The Pihem Ravine and the Fields of Avroult

Park in the car park at Remilly-Wirquin: Grande Place, Rue de la Moulière.

(S/E) From the car park, go round the Town Hall on the right to reach Rue Bernard Chochoy. Follow it to the right. Cross the Aa and turn left into Rue des Prés. At the fork, take the right-hand path via Rue Bertin and, at the end of this street, continue straight on the uphill path. At the T-junction, turn right towards the D192.

(1) Just before the D192, turn left onto the wide path. A few metres before a wind turbine, veer left towards the edge of the woods along the GR®145.

(2) Leave the GR® and turn right at the edge of the woods to reach a signpost (on the left, before a clearing).

(3) See practical information
Continue straight on and join the D192E1. Follow it for about 600 m on the left. You are now on the^PR®® du Ravin de Pihem and will follow it for a good while. Reach the 117m mark where you’ll find a good path on the right.

(4) Follow this path. Ignore the path coming from the left and immediately, at the fork, turn left to reach the vicinity of the A26. Go under the motorway. Further on, turn left to cross the railway line.

(5) Just after the railway line, turn right onto Rue des Marronniers. About 1 km further on, turn right to cross the railway line again. Immediately after, turn left onto Rue du Bosquet and reach the D928.

(6) Cross it (Take care!) and take Rue d'Helfaut opposite. About fifty metres further on, turn right, then immediately right again onto Chemin de Pihem (yellow markings are visible in this area). Reach a barrier and enter the path, which you will follow, keeping to the right and ignoring several side paths on the left. Reach the A26 viaduct.

(7) Pass under the viaduct and continue along the path until you reach a fork with a barely visible track on the right and a wide path on the left.

(8) Take the path on the right to walk all the way up the Ravin. At the end of the path, you’ll come to a small road.

(9) Follow it to the left to reach Pihem and the D195. Turn right onto the D195. On leaving the village, look out for a path leading off to the right.

(10) Follow this lovely path which will take you to the D928. Follow it for a few metres to the left until you reach the junction with the D192.

(11) Follow the D192 to the right and, 300 m further on, turn left to reach the hamlet of Créhem. You’ll be joined by the GR®145 coming from the right and you’ll reach the edge of the hamlet.

(12) Do not miss the grassy path branching off to the left (GR®). Follow it for about 500 m before turning right towards the wind turbines (off the GR®), onto a wide track.
Just after a sharp right-hand bend, take the path on the left to descend towards the hamlet of Le Flotion. Once you reach the dip, turn right to reach the first houses of Remilly-Wirquin.

(13) At the T-junction, turn left to reach the D193 immediately. Follow it uphill to the left. I tried to join it directly from Le Flotion, but I failed, though it seems feasible... Shortly after a right-hand bend, find a path branching off to the right.

(14) Follow this superb path. Walk alongside a wood, then turn sharply left with the path to reach a fork at the edge of the wood.

(15) The route takes the path on the right, but I recommend first following the narrow track on the left to visit the old Cléty quarries, a Nature Reserve that is not particularly well-promoted. Turn back.

(15) Continue to the left. After a rather damp stretch, join the D341 and follow it to the right for about 500 m, until you reach a junction.

(16) Turn right and immediately afterwards left again to descend into the Aa Valley. Join the D193E1 and follow it to the left. Just past the school, turn right to cross the Aa and reach a junction.

(17) Follow the lovely path on the right that runs alongside the Aa. At the fork, take the grassy track on the right to reach Rue du Moulin.

(18) Two options:
- continue straight on along Rue de Remilly to reach the car park (for a 24 km hike).
- turn left, then immediately take the path leading off to the right. Head uphill to reach the hamlet of Le Plouy.

(19) At the junction, take the small road on the right to quickly reach a fork where you leave the road and take the path opposite, which slopes gently downwards. Ignore the path on the left and, further on, find a path branching off to the right at a place called Le Pied de Vache.

(20) Follow this path to reach the D225E1. Follow it to the left (I think you can start the descent by taking the edge of the field to the left of the road) to return to the starting point (S/E).

It’s a long route and the ravine can be damp, so sturdy footwear is essential: hiking boots and walking stick(s).

There are a few sections on local roads, but this is the only way to cover the Chemin des Champs d’Avroult and it’s well worth it.

At point (3), I turned left this morning (18/04/2025). After the gate, head right along the edge of the woodland onto a lovely path that turns left (due north). You’ll soon reach a large clearing on the right. Turn right onto a wide grassy area and reach the D192E1. Follow it to the left to reach point (3) straight away.

You can return directly to the car park after (13) for a hike of around 17 km.

The old quarries of Cléty.