The Dolmen de la Pierre Courcoulée in the Évreux Forest

Starting point and access: La Bonneville-sur-Iton railway station.
- The station is served by a few TER trains a day on the line between Évreux and Caen.
- By car, park in a small car park on the right at the end of Impasse de la Forge (signposted ‘SNCF’) or in the car park at the foot of the station building.

The IGN map contains several inaccuracies regarding the route of this walk. In particular, some of the paths shown no longer exist, whilst several paths that do exist are not shown on the map, even though they appear on the OSM map. As the OSM map also contains inaccuracies, the more detailed IGN base map has been used here. Users of the mobile app may find it useful to cache both base maps.

Red and white markings

(S/E) Make your way to the station platform. Take the footbridge spanning the railway line, located at the end of the platform on the Impasse de la Forge side (if arriving by train from Évreux, this is not necessary as you are already on the correct side of the track). At the bottom of the footbridge, leave the platform through a small gate on the left. Then head straight ahead along a cobbled street, cross two branches of the River Iton and walk past a factory on your left.

(1) When the street bends to the left, take a path at an acute angle to the right, which starts at the foot of a house topped by a clock tower. The path climbs the Fourneau hill at a steady, sustained pace.

(2) At the top, at a crossroads, continue roughly straight ahead (south-south-east). After about a hundred metres, at a fork in the road, take the path on the right – the narrower of the two. Go straight on under a canopy of young pines in the fern-filled undergrowth. Ignore a path branching off to the right and continue through a birch copse.

(3) At a junction with a faintly marked path, go straight on along the main path, which soon curves to the right (south-west). Pass a narrow track and then reach a junction with a wide path (a tree bearing the letter or Roman numeral X).

(4) Continue straight on along the^GR®®. After about 150 m, at a fork in the road, turn right. Stay on the marked path (whose purple route on the 1:25,000 map is not entirely accurate here) and ignore the faint tracks off to the sides.

(5) Pass a clearing on the left-hand side, then cross a narrow track. Stay on the main signposted path, which becomes strewn with large stones and begins to descend. Ignore a turn-off to the left, walk alongside a fence on your left-hand side and emerge onto the D60 road at a place called Les Murets.

Yellow markings

(6) Cross the road and take Rue des Murets opposite. At a T-junction, turn right (half-timbered house). Walk alongside a white gate on your left, then cross the River Le Sec Iton, either by wading across or using a footbridge on the left. Continue along a very narrow road between the fields.

(7) At the crossroads (small house on the left), turn left into Rue des Haisettes. Cross the river again, either by wading across or via a footbridge on the left. Turn right and continue along a grassy path between two fields. Further on, the river comes up on your right; then turn left as the path does.

Yellow + Blue signposting

At a three-way junction, turn right.

Blue markings
The colour chosen is very dark; as a result, the markings are difficult to see from a distance.

(8) At the junction that appears immediately, take the path on the left, which is not shown on the IGN map. Stay on the shaded, flat edge of the field. You’ll come to the river on your right. Further on, the path becomes stony and runs alongside a fenced-off field on your right. Climb slightly and you’ll come out onto the D 55 road. Cross the road carefully (visibility would be too limited further on) and follow it to the right for about fifty metres.

(9) Take the^first path on the left at an acute angle and pass through a forest gate. Climb steadily through beautiful woodland and keep heading east (the IGN map contains inaccuracies here). Cross a wide forest track (marked ‘Route Montbazon’ on the map) and continue straight ahead on level ground. At the next junction (with the Route de la Loge), carry on straight ahead.

No signposting

(10) At the next junction, on the boundary between forest plots nos. 5 and 9, turn right and walk alongside a pond on your left. At the next junction, go straight on. At the following junction, turn left onto a path not shown on the IGN map.

(11) At the junction that appears immediately, go straight on and you will soon reach the Pierre Courcoulée dolmen. Retrace your steps to the previous junction.

Blue markings

(11) Then turn right. Carry on straight ahead, ignoring a path coming from the right. As you approach the houses, the track gives way to a path running alongside a wall.

(12) At a crossroads in open country, follow a wide path to the left. After a few metres, turn right onto a barely marked path. Enter the woodland again and continue along a wider path. You will come to the junction you have already passed, on the boundary between plots nos. 5 and 9.

No signposts

(10) Turn right here. Follow a long straight line, keeping a north-north-westerly direction at each junction.

Blue markings

(13) When you reach a forest gate, first turn right then left to go round it, then follow a fence on your right-hand side. Cross the D55 road carefully and continue along the path opposite, slightly to the right. Ignore a vague path branching off to the right straight away.

No markings

(14) At a junction, carry on straight ahead (ignore the blue markings heading off to the left). Cross the D60 road and pass a metal barrier on your right. Head north-west and ignore the faint tracks on the right.

(15) At a T-junction, turn left. About a hundred metres further on, at another T-junction, turn right. Pass between two cleared plots. Continue straight ahead and re-enter the forest. You will come to a crossroads with a track with deep ruts on the right and a cluttered track opposite.

(16) Then turn left onto a wide, well-maintained track flanked by tall trees. After about 200 m, at a fork in the road, take the track on the right (not shown on the IGN map). At the next junction, turn right onto a wide track. Carry on straight ahead until you reach a metal gate flanked by wire fencing.

(17) Turn left and immediately take a first turn right then left at the foot of a three-trunked oak. After about a hundred metres, at a junction, take the most clearly marked path on the right. Walk north-west, ignoring a turn-off on the left, and you’ll reach the junction taken on the way out, marked by a tree bearing an ‘X’.

Red and white markings

(4) Join the^GR®®222again and follow it to the right.

(3) Continue along the^GR®®, which heads north-north-west, and ignore the side paths.

(2) At the crossroads, head straight ahead and go downhill.

(1) At the bottom, follow the road to the left, cross the Iton and go through the gate leading to the station platform. Take the footbridge over the railway line and return to the starting point (S/E).

Hiking boots recommended.

No water sources identified along the route. Shops and bars/restaurants in the centre of La Bonneville-sur-Iton.

A detailed map is essential (at least the one accompanying this description). For the mobile app, it is recommended that you cache the IGN map and the OSM map in advance and, during the hike, choose one or the other depending on the circumstances.

Hike completed by the author on 29 May 2020.

- Pleasant forest trails.
- Beautiful fern-filled undergrowth.
- A few remarkable trees.
- The fords of the Sec Iton.
- La Pierre Courcoulée (11), a Neolithic dolmen.