The Song Thrush Route

A pleasant hike on the edge of Normandy, between La Couture-Boussey and Garennes-sur-Eure.
This walking route partly follows the route of another route, this one for mountain bikes, called L'Eure Musicienne.

Along the way, you will come across two churches with very different architectural styles.

Details

1944915
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.78 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 315 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 338 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 436 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 177 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from the car park between the church and the wind instrument museum in La Couture-Boussey.
Bus stop in front of the museum.

(S/E) Leave the car park and cross the D833 to take Rue de Garennes (opposite the museum). A little further on, this street gives way to a path that leads into the plain. Continue straight ahead until you reach the entrance to Garennes-sur-Eure.

(1) At the crossroads, take Chemin de La Couture opposite (a small, steeply sloping tarmac road). Pass two streets on the right. Continue towards the centre of Garennes-sur-Eure and pass in front of the school.

(2) Turn left towards the Church of Saint-Aignan. Pass in front of the church.
Make a round trip, turning right onto Rue Marie Curie. Immediately turn left into the car park to see the calm waters of the Eure.
Then turn around and go back up Rue Marie Curie on the right. Continue along this street.

(3) Turn left onto Rue du Bois. Ignore the side streets and continue to the end of the street, then take the path that climbs between two properties.

(4) In the woods, at thefirst fork, follow the path on the left, which climbs quite steeply to the top of the hill (elevation 119).

(5) At thesecond fork (almost at the top of the hill), take the path on the left that crosses the entire wood.

(6) At the exit of the woods, at the three-way intersection, climb up the path leading to Tourne-Boisset. Pass afirst path on the left, then a second on the right, and continue left onto Rue du Centre.

(7) Turn left onto the street called "Le Chemin de le Mare". At the end of the street, turn left then right at the crossroads after the Grande Mare, towards Boussey, passing under the power line. At the entrance to Boussey, continue straight on along Rue du Parc until you reach Place Sainte-Opportune.

(8) At the end of the square, take thefirst street on the left (Rue des Masures). Continue along this road for 280 metres, then leave the tarmac and follow the path on the right, opposite the Puits Banal cul-de-sac. Cross the D833 and take the street opposite leading to Bois Fleuri.

(9) At the bend, turn onto thefirst path on the left. This path goes straight into the forest, then descends before turning right. Continue straight ahead until you reach the edge of the woods.

(10) At the edge of the woods, take the path on the left that goes up into the woods. At the top, continue straight ahead, following the path that runs alongside a fence. Pass in front of the water treatment plant. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead into Allée du Bois, then continue straight ahead into Rue Georges Leblanc. At the end of the street, continue straight ahead onto the D833. Pass in front of La Couture-Boussey Town Hall, then cross the large square to reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 423 ft - Car park at the church in La Couture-Boussey
  2. 1 : mi 1.18 - alt. 390 ft - Le Bel-Air
  3. 2 : mi 1.71 - alt. 184 ft - Garennes-sur-Eure Town Hall
  4. 3 : mi 2.12 - alt. 177 ft - La rue du Bois
  5. 4 : mi 2.48 - alt. 279 ft - Fork 1, left
  6. 5 : mi 2.59 - alt. 377 ft - Fork 2, on the left
  7. 6 : mi 3.32 - alt. 361 ft - Tourne-Boisset
  8. 7 : mi 3.59 - alt. 423 ft - Le Chemin de la Mare
  9. 8 : mi 4.75 - alt. 430 ft - Place Sainte-Opportune
  10. 9 : mi 5.16 - alt. 423 ft - Turn onto Rue du Bois Fleuri
  11. 10 : mi 5.66 - alt. 358 ft - Orée du Bois fleuri
  12. S/E : mi 6.78 - alt. 423 ft - Car park at the church in La Couture-Boussey

Notes

Picnic area near the Tourne-Boisset pond

If you would like to find out more about this route, visit my blog:
Ami ch'min

Worth a visit

- Wind instrument museum in La Couture-Boussey
- Church in La Couture-Boussey
- 13th-century church in Garennes-sur-Eure
- Panorama of the Eure Valley

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 11 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.2 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
User 24427883

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 02, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

I always go hiking with my dogs, and this route isn’t suitable at all because there are lots of busy roads that are extremely dangerous for animals.

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COCHARDMOD
COCHARDMOD

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, varied walk.
A quick note:
point 6: this is a three-way junction; do not turn left, but climb up opposite.
Thank you for sharing.

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NONOTTE
NONOTTE

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A route with very varied landscapes. But on Friday 25 October, on the path above Garennes
"Hunting in progress" sign on the communal path.
Our group had to take a detour through the woods to avoid the hunters.

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Chartreuse73
Chartreuse73

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The hike is enjoyable; we did it with a group of 15 walkers.
Luckily we had the description, map and GPS because the trail is very poorly marked, which is a shame!
We'll have to do it again at another time of year.

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riboulotjp
riboulotjp

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 03, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

route easy to modify depending on weather conditions

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THOMAS Dominique
THOMAS Dominique

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A shaded hike with plenty of elevation changes, which I really enjoyed, especially with yesterday's sunshine.

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ovil
ovil

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We combined this hike with the one called "Bueil-Garenes sur Eure via the Côte Bigot". So we set off from Bueil station.
We hiked in the rain, which turned into a downpour once we reached La Couture-Boussey. We returned soaked to the skin.
The rain made the path along the hillsides very slippery.
We'll have to do it again in the sunshine to enjoy the scenery.

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Denilisa
Denilisa

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

There are some beautiful stretches through the forest above Garennes and in the last few kilometres before returning to La Couture Boussey. For those who enjoy longer hikes, this route can be combined with the one from Bueil to Garennes/Eure via Côte Bigot, which it shares for about 2 kilometres.

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dioxygene
dioxygene

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike with the family, with children aged 6, 9 and 11. A very pleasant mix of flat terrain and forest.
We used the app, which was reassuring for the forest section.
We'll be back!

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LEGLAUDE
LEGLAUDE

It is true that it is difficult to explain a route in a forest with many paths, as landmarks are virtually non-existent. The idea of using a GPS application for this type of route seems very sensible to me.

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henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

Thank you for your feedback.

However, there are many paths in the forest, so it's not easy to find the right one...

Finding your way in the forest isn't easy because it can sometimes be difficult to match the map to the terrain. In this specific case, we recommend using the GPS app in addition to the description and map.

This tool, offered free of charge by Visorando, allows you to validate waypoints and thus remove any doubts you may have about your location.

See you soon!

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randomooney
randomooney

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 21, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Very good for everything on the plain, but in the forest there are many paths, so it's not easy to find the right one....

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Bernard S1.
Bernard S1.
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Thank you for this pleasant country walk.
The Garennes woodland trail is very pleasant to walk along and offers some beautiful views of the valley.
It's a shame that the banks of the Eure at Garennes are not very attractive.

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