Mesnières-en-Bray - Hellet Forest and Croixdalle and Bailleul Woods

Difficulty rating IBP = 66 Average
Route in the Helet Forest via the Saint-Amador coast and the Bois de Croixdalle and Bailleul woods, bypassing Mont de Duranville. Departure from Mesnières-en-Bray with its superb Renaissance castle.

Details

126457
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 20.30 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 358 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 357 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 219 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 63 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Church car park adjacent to the castle grounds.

(S/E) Turn left onto Rue du Château.

(1) Visit the exterior of the château, entering via the path to the right of the wrought-iron gate, then take thefirst left to reach the main entrance driveway leading to the steps.
To return, turn right, then left and pass under the porch of the school courtyard. Continue along the path to the exit.
Take Avenue Verte on the left, reach Rue d'Autrecourt and turn left again. When you reach the D1, Route de Neuchâtel, take the gravel path opposite and follow the farm track.

(2) At theGRP® trail junction, continue straight ahead and climb the Saint-Amador hill.

(3) At the crossroads before the D97, turn onto the path on the left (south-west) and follow it, making a circular loop to the right to reach the D97. Cross it and take the path opposite.

(4) At the inverted T-junction, take the path downhill to the left (south-west) and follow it to the end: the last 200 m are overgrown.

(5) When you reach the path at the edge of the forest, turn right and follow theGRP® up to the D56.

(6) Continue on theGRP® opposite to reach the D117. Turn left towards Hellet or La Queue du Hellet.

(7) At the end of the hamlet, turn right (south-east) onto Rue du Hellet.
At the intersection with Rue du Vau Roux, continue left onto Rue du Hellet. At the intersection of Rue de la Cavée and Rue de l'Eglise, turn left and continue along Rue de l'Église. Continue straight ahead and continue along Rue de Duranville. At the bus stop, take the farm track on the left.

(8) From this point onwards, the path is no longer maintained (municipal decree of decommissioning) but remains passable on foot.
Alternative route: if the path is impassable, turn left onto the carriageway and join the D117, then turn right towards Bailleul Neuville.

(9) Continue until you reach the Château de Bailleul Neuville.

(10) After viewing the exterior of the château, retrace your steps for about 150 metres.

(9) Take the Terres de Bailleul farm track on the right (north-east).

(11) Picnic spot in dry weather. From there, continue along Chemin Le Goulet, which is no longer maintained. Join theGRP® path coming from the right and continue left on the Chemin du Bois de Vaubert (GRP®) to the D12. Continue straight ahead on this road. Then turn left (south-east) onto the D56 (GRP®) for about 1 km.

(12) Turn right (south-west) onto theGRP® hiking trail that runs alongside the woods.

(13) At the Y-junction, turn right (south-west) and descend to reach Route de la Gate. Follow it to the left and walk along it for about 100 metres.

(14) Turn left (south-east) onto the farm track, which soon turns right.

(15) Turn onto the path on the left (south-east).

(16) Turn onto the path on the right (south-west) and reach Rue Dubos.

(17) Take the small staircase leading to the path between the housing estate about 100 m away, turn right and reach Grand Rue. Cross it and take Rue du Sac opposite.
At the junction with Rue de l'Église, turn right. At Rue du Château, turn right again and rejoin (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 70 m - Car park near the church. - Mesnières-en-Bray
  2. 1 : km 0.74 - alt. 69 m - Château of Baron Charles de Boissay. Towards the - Béthune (rivière) - Affluent de l'Arques
  3. 2 : km 3.1 - alt. 144 m - Chemin Côte Saint-Amador
  4. 3 : km 3.92 - alt. 217 m - Take the path on the left heading south-west.
  5. 4 : km 4.6 - alt. 216 m - Take the path on the left heading south-west.
  6. 5 : km 5.29 - alt. 150 m - Take the road to the right, north-east.
  7. 6 : km 6.26 - alt. 207 m - Cross the D56 road opposite.
  8. 7 : km 7.82 - alt. 132 m - Turn off onto Route du Hellet
  9. 8 : km 10.99 - alt. 135 m - Point of interest
  10. 9 : km 12.11 - alt. 106 m - Turn-off to the castle
  11. 10 : km 12.21 - alt. 103 m - Château de Bailleul-Neuville
  12. 11 : km 13.11 - alt. 148 m - Picnic area
  13. 12 : km 16.32 - alt. 213 m - South-west fork
  14. 13 : km 16.64 - alt. 214 m - South-west fork
  15. 14 : km 17.16 - alt. 157 m - South-east junction
  16. 15 : km 17.87 - alt. 102 m - South-east junction
  17. 16 : km 18.53 - alt. 127 m - South-west fork
  18. 17 : km 19.56 - alt. 84 m - Point of interest: fork in the road
  19. S/E : km 20.3 - alt. 70 m - Car park near the church - Mesnières-en-Bray

