La Neuville-aux-Sheep Pastures - La Poterne - Belval-sous-Châtillon

Hello,

Champagne received 70 mm of rain over three days. It would be best to wait a little while before going to the flat, clayey areas.

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Date of your route : Jul 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Please note that this section of the woods is extremely muddy and the paths are rarely used, so there is a lot of vegetation (and they have been damaged by forestry machinery). I do not recommend this hike at this time.

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We did indeed see a few signs saying "hunting in progress every Sunday". Well, it's Thursday, so that's fine
Best to avoid during hunting season, then.

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Hello,

I'm not the author, but I know the area. I think the woods are private, and the owners may not necessarily want it to become a hiking route. As long as it remains confidential, I don't think there's a problem. Avoid during hunting season.

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Date of your route : Aug 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello, everything I am about to write is my own opinion and in no way calls into question the people who created the trails, and we thank them for that.

This hike would benefit from being marked (if we had known and had permission, we would have been happy to put up markers during our hike). The woods above Paradis are undergoing extensive forestry work and it is impossible to find your way around using a GPS watch (point 2). Further into the woods on the forest road, you have to take a path on the right, which is almost invisible because it is rarely used (point 4). Personally, we don't really like routes on roads, but we understand that this allows you to cross or reach villages and promote them. At the bottom of La Poterne, I think the alternative route on the right (through the vineyards) would be a nice option (point 6). In the village of Belval, you really need to keep your eyes peeled to spot the path that goes up through the vineyards (point 8) because it is completely overgrown and full of brambles (we cleared it a little). We only saw the path at the Moulin farm when we reached the top, passing through the field on the left (point 10). If you arrive at the fields, the passage is to the right of the fence. The final climb is beautiful and physically demanding.
Be careful on the road sections to stay on the side of the road as traffic moves quickly and without paying attention.

Have a good day!

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I went back to Paradis today, coming from La Poterne and Pourcy. The path is still badly damaged by forestry machinery. The app is very useful in this area.
The grape harvest is coming to an end, and the scenery is magnificent.

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I did this hike on 2 May 2016:

Date of hike: Monday, 2 May 2016
Reliability of the description: Good
Reliability of the map route: Very good
Interest of the hiking route: Very good

A beautiful walk with splendid views of fields and vineyards. The description and map are reliable, but the smartphone app was welcome in the woods.

I often have "disappointing" opinions about my hikes, especially in Alsace, where the trails are so well marked that average hikers don't know how to find their way without markers.

In Champagne, there are very few markers and very few people on the trails. That's what makes the region so charming.

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Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to give your opinion.

By "marked on the map", we do not mean evaluating the signposting, but rather the accuracy of the route as it appears on the map in relation to the actual terrain.

Unmarked route... no markings to continue the path

Visorando does not recommend signposting as it can be modified or removed... Whereas information about the terrain is stable. Visorando provides a detailed description and a 1:25,000 IGN map.

This caused us a lot of hesitation in finding the route

If you have difficulty finding your way, Visorando offers virtual markings: a GPS application.

See you soon!

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Hello
Visorando offers routes outside the GR, GRP and PR trails. To follow them, you must follow the directions in the description. It is therefore quite normal not to find any markings on the ground.

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Date of your route : Jan 27, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

The route is not marked along the entire length, with no signs from Paradis onwards. Once you arrive at Paradis, there are no markings to continue along the path, which caused us a lot of hesitation in finding the route.

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Hello
There are many trails you can follow for this hike, but forestry work causes a lot of damage at certain times of the year. Using GPS tracking is a plus for a good hike, as these trails are not necessarily part of the GR, GRP or PR networks, which adds to their charm.

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Date of your route : May 06, 2018
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful, varied walk through villages, forests and vineyards. Estimated to take 3 hours and 35 minutes, we completed it in 2 hours and 30 minutes.
We didn't use the description because we downloaded the route onto our GPS, which was very useful as some of the turn-offs are not very visible and not very intuitive.
The forest area between points 2 and 3 has been quite damaged by forestry machinery and the path is not easy to find at times without a GPS. Be careful, as the large puddles of stagnant water in this area are breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which swarm around you as soon as you arrive
The views from the high points are very beautiful.
Thank you for this lovely hike.

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Date of your route : Sep 24, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful forest, peaceful and rejuvenating!
This hike must be at its best in autumn with the changing colours of the vineyards, but it remains very pleasant in all seasons.

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Good evening,

From point 3 onwards, the path is *very* wide: we even passed a car there.

I read the instructions a little too quickly... Indeed, it says
that the farm at point 9 should be bypassed on the left.

Kind regards.

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Hello
From point 3 to point 4, there is a very wide forest path.
For point 9, I would add "grassy path leading to the vineyards"; the text clearly states that you must go around the farm on the left.
Kind regards

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