Along the River Orge around Sainte-Mesme

A mostly shaded circular route that takes you through woodland and open countryside, where you’ll encounter charming Limousin cows, before following the course of the Orge river, crossing a small ford (or a footbridge).

Details

24155193
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.81 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 141 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 138 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 522 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 354 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

From the D116 at the eastern exit of Sainte-Mesme, take the small road under the railway line towards Corbreuse. The entrance to the track is just after that, on the right as you go uphill, and there are a few parking spaces at the start.

(S/E) Follow the track. After about 300 m, pass a path on your right which can take you back to Sainte-Mesme via the Moulin Corpeau, and carry on straight ahead.

(1) Turn left onto a path that climbs gradually through the woods.

(2) Once at the top, the path winds along the edge of the slope and eventually joins a wider track.

(3) Turn right and carry on to the Queue d’Auneau forest track.

(4) Turn right, leave the forest and head along the edge of the woodland before reaching the open countryside. Ignore the straight path on the left leading to Corbreuse and carry on straight ahead until you reach a junction.

(5) Turn right and take the small tarmac road towards the Brandelles farm.

(6) When you reach the farm, take the path that runs alongside it on the right, then heads downhill, skirting a pasture on your right.

(7) At the bottom of the descent, continue to your right, with the River Orge a few metres to your left. The path follows the valley, with properties and ponds more or less visible on the left. At a place called Le Gué d’Orge, you’ll come to a small tarmac road which you should follow to the bridge and the ford over the River Orge.

(8) Do not cross the river here, but take the small forest track sharply to the right, then continue down the valley until you reach the fork where you started.

(1) Carry on straight ahead to reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 381 ft - Route de Corbreuse
  2. 1 : mi 0.17 - alt. 364 ft - Junction of the circular loop
  3. 2 : mi 0.46 - alt. 505 ft - Top of the climb
  4. 3 : mi 0.77 - alt. 492 ft - Junction with the lane
  5. 4 : mi 1.01 - alt. 512 ft - Queue d’Auneau forest track
  6. 5 : mi 1.92 - alt. 518 ft - Crossroads
  7. 6 : mi 2.27 - alt. 505 ft - Brandelles Farm
  8. 7 : mi 2.46 - alt. 410 ft - Église Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul (Saint-Martin-de-Bréthencourt)
  9. 8 : mi 3.12 - alt. 374 ft - Le Gué d’Orge - Orge (l')
  10. S/E : mi 4.81 - alt. 384 ft - Route de Corbreuse

Notes

You can reach the village of Sainte-Mesme (grocery shop) from point (1) or from Saint-Martin Bréthencourt via point (6).

I walked this route in the height of summer in dry weather. It is likely to be damp after heavy rain.

Worth a visit

The historic village of Sainte-Mesme, with its castle and Museum of Military Costume.
Limousin cows at Brandelles Farm.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 3 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
isabelle5891
isabelle5891

It’s a shame about the downpour, but good news for the apples!

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loic.vatar@bbox.fr
loic.vatar@bbox.fr
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little walk that took us 2 hours and 10 minutes, as we took our time and picked some apples… the only downside was the stretch in the open, where we were caught in a heavy rainstorm head-on for 15 minutes. We were glad to head back down into the Orge Valley, sheltered from the wind and rain. The trees along the route have been cleared. Thanks to those who posted this on Visorando. Loïc

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Grandtoto
Grandtoto

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant and varied route

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isabelle5891
isabelle5891

I’m glad you enjoyed it… the little hiccups along the way are there to create memories

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Jipe1er
Jipe1er
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The route is pleasant, easy and shaded,
The only slight downside is the lack of maintenance along the route: we had to make our way through a large patch of ferns ☹️ and there were two or three fallen trees lying across the path, forcing us to duck down to get underneath them.
Despite these minor issues, we enjoyed the little walk and the comments and directions 👍🏻
Thanks to the contributors
Jipe1er

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