Worth a visit

(1) Visit the château of Baron Charles de Boissay.
See the website: Chateau
Contact details: emailmesnieres-en-bray@cneap.fr Tel. 02.35.93.10.04 Fax: 02.35.94.55.77
(10) The castle is not open to visitors, but you can visit the church dedicated to St Vaast and the monument paying tribute to the Second World War airmen shot down in the area.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.2 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
kelylamil
kelylamil

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 31, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike offering superb panoramic views.
Please note that the path at point 4 is private and completely overgrown with brambles, nettles and tall ferns. The sign indicating that it is prohibited is located at its end when you arrive at point 5.
Thanks to the author for this hike.

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kakis
kakis

I did hike No. 175428, in the hills above Gaillefontaine. Good description, nice hike despite the gloomy weather. Paths, small roads, lined with hedges or trees. Very pleasant descent to Gaillefontaine.
Hike on Monday 24 August 2020.

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Matchop
Matchop

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The departure from Mesnières-en-Bray is pleasant, with a welcome alternation between forests and rolling plains. Enjoy your hike.

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Bettina80
Bettina80

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 30, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike that crosses several woods and forests as well as farm tracks. The arrival in Mesnières is very pleasant, taking the staircase that crosses a housing estate and then the small streets with typical houses.
The route is very reliable in terms of description and layout. Be careful with the description of point 3: do not turn left, go to the D97 road and turn left before turning right towards point 4, as the path in the forest is closed by a fence before reaching the road. It is no problem to do it this way, as the stretch of road is very short.
Otherwise, nothing to report!

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AIGuilles57
AIGuilles57

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Thank you for mapping out this hike. We had a little trouble finding the path at point 3 because of the machines transporting tree trunks, but after searching for a while we found the right path. The same thing happened at point 4: the path is on the left, not straight ahead. After point 11, the path that runs alongside the field is taken over by the farmer, but luckily the harvest had been done so we were able to pass. There was a beautiful view of the harvested fields with lovely light. In short, it was a lovely day spent hiking. Thank you again.

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gazok54
gazok54 ★

Thank you, Bernard, for your diligence and suggestions.
Let us now leave it to the author to adapt his layout.

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bernard popiol
bernard popiol

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 27, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello
I did the hike again to see what I had missed the first time.
In my opinion, the map needs to be modified at point 3. The route follows the dotted line to the second intersection, where you then follow the route on the right.
At point 4, the path is on the left, 10 metres from the dotted line, well before the one indicated on the map, and joins the path that descends to the left.
I can confirm that there is no longer a path at point 11.

Happy hiking!

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bernard popiol
bernard popiol

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 14, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very beautiful hike.
However, to reach the path at the narrow pass before point 11, I found myself in front of a field that is easily crossable at this time of year. Is there a path that I missed?
I was unable to follow the description and map for points 3-4-5.
At point 3, the map is incorrect; the crossroads is 100 m further up, which means you can't see the D97. This forces you to pass the crossroads and turn back. Then you come to a crossroads and don't know exactly which way to go.
I couldn't find point 4, and by cutting across, I ended up on the path between points 5 and 6.
Some additional information seems warranted.
At point 8, the path is still passable on foot.
Thank you for this beautiful hike.

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ovil
ovil

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 31, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Why not start from the castle car park opposite the entrance gate?
The gate was closed, so no visit.

Between points 3 and 5, it was a bit difficult to find my way (I stick to the map and the description, no GPS).
The forest crossing after point 6 is on a path rutted by forestry machinery. Fortunately, the weather was fine; in rainy weather, it must be a real quagmire.

A beautiful hike with lovely views and interesting monuments.
Once at Bailleuil Castle, continue on to the church (aviators' monument, pilot's grave, well, town hall).

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Chantal L1.
Chantal L1.

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 25, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

HELLO
It was a lovely walk, but we struggled a bit because of the mud left behind by last week's downpours. Thank you, Chantal.

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Gofi
Gofi

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful walk to do in summer, but some parts can be extremely muddy!
Thank you for the guidebook.

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