The two woods and the Coqueline

A very pleasant nature trail in dry weather, but becomes more challenging in wet weather: grassy sections (a good test for your shoes, deep ruts, muddy sections).

Warning: October 2024. While it's relatively easy to get through the ruts, the last part of the path out of the wood (before point 9) is in a terrible state. The path has been broken up by machinery and you can only pass along the sides, which are themselves very difficult. It's very slippery and sometimes you have to change sides, which is a real challenge. This used to be a signposted mountain bike trail, is it still?

Details

358612
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 19.78 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 207 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 211 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 185 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 72 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Aumerval (62550)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 50.506322° / E 2.398556°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2305E
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Start: Aumerval church.

(S/E) Take the D91 towards Ferfay (GR®127 and GRP°® Tour du Ternois Nord). After 400m, turn right onto the wide track (still GR®). After a 90° right-hand bend, ignore a track on the left and continue straight ahead on the grassy path. Pass the cemetery and reach the D90.

(1) Stay on the GR®, go straight ahead (slightly left) and climb towards the wood. Continue through it (difficult in wet weather), keeping south-west. Join a small tarmac road.

(2) Follow it a few metres to the left, this is the Chemin du Bois, then turn right onto the wide Chemin du Bois de la Paroye, first through undergrowth, then between fields to join the GR®127 and the GRP°®.

(3) Turn right along this path. Follow this beautiful path along the Clarence river to Sachin. At the 1st crossroads (chapel), turn right onto the Grand Rue towards the church. Ignore the street to the right, pass the church, then the school, and reach the Rue du Buich crossroads.

(4) Just before Rue du Buich, take the path on the right, then go immediately right (turnstile). A beautiful path climbs, then descends again (new turnstile) to a farm. Continue straight ahead towards the chapel (very muddy in wet weather, but the bottom is stony). Go through the gate and reach the chapel.

(5) Turn left into Rue des Fonds. Ignore the 2 successive left-hand paths to reach a new crossroads.

(6) Take the left-hand path alongside Bois Fontaine. Turn right at 90° to reach a new T-junction.

(7) Take the left-hand track. At the next junction, turn right onto the grassy path to reach the edge of the wood.

(8) Go straight ahead at the edge of the wood. This path (signposted for mountain bikes in the other direction) follows the edge before entering the wood and rejoining the D77. Caution: huge ruts (which wild boars seem to appreciate!!). Be sure to follow the barbed wire on the right and from time to time take a good grassy path on the left (not forgetting to return to the original path from time to time) or the paths on the right that go around the waterholes (very difficult passage in October 2024)

(9) Follow the D77 to the right for a few meters, then go right through the woods (reverse Pignolet and VTT). A good path, sometimes damp, veers left before reaching a forest house.

(10) Turn right, then immediately left to go down to the D90: fine views as far as the Monts de Flandre. Cross the D90 to take a wide track opposite. It bends left at 90°. Further on, turn right to pass the gas station and reach a T junction.

(11) Turn right. Turn left 100m further on the GR®127 towards Amettes. At the T junction, turn right to reach the square (Maison de Saint-Benoit on the left).

(12) Go through the square and round the church to the right: lovely park with wooden statue. At the tarmac, turn right, ignoring the left-hand street, and head downhill towards La Coqueline, reaching a calvary.

(13) Turn right (yellow-marked Coqueline country path). A wide, slightly uphill path reaches a fork. Turn right to reach Fond de Dinghem. Cross the Coqueline (ford or footbridge slightly hidden on the left). Follow the Coqueline to reach Bailleul-les-Pernes. Beautifully restored path.

(14) At the tarmac, go left, cross the Coqueline, ignore the road to the right and climb to reach the D90 (calvary). Follow this for a few metres, then turn left onto the GR® (signpost with arrows). Climb up to the edge of the field and reach T. Turn left to reach the church and square (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 132 m - Église Saint-Maur (Aumerval)
  2. 1 : km 1.22 - alt. 139 m - Cemetery
  3. 2 : km 2.82 - alt. 162 m - Small tarmac road
  4. 3 : km 4.35 - alt. 98 m - GRP Ternois which runs along the - Clarence (rivière)
  5. 4 : km 6.42 - alt. 109 m - Sachin
  6. 5 : km 6.81 - alt. 117 m - Chapel
  7. 6 : km 7.97 - alt. 144 m - Carrefour Bois de la Ville
  8. 7 : km 9.05 - alt. 161 m - T-junction
  9. 8 : km 9.68 - alt. 176 m - Edge
  10. 9 : km 10.65 - alt. 183 m - Route D77
  11. 10 : km 12.2 - alt. 174 m - Near forest house
  12. 11 : km 14.36 - alt. 103 m - Gas installation
  13. 12 : km 15.91 - alt. 85 m - Place d'Amettes. Close to the - Nave (rivière) - Affluent de la Lys
  14. 13 : km 16.37 - alt. 72 m - Calvary and bridge over the river Coqueline
  15. 14 : km 18.75 - alt. 101 m - Place called Wacheux
  16. S/E : km 19.78 - alt. 132 m - Église Saint-Maur (Aumerval)

Notes

Picnic facilities in Amettes: tables lining the square and water point in the park near the church.

Hiking shoes and poles essential.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.9 / 5
Based on 24 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
nonette
nonette
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 02, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful nature hike, even if it was a bit muddy after the rainy season. I answered 'yes' to the question about the route being very busy, referring to the footprints in the mud, but I didn't meet anyone else that day.

