The Lieure Valley between Touffreville and Lyons-la-Forêt

A circular route exploring the Lieure Valley, its traditional villages and the Lyons State Forest. It offers the chance to discover the architectural heritage (churches, chapels, half-timbered houses, market hall, etc.) of Lyons-la-Forêt and Rosay-sur-Lieure.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.69 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,270 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,270 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 577 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 187 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

PR® (yellow markings)

Park on Rue de l’Église in Touffreville.

(S/E) Go up the steps and then take the street leading to the forest. Turn left onto the tarmac road, Chemin de la Côte Saint-Pierre, which runs alongside the forest before continuing as a footpath for about fifty metres. Near a fence, turn right onto the path that climbs into the forest (please note: the map is incorrect at this point; follow the route and markings carefully). Carry on straight ahead until you reach the Carrefour du Hêtre à Dieu.

(1) Take the first road on the left, a tarmac track. At the next two junctions, turn right. You’ll come out onto the Route Forestière de Touffreville; follow it to the left. At a Fork in the road, keep left. Pass in front of a memorial stone, go downhill, cross the D321 and head back up the opposite side to reach the foot of the church at Rosay-sur-Lieure.

(2) Continue up the Côte de l’Église. As you come out of the right-hand bend, turn left onto a path running alongside the entrance to a property. After about 50 metres, take the path on the right uphill. Cross the Rue Principale and continue straight on along the Sente des Jardins. At the next junction, turn right onto the Rue des Écoles.

(3) Cross the Côte de l’Église (D11) and take the Côte du Château opposite. Take the first left, Rue du Fol Accard. Ignore the path leading down to the right, then follow the wall bordering the Château de Rosay estate. Continue along the path leading back down the hill to the Côte de la Chaîne.

(4) Turn right. Walk alongside the Lieure and take the first left, a dead-end at the corner of a property (gate).

(5) After about 300 m, turn right onto a path that descends between hedges and cross two branches of the Lieure in succession. You’ll come out onto the D321; follow it to the left for about 150 m. Then cross the road to take a path that leads diagonally into the forest, just before the sign indicating the exit from Le Roule. Continue to a junction (incorrectly marked on IGN but correctly on OSM).

Unmarked

(6) Keep going straight on, ignoring all side paths. You will then reach the Route Forestière du Gaffé.

PR® (yellow markings)

(7) Turn left onto it, then take a right and a left. Cross the D321 diagonally across the central reservation and turn right onto the road leading down into the hamlet of Villaine. Cross the Lieure again and head back up towards the forest. Ignore a turn-off on the left and continue to a T-junction at the entrance to the forest.

PR® (blue markings)

(8) Turn left and head uphill to another junction.

PR® (yellow and blue markings)

(9) Then turn sharply right. Follow the path to the edge of the forest (a tree-lined avenue in a large clearing). The Chapelle Saint-Jean is on the left behind the hedge (picnic area available).

(10) Turn right onto a tree-lined path, then immediately veer right to re-enter the forest. Stay on this path (ignore all side paths) until you reach a clearing near the D6.

(11) Just before the road, turn right onto the path leading downhill. Further down, it runs alongside a field before turning left to join the D6 at a bend. Follow this road towards Lyons-la-Forêt to reach the Church of Saint-Denis.

(12) Turn right to go down the street. Cross the Lieure again, then turn left onto Rue du Bout de Bas (D321). Follow this street, lined with half-timbered houses, to the junction between Rue de la Rouge Mare and Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville (junction of the D321 and D6).

Unmarked section

(13) Keep to the left onto the Route de la Rouge Mare (D321). Shortly afterwards, turn right into Rue de la République. You’ll come out onto Rue d’Enfer (with some lovely houses on the left, across the grassy square) and follow it to the right. Pass the market hall then turn right again onto Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville. Then turn left onto Rue du Trou Grenu.

(14) Shortly afterwards, take the Sentier de Derrière les Jardins on the right, which winds its way between the houses. Let the Sente des Soupirs branch off to the right and carry on straight ahead along the properties. Cross Rue de la Grosse Jeanne and continue straight ahead along the Sentier de Derrière les Jardins until you reach the Val Sauret neighbourhood.

(15) Turn left and head uphill towards the forest. At the very top of the field (on the left), carry on for a few metres before taking the first path branching off to the right (please note: this is poorly marked on maps, so follow the route carefully). After a left-hand bend, it joins another path. Follow this path uphill until you reach a T-junction.

