From Fond de Croisette to Terres de l'Amour

A route offering beautiful views of the Authie valley.

The paths are very good in the first section (up to Frohen) and the end is a little more challenging, but in the heart of the countryside.

Details

18669
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 20.86 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 188 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 188 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 149 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 41 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Start from Place de Villers-l'Hôpital

(S/E) From the square, head south. Take the first street on the left (Rue des Godets).
Ignore the path on the left.

(1) At the next junction, turn left to join the D 114. Follow it for a few metres to the right.

(2) At the three-way junction (calvary), turn left. 1 km further on, turn right and rejoin the D 114.

(3) Do not take this road, but take the path on the left. Follow it straight on for 1.5 km.

(4) At the junction (just before reaching the D 115), take the path on the right. It passes in front of the sports ground before joining the D 114.

(5) Follow it to the left. At the three-way junction, leave the D 114 and continue to the right. 100 m further on, turn right again (Rue de Croisette).
Follow this good path, which descends gently for over 5 km (roughly south-south-west), to reach the cemetery at Frohen-le-Grand.

(6) At the cemetery, continue straight ahead on the tarmac and, 200 m further on, turn right to reach the village centre and the D 938.

(7) Follow it to the right and pass the junction with the D 128.

(8) 200 m further on, take the path on the right. After a 1.5 km climb, you will reach a junction.

(9) Turn right, then immediately left. At the T-junction, turn right and reach the D 114.

(10) Cross it and continue along the path opposite. Ignore the path on the right and keep heading north-west (you’ll then be walking alongside the Terres de l’Amour!!) until you reach a T-junction.

(11) Turn right. Just after a right-hand bend, look out for the entrance to the old railway line on the left.

(12) Join the railway line and follow it to the right (GRP®). Cross the bridge (impressive!) and shortly afterwards, reach a junction (picnic table)

(13) Leave the railway line and take the small road on the left. You’ll soon reach a T-junction.

(14) Turn right to go under the railway line (another large bridge!). 400 m further on, just after a reservoir on the left, look out for a wide track on the right.

(15) Take this track. At the T-junction, turn right to reach the D 114 near a fork.

(16) Take the D 114 (it is thesecond road on the right) and follow it for 200 m before turning onto the first path on the left. You will reach a T-junction (at a place called La Marette).

(17) Turn left and continue straight on towards Villers-l'Hôpital. At the T-junction at the entrance to the village, turn right onto the D 116.

(18) Follow it for a short while on the left before turning right into Rue des Godets. At the next junction, turn left to reach the square in Villers-l'Hôpital (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 141 m - Place de Villers-l'Hôpital
  2. 1 : km 0.49 - alt. 135 m - Crossroads
  3. 2 : km 0.98 - alt. 134 m - Calvary
  4. 3 : km 2.8 - alt. 138 m - D 114
  5. 4 : km 4.34 - alt. 145 m - Junction before the D 115
  6. 5 : km 5.26 - alt. 140 m - T-junction after the stadium
  7. 6 : km 11.27 - alt. 54 m - Frohen-le-Grand cemetery
  8. 7 : km 11.68 - alt. 41 m - D 938
  9. 8 : km 11.9 - alt. 43 m - Leave the D 938, take the path on the right
  10. 9 : km 13.75 - alt. 87 m - T-junction
  11. 10 : km 14.73 - alt. 107 m - Junction with the D 114
  12. 11 : km 15.88 - alt. 66 m - T-junction
  13. 12 : km 16.11 - alt. 63 m - Entrance to the old railway line
  14. 13 : km 16.56 - alt. 70 m - Crossroads (picnic table)
  15. 14 : km 16.82 - alt. 65 m - T-junction
  16. 15 : km 17.25 - alt. 98 m - Path on the right after the reservoir
  17. 16 : km 19.3 - alt. 127 m - Junction with the D 114
  18. 17 : km 19.75 - alt. 119 m - T-junction (La Marette)
  19. 18 : km 20.51 - alt. 135 m - Junction with the D 116
  20. S/E : km 20.86 - alt. 141 m - Place de Villers-l'Hôpital

Notes

You can shorten the route by 4 or 5 km by not turning left after (9) to reach (18).

Wear suitable footwear and it is worth taking one (or two) walking sticks.

Water point at Frohen cemetery.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
3.5 / 5
dom62
dom62

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A ride with plenty of tarmac sections, suitable for mountain bikes or hybrid bikes. For those unfamiliar with the area around the Croisette farm, it’s a lovely place to explore. The ride took 5 hours and 20 minutes.

Machine-translated

joorange
joorange

The walk called "La Ferme de Croisette" is more interesting.
But there are few woods in this area.
The Auxi forest is beautiful but difficult to get through, whilst on the other side, the Lucheux forest offers more access points, though the paths are often challenging.

Machine-translated

Daniel62
Daniel62

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A countryside walk... Few woods, very monotonous

Machine-translated

joorange
joorange

It was one of my first walks on Visorando and I readily admit that it isn’t particularly interesting (apart from the pleasure of walking).

I’ve included the upper section of the Fond de Croisette in another, much more interesting route: “La Ferme de Croisette”.

Machine-translated

thiloujac
thiloujac

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The main attraction of this route is the Croisette valley, a long, steep-sided valley where, apart from a single house, there seems to be not a soul in sight. The Croisette farm is abandoned.

Machine-translated

caunis
caunis

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 06, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

A lovely little hiking trail that could (or should?) have been called ‘The Heights and the Bottom of Croisette’, as the path starts in the upper reaches of the valley, descends to the bottom of Croisette and ends by climbing back up past Frohen through the fields overlooking the valley.
As Phile and DM mentioned earlier, the map is more than adequate for following the route, as the signposting is crystal clear. However, bear in mind that nearly three-quarters of the walk is on tarmac, which isn’t great for the legs.
Finally, at a moderate pace, we completed the entire route in 3 hours, instead of the 4 hours 50 minutes stated (which suited us just fine, given that we’d set off late ^^).

Machine-translated

Lulu62
Lulu62

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 01, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

a lovely, undulating walk

Machine-translated

Phile et DM
Phile et DM

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 03, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

As a fan of exploratory walks, the map provided is more than enough to help you figure out which way to go. The claim that there is “virtually no tarmac” isn’t quite accurate anymore, but the trail remains an excellent route for a Sunday in early April with temperatures of 20°C or even higher. A comment just between us: industrial farmers claim to be nature’s guardians, but with their monstrous machinery, they’re destroying our dirt tracks and polluting the countryside with their industrial waste (plastic, tyres, metal sheets, etc.).
(I am the son and grandson of a farmer). Furthermore, along a lovely stream, all the shrubs and trees have been destroyed despite the 5-metre buffer zone protecting the watercourse. These plants were in no way hindering farming practices.
Nevertheless, this hike remains a wonderful way to discover this hilly region where there is still some wildlife. The first cattle are out and about. Nature is coming to life all around and teeming with life everywhere.
Highly recommended.
Philippe and Denise-Marie

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

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