight across the bus parking area and cross Rue Ditte (restaurant). Turn left and walk past the Tourist Office. At the traffic lights, cross the D938 (Rue de la République) and turn opposite onto a lane reserved for pedestrians and cyclists that runs parallel to a road. Continue for approximately 1km along the cycle path or its grassed edge. Pass an old fortified farmhouse (dovecote) and the Château de Coubertin (sculptures) on your left.
Unmarked
(1) At a crossroads, just after the Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse exit sign, turn left, cross the road (
busy road) and go straight ahead onto a small tarmac road (signs "Ferme de Coubertin" on both sides). After passing the farm, the tarmac gives way to a path with the castle wall on your left.
Go through a forest gate and continue between two hedges and fences, climbing slightly. At the foot of a telecommunications pylon, pass another forest barrier and, at the fork in the road immediately ahead, take the path on the left (ignore the red or blue paint marks on the right). At the "Forêt Départementale de Méridon" sign, continue in roughly the same direction as before and take a sunken path that climbs steeply (in December 2015, this path was cluttered with logs in places; ignore a parallel path on the right). At the top of the hill, come to a large crossroads.
(2) Cross the wide track and continue straight ahead. At the next fork in the road, take the path on the right, between forest plots no. 2 (on your left) and no. 9 (on your right). The path curves to the right, ignoring a path coming from the right (not shown on the map). At the next crossroads, veer slightly to the left and follow the path along the edge of a field (on your left) and a wood (on your right). Follow this path until you come to a "Private property" sign at the Ferme de Doinvilliers (clearly visible on the left).
(3) Then turn right, cross a stream and enter the woods. Immediately turn left onto a path that runs parallel to the edge of the wood (post with "parcours de cross n°6" marker). At the next crossroads (plot numbers 13 and 14 on the right), turn left to return to the edge of the wood and then immediately right onto a wide track. Go through a forest fence and come out onto a small road which you follow to the right.
Red and white markings
(4) At a car park on the right of the road, turn left and follow the GR®11towards Château de Méridon. Pass two millstone houses on your right, then the château. At the next crossroads, turn right into a small car park. At the bottom of the car park, before a forest barrier, turn left. Go through another forest barrier and head south-south-west along the edge of a field (on your left) and a wood (on your right). At the end of the path, turn left and then immediately right and enter the wood. Cross a stream and go straight ahead (south-south-west) on a gravel path.
(5) At the crossroads, just before reaching a house with horizontal siding, turn left (plot no. 35) and go through a forest gate. The path curves to the right. Then cross a road (take care). Continue south on a grassy track for between 600 and 700m (as you pass, ignore a track start on the right).
(6) When the path curves to the right, with radio astronomy facilities slightly to the left opposite, turn left at a right angle (east) onto a grassy path (no way of signposting here). After passing other radio astronomy installations, turn left (signpost "Pays de Limours" no. 117) towards the village of Boullay-les-Troux.
(7) At signpost 118, turn right and cross a road at the entrance to Boullay. Head downhill (signpost no. 1, forest gate). Just before a clearly visible bridge, leave the path and take a footpath on the left.
N.B. Be careful, this path is very discreet. If you miss it, you have a "second chance" at the foot of the bridge (marker no. 2): turn left and climb steeply.
The path splits into two branches, both of which lead to a wide track, the right-hand branch arriving at Bollard 3.
(8) Turn left onto the wide track, which is none other than the bank of the old railway line that will take us "naturally" to the Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse station. Cross a road (signpost No. 4) and continue in the direction of the RER station (sign), leaving an old gatekeeper's house on your right. The bench becomes narrower and stands higher than its surroundings.
Unmarked
(9) Leave the GR® to the left and follow a parallel path, staying on the former railway track. Pass under a bridge and, further on, cross a road on a bridge. Finally, you come to the last remnants of the railway line and enter the Rue de la République (chicane; the RER tracks are clearly visible on the other side). Turn left and immediately cross the road at the pedestrian crossing. Continue straight ahead to get back to the station (S/E).
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