The Gruel Mill

Start from Orval church. Park in the Place des Hortensias car park, between the church and the school. Access via the D971 between Quetreville-sur-Sienne and Coutances or via the D437 from Pont de la Roque.

‘Route des Moulins’hiking signs, marked with yellow markers, are present at the starting point and at major junctions.

(S/E) Head north and go round the school on the left. At the roundabout, continue in the same direction, passing a tennis court on your right and walking past the war memorial. At the next roundabout, take Rue Saint-Omer straight ahead.

Continue along a path and, after passing a farm building on the right, enter a sunken lane, still heading in the same direction. Stay on this wide path, within a beautiful tunnel of vegetation, and ignore the side paths. Cross a road and continue north along a sunken lane that is narrower than the previous one and slopes slightly downwards.

(1) At the houses, turn right and follow a small road: note the beautiful view in the distance of Notre-Dame Cathedral and Saint-Pierre Church in Coutances.

(2) Just before the Coutances ring road bridge, look out for a hiking sign indicating a right turn towards Orval Church. Ignore this sign, continue along the small road and pass under the ring road bridge. Reach the hamlet of Moulin de Gruel. For a view of the old mill, turn left over the small closed bridge (marked ‘EDF’ gate).

(3) Retrace your steps to the hiking sign you ignored on the way there, which you’ll find just past the metal field gates.

(2) Take a path on the left (not shown on the map) which climbs very steeply but briefly, then turn right between two hedges. At a sort of crossroads at the edge of the meadows, continue straight ahead along a wider path between two hedges, with a railway line barely visible behind the hedge on the left. Cross a road (railway bridge on the left) and continue south along a sunken lane. Stay on this main path, go slightly downhill, walk past the rear of some houses and come out onto a road.

(4) Ignore the sign directing you to turn right and take the street on the left that leads down to the level crossing. After the municipal workshop, turn right into a street at the corner of No. 8. At the end of this street, turn left. After the last house, look out for a small tunnel under the railway line opposite and, just before it, an old wash house. Turn right (before the wash house) onto a sunken path offering some lovely views to the right of Orval Church.

(5) At a fork (lawn and lean-to on the left), veer right and head uphill between a hedge on your left and a wooden fence on your right. You’ll come out onto a small road; follow it to the right (ignore a hiking sign with a green marker). At the next junction (calvary), continue to the right and head towards Orval Church (S/E).

In dry weather, good trainers are sufficient for this short walk. In wet weather, wear walking boots.

A 1:25,000 map is useful (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Alternative route:
Once you reach Rue de l’Église (4), you can reach the starting point by turning right, as indicated by the hiking sign. This shortens the route by around 500 metres.

Additional information:
This walk can be combined with the walk“The hillsides of the right bank of the Sienne from Orval”, which has the same starting point. Allow for a total of around 10.5 km.
- Start with this walk - On returning to Orval church, follow the other walk. At its point (6), continue straight on along the road, as the path to the Orval wash house will already have been taken on this walk. Walk past the cemetery on your right and return to the church.
- Starting with the walk "The hillsides of the right bank of the Sienne from Orval" - Back at Orval church, follow this walk. When you reach the point (4), continue straight on towards the church, as you will already have taken the path to the Orval wash house on the other walk.

Walk completed by the author on 17 August 2015.

- St Helen’s Church (11th–13th centuries) at the starting point (S/E).
- Old Gruel Mill in (3).
- Old wash house in .
- A few wooden field gates, known as ‘Cotentines’.