The Champ de Rouen

For walking enthusiasts, a short hike in the Roumois region.

Details

3203116
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.02 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 131 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 141 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 499 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 381 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking and starting point: the car park at the Thuit-Simer village hall.

(S/E) Leave the car park, turn right onto Rue du Général de Gaulle and continue to the T-junction.

(1) First turn right then left onto Rue Bosguerard de Marcouville. Turn left onto the first path at the bridge, turn left again 200 m further on and join a road.

(2) Follow Rue Charles Nicolle to the left and continue to the T-junction. Turn right onto Rue des Canadiens, turn left onto the first path and join the road, Rue du Tilleul.

(3) Continue straight ahead along Rue de l’Église Saint-Ouen. Pass the church, the rear of the château and the riding school. Just after the riding school, take the first path on the left, Sentier du Château, which runs alongside houses on the right and the riding school on the left (be careful, it’s quite narrow). At the end, at the T-junction, turn left onto Chemin du Parc (tarmac), ignore Chemin des Bargues on your right and continue to the castle entrance on your left.

(4) Take the path on the right, directly opposite the castle entrance, and join the D 629 road. Turn right onto the Route de Thuit-Signol, go straight on towards Saint-Pierre-de-Bosguérard until the first junction after the village entrance sign.

(5) At the junction, with a speed bump in the middle of the road, turn onto the path on the left. In the middle of the field, take the first path on the right and follow it to Rue des Sorbiers. At the end, at the T-junction, turn right onto Rue Marie Vaudemont for 20 m.

(6) Turn left onto Rue Jean De La Fontaine, which curves to the right. Go to the end of the dead-end street and continue along the path on the left that runs between the houses. At the end of the path, continue straight ahead.

(7) After the church, turn left onto Rue Marcel Leclerc. Pass the town hall and head towards the X-junction with the ‘Give Way’ sign at the end of the village.

(8) Cross the road (watch out for traffic), continue straight ahead to take Chemin Auvray Ballicorne (tarmac) and follow the yellow markings to Le Fitz. Continue straight on along Chemin du Heuzé (tarmac) then head towards the sewage treatment plant via Chemin de la Mésangère (tarmac). Once at the plant, turn right, follow the path with the plant on your right and a wood on your left. Continue to the D 80, cross it (watch out for traffic) and continue along the small path directly opposite until you reach a road.

(9) Continue straight ahead along this road until you reach the original T-junction.

(1) Turn left, ignore the road on the right and continue along Chemin du Clos Courtois.

(10) Continue straight ahead along the grassy path, passing two private tracks on your left, until you reach Chemin des Joncs Marins (tarmac).

(1) At the road, turn left onto Grande Rue and head towards the church.

(12) Retrace your steps.

(11) Continue along the road to the left to reach the village of Bosnormand. Pass the town hall on your left and continue to the wayside cross at the T-junction on the outskirts of the village.

(13) Continue straight on along Rue de la Capelle. At the end, in the right-hand bend, turn into the street on the left, which is still Rue de la Capelle, and continue for 400 m.

(14) Turn right onto the first track and, at the T-junction, turn right to rejoin the road.

(15) First turn right then left, join Chemin des Fosseaux and continue straight ahead along the grassy track across the fields. At the road, turn right onto Rue du Général de Gaulle and return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 430 ft - Rue du Général de Gaulle, village hall car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.2 - alt. 427 ft - Place de la Pature. Junction of the circular loop
  3. 2 : mi 0.68 - alt. 397 ft - Rue Charles Nicolle
  4. 3 : mi 1.15 - alt. 420 ft - Rue du Tilleul
  5. 4 : mi 1.67 - alt. 410 ft - Chemin du Parc (opposite the castle entrance)
  6. 5 : mi 2.72 - alt. 413 ft - Path forks to the left
  7. 6 : mi 3.29 - alt. 423 ft - Rue Jean De La Fontaine
  8. 7 : mi 3.51 - alt. 410 ft - Rue Marcel Leclerc, on the left after the church
  9. 8 : mi 3.85 - alt. 433 ft - D80
  10. 9 : mi 5.61 - alt. 390 ft - Rue Marie Lecat
  11. 10 : mi 6.43 - alt. 440 ft - Chemin du Clos Courtois
  12. 11 : mi 7.25 - alt. 492 ft - Junction. Return to the church
  13. 12 : mi 7.36 - alt. 495 ft - Grande Rue. Church
  14. 13 : mi 8.19 - alt. 469 ft - Rue de la Capelle, wayside cross
  15. 14 : mi 8.77 - alt. 476 ft - Path on the right
  16. 15 : mi 9.11 - alt. 453 ft - Route de Thuit Signol
  17. S/E : mi 10.02 - alt. 427 ft - Rue du Général de Gaulle, village hall car park

Notes

Route undertaken after lockdown and in the spring. The paths were particularly difficult to navigate due to the absence of walkers and the very tall grass.

