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Parking is available at the Bonnelles sports centre car park (signposted "Réserve Naturelle"). Access via the A10, exit "Dourdan", then follow signs for "Rochefort-en-Yvelines" and "Bonnelles".
The route is not signposted. In the nature reserve, there are discreet wooden signs at important points.
(S) From the car park, with your back to the small covered shelter and the tennis courts on your right, take the gravel path on the left that runs alongside the car park on your right. Pass under a majestic plane tree (bench) and turn right onto Chemin des Écoliers (sign). At the T-junction, turn left. Ignore a path on the right and continue between the fences and hedges. You will come to a small triangular lawn with the abandoned Château de Bonelles on your left. At the end of the lawn, turn right into a street (signposted "Impasse"). When this street turns right (signposted "Rue des Potagers"), continue straight ahead towards the old gate of the Château de Bonnelles. Cross the old moat, cross the road and continue straight ahead along the Allée de la Duchesse, which is a gravel path.
(1) At the "Stop" sign, cross Rue de Villevert and continue straight ahead along a path (wooden barrier). At the first T-junction, turn right between two house fences. Cross a street and continue straight ahead along a path with a wall topped by a hedge on your left. You will come to a small square. Cross it and continue straight ahead onto a lawn between two streets (signposted "Impasse sur la gauche"). Take a gravel path which joins the street on the right (Rue du Mail). Follow this street on the left and, after a shed and at the corner of a green gate, turn right onto a path which descends between two walls. At the bottom, turn right onto Rue de la Libération. Ignore Rue du Moulin Coleau and Rue de la Fontaine Saint-Symphorien on your left. Leave Rue de Villevert on your right and continue to Place de la Duchesse d'Uzès (church and war memorial on your left).
(2) Retrace your steps and turn right onto Rue de la Fontaine Saint-Symphorien (note a solitary red and white marker). Continue downhill, ignoring two perpendicular streets on the left and noting some beautiful flower-bedecked houses on the left. At the bottom of the hill, go past a forest gate, note the car park on the right and continue to an information sign. At this sign, turn left, cross a stream and you will immediately see the Fontaine Saint-Symphorien fountain on the left.
(3) Pass the fountain, cross a stream and continue along a grassy path with garden fences on your left and woods on your right. The path bends to the right and becomes narrower as it runs alongside a school on your left. At the end of the buildings, turn right onto a path that goes into the woods (sign pointing to the Fontaine Saint-Symphorien in the opposite direction). Cross a stream and then pass a sluice gate on a stream on your right (do not cross the stream on the posts placed there as a footbridge). Reach a fence and turn right with this fence on your left. At a fork, leave the fence on your left and follow the sign for "Etang de Chartemps" (signboard) on your right. Cross a stream and turn left to follow the pond on your left. Cross two streams in succession and, just after the second one, turn right onto a path towards the Etang des Trois Ducs (sign). Follow a stream on your right and, when you reach the pond, turn left. Note the bridge kiosk on the right. At a fork, turn right towards the Fontaine Saint-Symphorien (sign). Cross a bridge and reach the bridge kiosk known as "des Amours" (sign).
(4) Turn right to cross the Pont des Amours. At the exit, there are two possible directions, both shown on the map:
- On the left, cross another bridge and you will come to a small shaded area with a stone bench, ideal for a rest.
- Right, head for the old pier, now converted into a wildlife observation point.
Retrace your steps and cross the Pont des Amours in the opposite direction.
(4) Turn right. Walk through the dense vegetation until you come to an information board near a pond. Go past the forest gate and, keeping to the left at the edge of the vegetation, walk past a football stadium, a handball stadium and a tennis court on your right until you return to the car park where you started.
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