The slopes of the Ternoise near Auchy

Starting point: small square near Rollancourt Town Hall.

(S/E) Cross the D107 and head right of the church (Rue du Petit Croc). Turn left to walk alongside the cemetery. At the end of the cemetery, turn right into the woodland. Stay on the right path, ignoring the track that climbs to the left. After a damp section (easy to avoid), leave a path that descends to the right and join a wide track.

(1) Take a sharp left onto the GRP® Ternois Sud (yellow and red markings) and continue straight on to reach the D107 (chapel). Follow it for about a hundred metres to the right.

(2) At the three-way junction, turn left onto a wide path to follow the Vallée à Collet and join the D123, which you follow for a few metres to the left. Turn right onto the first path.

(3) A few metres further on (information sign and arrow), turn left onto a grassy path (Chemin de Montigny). This fairly difficult path joins a small road (new information sign). Follow it to the left to reach the hamlet of Montigny.

(4) At the T-junction, turn right and then right again. 250 m further on (sign marking the entrance to the village of Auchy), turn left. The path turns right. Keep heading north-west to reach a T-junction.

(5) Turn left and, 400 metres further on, take the path on the left (opposite a lovely hedge). At the T-junction, turn right and you will reach a small road, near the D108.

(6) Follow the small road to the left. After a reservoir, reach the hamlet of Bellevue and then the D108 at Auchy-lès-Hesdin.

(7) Cross it and take the Allée du Marais Câlin opposite (!!!). Cross the green space (benches, picnic table), keeping slightly to the left. Go round the sports hall on the left and join Rue du Pont Sixte, which you follow to the right (stadium entrance on the right) until you reach the bridge.

(8) Cross the Ternoise and follow it on the left (wooden barrier). At the end of the grassy path, join a narrow lane leading to Rue du 8 Mai. Follow it to the left until you reach a T-junction (a short detour to the left allows you to see the beautiful Auchy waterfall). Turn right, cross the railway line and reach the D94. Follow it for 100 metres to the right.

(9) Turn left (signposted post) onto Rue de la Fabrique. Ignore the path on the left and reach a three-way junction (Oratoire Notre-Dame des Champs). Turn left and climb up to the Hérauville farm.

(10) Before reaching the N39, at the signpost (arrow), turn left. Pass in front of a shed and then a beautiful solitary tree (with yellow markings). Follow the correct path up the hill, which turns left, then right. At^{the first} path on the left, ignore the markings and continue straight ahead. 300m further on, after a small wood, a tarmac path descends to the left towards the D94.

(11) Ignore this and continue straight ahead (not shown on IGN maps unless zoomed in significantly) until you reach a small wood. Follow the edge of the wood downhill to a small road (a well-hidden wayside cross at the right-hand corner). Follow it to the left and join the D94. Cross the D94, then the railway line. Pass Rue du Haras and reach a three-way junction.

(12) Turn right, cross the Ternoise, pass in front of the château (Institut Rural) and reach the D107. Follow it to the right to reach the square and the starting point (S/E).

Take care at point (11), as the path opposite isn’t very obvious at first.

“Appropriate attire required”, of course.

September 2021: I contacted Auchy Town Hall by email regarding the Chemin de Montigny. No reply as yet.

There used to be a cosy café in Auchy near the square (150m past the waterfall).

Auchy Waterfall.
Notre-Dame des Champs Oratory.
Rollancourt Castle.

And, if you’re lucky, some deer!