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joorange
joorange

Good news, the trail at point 4 has been cleared.
There is even a new barrier at the bottom: it is very narrow, so you can squeeze through with your body, but not with a backpack.

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VAN DE WOESTYNE
VAN DE WOESTYNE

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant, well-shaded path until point 10. After that, not much shade. The path at point 4 has not been cleared, and is overgrown with brambles and nettles. From point 8 onwards, there are indeed huge ruts, sometimes filled with water. You have to walk around them to avoid them. Fortunately, the weather was dry.
Otherwise, a beautiful hike.

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BaudouinB
BaudouinB

For the Coqueline, I wrote to the Béthune-Bruay Tourist Office and am still waiting for a reply. I also checked the Cassini map and old military maps, and this stream does indeed have no name.

I can confirm that I have never seen any work being done in the Nédonchel woods.

I am familiar with the Flanders hills. I have several unpublished routes on my blog that go as far as Mount Kemmel, among others. It's just too busy for my liking and, to my great despair, many of the country lanes in Flanders have been paved.

Close to home, the Ternois remains my favourite hiking area. Otherwise, my favourite place is the Jura!

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joorange
joorange

I visited your blog and, as usual, it helped me rediscover my hike.
I was in the area in March and found some pretty deep ruts. Fortunately, by navigating sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left, they are easy to manage. The big problem is the exit from the woods, where you come across a huge muddy mess, especially in wet weather (apparently it's being worked on, but I've never seen any sign of work!). I sidestepped it and climbed over the barbed wire on the right to find a very nice path, which is private but very pleasant.

I had never wondered whether the Coqueline was really called the Coqueline!
On old IGN maps, the river has no name.
I found a leaflet in my archives that said:
"A small section of the trail is in perfect harmony with a small river called the Coqueline, which rises in Bailleul-les-Pernes and flows into the Nave at a place called La Cauchiette."
As for Wikipedia, it states that Bailleul-les-Pernes is located in the green valley of the Coquelaine, now almost entirely culverted.

The creation of the trail between Dinghem and Bailleul has been a real success! Some municipalities could take inspiration from this
I am thinking in particular of Estrée-Blanche, where the beautiful trail that ran along the Laquette between Estrée and Serny has been allowed to disappear.

Have you ever hiked in the Monts de Flandre? Judging by the feedback, you should enjoy it. And in Belgium, you don't need secateurs: the paths are perfectly maintained!

Ciao and see you next time.

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BaudouinB
BaudouinB
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I had already done this hike some time ago and was delighted to rediscover it. Of course, there is still the muddy stretch through the Bois de Nédonchel, but it is always possible to find a parallel path to avoid the worst of it.

This is a beautiful hike that is one of my favourites, so I have described it in detail on my blog at https://nomdunrandonneur.com/2025/07/03-...

Thanks again, joorange, for your great suggestions! And by the way, if you know where the name Coqueline comes from for this stream, which is actually called La Cauchiette, I'd love to know!

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Très beaux paysages
Très beaux paysages

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Magnificent landscapes

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michel tout court
michel tout court

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with a variety of paths and landscapes. The ruts and wild boar tracks are still there.
I set off from Amettes town hall. At point 3, I took the left-hand path to the Grand Place in Pernes (in bad weather, you can picnic in the café Le Rallye, 03 21 41 78 11). I rejoined point 3 on the GR du Pays Tour du Pernois Nord.
At point 11, I turned left, crossed La Nave and reached altitude 107. I turned right onto the path, which became tarmac. At the T-junction, turn left and right to enter the park at Saint Benoit-Joseph, then head up the hill to reach the town hall car park at point 12.
These 2 variants bring the walk to 22.150km.

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joorange
joorange

The ruts have been there for a long time (and probably will be for a long time to come) and add a little 'charm' to the walk.
A few months ago, I even spotted 2 large wild boars bathing there.

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d ryck
d ryck

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Nice walk with plenty of variety.
the passage between points 8 and 9 has become partly impassable with the creation of quad ruts and the passage, de facto, through private plots.
The end of the walk is very pleasant along the river.
To be repeated in summer.

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Celineric59
Celineric59

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk, lovely views, some slush in the wet, but we were warned! To do again and again! Reliable and affordable documentation. Many thanks to the team!

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Xavier2304
Xavier2304

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 11, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, another superb route by Joorange! We saw a huge wild boar crossing the plain before point 2 .... but a few minutes later we heard a gunshot ....Snif .... Otherwise roe deer, pheasants and a kestrel "carrying" a rare pigeon ....!!! For chestnut lovers, there are plenty on the ground after marker 8, but given the number of wild boar in the area, they won't stay long .... Too many hunters (including some nice ones), but you have to share .... In short, a superb walk that we'll be doing again in the spring, but we were late getting from point 11 to point 14! Thank you Joorange, very nice walk, and thank you again for sharing your experiences with us, which give us such a wonderful time.

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Alka D.
Alka D.

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 03, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

1 hour's drive and, in the end, a lovely circuit that's well worth the effort
A little tricky in wet weather, especially in the woods, but it has its charm too.

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yves debbaut
yves debbaut

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We drove 1u45 to do this route, but it's really worth it! What a lovely route! This was our second "visorando" hike (author joorange) and we're fans!

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joseple59
joseple59
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 09, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very good route, a bit physical, just what I like.
I did it under overcast skies and in the rain (northern drizzle).
I plan to do it again very soon in better weather to take advantage of the many viewpoints.

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