Les carrières de Montigny

Departure from Machemont Town Hall (information board on the yellow-marked route), opposite the church. Park in the town hall car park (3 spaces) or along Rue de l'Église.

Yellow markings + "Route de la Montagne d'Hauette"signposts
Markings are sparse; signs on dedicated posts are present at the main intersections.

(S/E) With your back to the town hall, turn left onto Rue de l'Église. After passing the school, leave the street and turn left onto a downhill lane where a sign indicates that traffic is prohibited in 100 metres. Pass a stone cross and continue along a path that is initially stony and then grassy.

(1) At the fork (tarmac), turn left between two buildings and follow a grassy path which soon gives way to tarmac (Chemin des Écoliers). At the stop sign, turn left. At the foot of the sign marking the entrance to Melicocq, turn right onto a path which, after the last houses, runs between gardens (on the left) and fields (on the right). Join the D15 road and follow it to the right for a few metres.

(2) Turn right onto a tarmac track leading towards a wood, with an embankment on the right-hand side. At a fork, continue right on the track, which becomes stony and climbs. Once on flat ground again, walk alongside the pastures on your left. Note a turret on the right-hand side and you will come to a three-way junction.

(3) Then turn right, staying on the track, and walk along the dilapidated wall of a property on your right. Turn right with the track and pass in front of the gate of the old farm of the priory of Saint-Amand. You will come out onto a small road.

Red and white + yellow markings + "Route de la Montagne d'Hauette"signposts

(4) Follow the road to the right and, after a few metres, at the gate, turn left onto a path between the meadows. Continue along the edge of the woods on your right, then enter the woods. Climb up the path, which becomes hollow. Leave the woods and continue straight ahead until you reach a farm track.

Red and white markings

(5) Turn left and leave the buildings on your right, then a path closed to traffic. Descend between two hedges and, when a path comes from the left, continue opposite along the edge of the woods on your left until you reach a road.

(6) Follow the road to the right towards the Montingny quarries. After a sharp right turn, at an intersection, turn left, still towards the quarries. Pass a house on your right and turn left towards the quarry site.

(7) Retrace your steps and follow the road to the right (^GR®®225signposting).

(6) It is hard to miss the start of the stony track on the left, before a right-hand bend in the road... Shortly afterwards, ignore the path that branches off to the right and enters the woods, and continue along the track.

Yellow markings + "Route de la Montagne d'Hauette"signposts

(5) Continue straight ahead on the track and pass the Croix de la Croisette (stone cross). At the crossroads (elevation 144; bench), take the path opposite that enters the woods. Further on, cross a clearing, go straight ahead, enter the woods again, and continue straight ahead, ignoring the paths on either side.

(8) At a three-way junction, go right. Pass under a power line (hole in the woods). Stay on the main path, ignoring any vague side paths. Further on, descend along the path, which becomes hollow. At a three-way junction (not shown on the map), turn sharply left and continue downhill. Ignore a turn-off on the left (not shown on the map) and descend with a fence on your right.

(9) Back on the tarmac, follow the road to the right and immediately ignore the one-way street. At the stop sign, turn right. At the next intersection, turn right onto Rue de l'Église. Follow this street to the church and you will find the town hall opposite (S/E).

Hiking boots recommended.

(7) Water source and toilets at Carrières de Montigny.

Detailed map useful (at least the one accompanying this description). The circular route, marked in yellow, was designed and signposted by the Communauté de communes des deux vallées.

Hike completed by the author on 23 September 2018.

Several information panels mark the route in the village of Machemont, at the Château de Saint-Amand and at the Carrières de Montigny.

(7) The Montigny quarries are the main destination of the hike. These spectacular former quarries were used to quarter French troops during the First World War.
- Site opening days: June and September, Saturdays and Sundays; July and August, Thursday to Sunday.
- Guided tour: departs at 2.30pm, lasts 2 hours; price €5 per person (in September 2018).

Along the way:
- Machemont Church (19th century) (S/E) with its two war memorials, the first (1915) to soldiers who died in combat in the area, the second (1925) to those who died in the commune.
- Cross (1960) erected with stones from the Machemont quarry, shortly afterwards (S/E).
- Turret, a remnant of the former priory of Saint-Amand founded in the early 12th century, shortly before (3).
- Stone cross at La Croisette, shortly after the second passage in (5).