PR® (yellow markings)

(16) Turn right. At the next junction, turn left, then right after about 70 m.

Unmarked

(17) Turn left (note: this path is not shown on IGN maps and is positioned slightly off on OSM). At the end, rejoin the Route Forestière du Gaffé and follow it to the left.

(18) Cross the D2 and take the path opposite which runs diagonally to the right. At the next junction, stay on this path which turns slightly to the right. Join the Route Forestière du Val aux Ânes and turn right onto it.

(19) Cross the D2 again and continue straight ahead on this same forest road. Stay on this road until you come across the signposting for the Sentier de la Jacassière (PR® – yellow).

PR® (yellow markings)

(20) Keep left and join a tarmac road. Follow the wooden fence, heading left.

(21) Further up, turn right onto a track. Follow the track as it bends first to the right and then to the left. Pass close to the Fieffes riding centre. The track continues by turning left after the centre. You will then reach a T-junction.

(22) Turn right onto the Route Forestière du Sabbat. At the first junction, carry on straight ahead until you reach a T-junction.

(23) Turn right onto the Route Forestière du Hêtre à Dieu (tarmac). After about 300 m, turn left along plot no. 851. Carry on straight ahead until you leave the forest. A little further down, on the right, you’ll reach the car park for Touffreville Church (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 302 ft - Car park - Église Saint-Pierre (Touffreville)
  2. 1 : mi 0.72 - alt. 404 ft - Carrefour du Hêtre à Dieu
  3. 2 : mi 1.8 - alt. 187 ft - Eglise Notre-Dame du Rosaire (Rosay-sur-Lieure)
  4. 3 : mi 2.37 - alt. 394 ft - Crossing the D11
  5. 4 : mi 3.01 - alt. 256 ft - Côte de la Chaîne
  6. 5 : mi 3.4 - alt. 240 ft - Junction - Lieure (rivière)
  7. 6 : mi 3.71 - alt. 302 ft - Junction
  8. 7 : mi 4.1 - alt. 417 ft - Route Forestière du Gaffé
  9. 8 : mi 4.75 - alt. 289 ft - T-junction – Chemin des Écoliers
  10. 9 : mi 5.03 - alt. 469 ft - Junction
  11. 10 : mi 5.42 - alt. 535 ft - Chapelle Saint-Jean (l'Essart Mador)
  12. 11 : mi 6.15 - alt. 512 ft - Junction
  13. 12 : mi 6.66 - alt. 276 ft - Église Saint-Denis (Lyons-la-Forêt)
  14. 13 : mi 7.06 - alt. 308 ft - D321 road x D6 road
  15. 14 : mi 7.34 - alt. 344 ft - Derrière les Jardins Trail
  16. 15 : mi 7.73 - alt. 299 ft - Le Val Sauret
  17. 16 : mi 8.16 - alt. 525 ft - T-junction
  18. 17 : mi 8.71 - alt. 545 ft - Junction
  19. 18 : mi 9.22 - alt. 574 ft - Crossing the D2
  20. 19 : mi 9.54 - alt. 518 ft - Crossing the D2
  21. 20 : mi 10.3 - alt. 361 ft - Fork in the road
  22. 21 : mi 10.74 - alt. 440 ft - Start of the trail
  23. 22 : mi 11.32 - alt. 499 ft - T-junction – Route forestière du Sabbat
  24. 23 : mi 11.91 - alt. 404 ft - T-junction – Route Forestière du Hêtre à Dieu
  25. S/E : mi 12.69 - alt. 302 ft - Car park - Église Saint-Pierre (Touffreville)

Notes

The start is in the commune of Touffreville, in the Eure department (not to be confused with Touffréville, in the Orne department).
Hiking boots, detailed maps and/or a GPS are essential. As the mapping is incorrect in some places (see description), it is best to use the IGN base map and carefully follow the route and directions provided.
There are a few possible picnic spots (Saint-Jean Chapel, Rue des Trois Moulins in Lyons-la-Forêt), but no water points have been identified along the route. There are plenty of facilities in Lyons-la-Forêt.

Worth a visit

Churches in Touffreville, Rosay-sur-Lieure and Lyons-la-Forêt.
Rosay Castle (private property).
Saint-Jean Chapel.
Half-timbered houses and 17th–18th-century market hall in Lyons-la-Forêt.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.