Worth a visit

Le Thuit-Simer: Saint-Ouen Church

Saint-Pierre-du-Bosguérard: Saint-Pierre Church, La Mésangère Castle (private)

Bosnormand: Saint-Aubin Church (17th and 19th centuries). A 19th-century grave cross. This cross is located in the cemetery of Saint-Aubin Church.
A 17th- and 19th-century château redesigned by the Rouen architect Lucien Lefort.
An 18th-century house.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
3.4 / 5
benoitrando
benoitrando

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello everyone, I’ve modified the route in point 8 following Varimpré’s instructions.
Thanks to Vrimpré and Franfred for suggesting this change.
Have a safe journey

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Franfred
Franfred

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello
A bit too many roads and therefore too much traffic for my liking. Why not follow the yellow or red markings?
Varimpré’s advice to avoid the D80 is very welcome. THANK YOU!
In fact, the route should be updated to include this advice. As I’ve recorded my route, I’ll try to change it...
Otherwise, it’s a pleasant, easy walk, even though it’s 15km long. You can see churches, castles, estates and Norman houses.
Enjoy your walk!

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Varimpré
Varimpré

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,

A pleasant route, provided you make a small adjustment. As the tarmac section along the D 80 isn’t very appealing, we tried to avoid it. At first to no avail, because, as another walker pointed out, the paths are mostly through private woodland. But then we found a detour, hidden on the map by the labelling. Once you reach the D 80, you need to cross it directly opposite to take the Auvray Ballicorne path (tarmac) and follow the yellow markings to Le Fitz. Continue straight on along the Chemin du Heuzé (tarmac) then head towards the sewage treatment plant via the Chemin de la Mésangère (tarmac). Once at the plant, turn right, follow the path with the plant on your right and a wood on your left. Continue to the D 80 and cross it to reach point 9.

Thank you!
Varimpré

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benoitrando
benoitrando

Hello Yves,
thank you for taking the route and for posting your review

Kind regards
Benoit

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Dionisi Yves
Dionisi Yves

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello,

My wife and I went on this walk in glorious sunshine. Contrary to what was stated, the route was perfectly accessible, as the grass had been mown everywhere. The only remaining difficulty (a narrow path overgrown with brambles and nettles) is the one mentioned in the description, just before Thuit-Simer Castle.

One comment, however, on the length of the tarmac roads (almost 9 km out of 14). We much prefer the small, picturesque footpaths. Above all, the section between points 9 and 10 is dangerous. Fortunately, the width of the verge means you don’t have to walk on the road. Furthermore, shaded sections are very rare, which means we would advise against doing the route in bright sunshine if you don’t cope well with the heat (which isn’t the case for us).

My GPS showed a total of 14.08 km instead of 14.76 km, but there’s no proof that I’m right. We’d need to compare it with other walkers’ measurements.

Best regards.

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benoitrando
benoitrando

Good evening, Claude,
First of all, thank you for completing the route and for sharing your thoughts and those of your companions.
You’re right, on the D80, the stretch on tarmac does seem a bit too long, and it’s a road with quite a lot of traffic. It is still possible to get to a safe spot, on either side of the road.
However, when I get back from holiday, I’ll go back there to see if it’s possible to extend the route by crossing the D80 and taking the opposite side instead of following that road. As you say, there’s a lot of private woodland where access isn’t permitted. This led me, after creating the route on an IGN map and coming to check the route in person, to make quite a few changes before requesting publication.
Thanks again for your excellent analysis.
Kind regards
Benoit.

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claude76000
claude76000

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

The route on the map looks fine, but when you actually follow it, you realise there’s too much tarmac, particularly the long stretch
of the D80, which is very busy and poses a real danger, especially if you’re leading a group of about fifteen people.
We did try to find alternative routes through the forest, but these are on private land.
In conclusion, for my teammates and me, this route holds no interest.
I think I’ll give other feedback, but I believe we should try to remove as much tarmac as possible because, as
a guide, safety is the top priority.

Claude 76000.

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