The Bois de Tillet and the marshes of the Upper Automne Valley

Crossing the Bois de Tillet with its coppices and tall forests still under cultivation, then continuing northwards with a detour into the Vallée de l'Automne with its marshes, wet meadows, reed beds, willow groves and alder groves, ponds... A visit to the villages of Feigneux and Bémont offers a glimpse of the architectural heritage of this region.

Details

105867
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 22.83 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 7h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 175 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 175 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 153 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 61 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Vaumoise (60117)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 49.235266° / E 2.981097°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2512OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

The walk starts at the car park between Nos. 68 and 70 on the Route de Chantilly in Vaumoise (Oise department).

(S/E) Head west towards Crépy-en-Valois.

(1) About a hundred metres further on at the junction, turn left into Rue de la White Cross.

GR® markings (red and white)

Follow this street (it passes under the railway bridge) to the path leading to the stadium, where you turn right. Continue diagonally to the left along the path from Gondreville to Vaumoise.
When you reach forest plot 1631 (signposted “Chemin de Russy à Gondreville”), theGR® turns right.

No markings

(2) Continue straight ahead.

(3) At the N2, turn right at a 90° angle and continue to the Carrefour des Bruyères, where you rejoin the GR®.

GR® signposting (red and white)

(4) Turn left onto the Laie de Crépy; at the next junction, follow theGR® to the left and continue to the edge of the forest. TheGR® heads towards Crépy-en-Valois.

No markings

(5) Turn right and follow the edge of the forest to the level crossing and the D1324, which you cross to join the road (C1) opposite, heading towards Feigneux, 3 km away.
After passing through a wooded area and then a large expanse of fields, you’ll reach a junction with a road branching off to the right alongside a wood.

(6) Turn right onto this road and, 200 m further on, turn left onto the track leading down into the valley. One kilometre further on, you’ll reach the lower part of the village of Feigneux via the Chemin des Brebis. Continue along this path and turn left into Rue des Brebis; at the top of the hill, you’ll pass the Feigneux prison. Stop for a moment to read the plaque on its door.
Take a detour to see the fortified church, then retrace your steps to head back down into the valley via Rue de la Houatte and the Sentier de la Houatte, which is actually a flight of steps.
At Chemin des Brebis, turn left and follow it to a fork where you’ll find aGR® trail.

GR® markings (red and white)

(7) Turn right to cross the bottom of the valley, then left to walk alongside a marshy area.

(8) At the junction with the D88 road, take this road towards the village of Bémont. After about 400 m, take the path that branches off diagonally to the right. On reaching the plateau, theGR® turns right and you must cross a field for about a hundred metres to rejoin the path, which then runs alongside a hedge of shrubs. It turns left at the entrance to the village of Bémont.

(9) Take a detour to see the church and the small cemetery next to it.
Retrace your steps. After a few metres on the D88, turn left onto the track that descends towards the bottom of the valley.
Follow this track as it winds through this marshy valley until you reach a small tarmac road.

No signposting

(10) Follow the road to a small hamlet surrounded by ponds called "Le Maroc".

(11) Turn right onto Rue des Moulins and, 50 metres further on, left onto the track that climbs slightly. Continue to the junction near a large building, turn right and carry on to the D1324.
Turn right onto the D1324 and continue to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 107 m - Road from Chantilly to Vaumoise between No. 68 and No. 70 - Gare de Vaumoise
  2. 1 : km 0.13 - alt. 105 m - Rue de la White Cross
  3. 2 : km 1.69 - alt. 119 m - Plot 1631
  4. 3 : km 2.26 - alt. 123 m - N2 national road
  5. 4 : km 3.25 - alt. 147 m - Carrefour des Bruyères
  6. 5 : km 6.15 - alt. 105 m - Edge of the forest
  7. 6 : km 8.98 - alt. 107 m - At the crossroads, turn right
  8. 7 : km 11.62 - alt. 76 m - End of the Chemin des Brebis
  9. 8 : km 14.8 - alt. 64 m - D88 road
  10. 9 : km 16.71 - alt. 106 m - Bémont
  11. 10 : km 19.24 - alt. 69 m - No further signposts; continue straight ahead. Bridge at the - Automne (cours d'eau) - Affluent de la Loire
  12. 11 : km 20.44 - alt. 75 m - Morocco
  13. S/E : km 22.83 - alt. 108 m - Road from Chantilly to Vaumoise between No. 68 and No. 70

Notes

Hiking boots and a drink.

Worth a visit

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.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.2 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
ovil
ovil

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Beautiful forest paths, narrower trails, a few climbs and a touch of local heritage.
The path running alongside the forest (pt 5) is narrow but easily passable, even if a few branches mean you have to duck your head.
I couldn’t work out how to get to ‘the path running alongside a hedge of shrubs’ to reach Bémont (pt 8). The GR leads out onto a wheat field, which we struggled to get around to reach this famous path.
Indeed, the stretch on the C1 isn’t very pleasant. We passed through around 1 pm and motorists were heading home for lunch or back to work, but some were in quite a hurry.
The church at Feigneux is currently inaccessible. A local by-law prohibits access due to the advanced state of disrepair of the roof, which is at risk of collapsing and causing falling stones.

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enogael
enogael

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, I followed part of the route by combining it with another hike (and on a mountain bike), and I can confirm that the path at point 5 running alongside the industrial estate is impassable (the entrance isn’t fenced off but is overgrown with tree branches that almost touch the ground, and there are huge puddles). It’s a shame that this is the only route at this point allowing you to cross the main road. The GR at point 10 is marked as private property near Pont l’Abbé, which is surprising. Otherwise, there are lovely landscapes in the valley, and the Retz Forest is as sandy and striking as ever with its many dead trees (is this deliberate natural management or is the forest dying?).

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rskh
rskh

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 18, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely walk. Be sure to take the correct path on the left at point (2) to reach plot 1631. There are a few instances of fly-tipping in areas close to the roads. There were a lot of hunting drives taking place last weekend, which unfortunately occurred along several sections of the route described.

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webmarc
webmarc

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely walk, although the stretch along the road (C1) at (5) is rather tricky, with quite a lot of traffic and unstable roadside verges to walk on, as is the end of the walk which runs alongside the D1324.
Nevertheless, very pretty countryside and beautiful architectural heritage.

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danielgrange
danielgrange

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

Please note: the path is no longer passable at point 5, as the expansion of an industrial estate has completely blocked access up to the railway line. We had to take a parallel path located about a hundred metres before point 5 on the right, but it is marked ‘no trespassing’ and blocked by a chain; rejoining the path by turning left as soon as possible is quite difficult, as you have to cross a thicket of brambles.
Furthermore, please clearly indicate at point 9, on leaving Bémont, that the path to take is located about 50 metres to the left after the ‘village exit’ sign or the last building in the village.

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