Les Hauts de Bazenville

Stroll through the Bessin region of Normandy. Pass through villages steeped in history.

Details

756310
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.61 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 35 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 37 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 66 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 18 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Depart from the bread oven car park on Rue de l'Eglise in Villiers-le-Sec.

(S/E) Head west on the path that leads to a housing estate, leaving a lake on your left. Cross the housing estate via Rue des Prunelliers to reach the water tower.

(1) Take Chemin des Rues on the right (north). After a quick left-right turn, you will arrive at a place called La Pierre Artus.

(2) Take Rue des Alliés on the left (west) and continue to the second crossroads.

(3) About ten metres further on, take the path known as Chemin de la 69ème Brigade Britannique on the right (west). When you reach the D112 road, turn left for 80 metres, then follow the small path on the left (south) that leads up to the British military cemetery in Bazenville.

(4) Cross the D87 and take the path opposite. On the right are the remains of an old windmill. After a right-left turn, descend to the D127. Turn left to reach the D12.

(5) Walk about ten metres to the right, then cross (carefully) to take a path on the left. At the end of this path, first turn right then left and continue to the church square in Vienne-en-Bessin.

(6) Turn left onto Rue du Vieux Château. Enter the village of Le Manoir via Rue de Vienne.

(7) Continue on the right along Rue de l'Église to cross the village. At the fork in Bout Hébert, keep to the right.

(8) Take Chemin de Saint-Gabriel opposite; as you pass, note the Pont du Bigard bridge on your right. At the crossroads, take the path opposite that climbs above the river "La Seulles".

(9) At the four-way intersection, turn left onto theGR®223(white and red markings). Cross the D12 and take a first turn right then left to reach the water tower.

(1) Turn right to return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 48 m - Bread oven car park
  2. 1 : km 0.39 - alt. 51 m - Water tower
  3. 2 : km 2.33 - alt. 63 m - On the left, Rue des Alliés
  4. 3 : km 3.07 - alt. 63 m - Chemin dit de la 69ème Brigade on the right
  5. 4 : km 4.55 - alt. 64 m - D87 - Cimetière militaire britannique (Bazenville)
  6. 5 : km 6.19 - alt. 32 m - Crossing the D12
  7. 6 : km 7.19 - alt. 30 m - On the left, Rue du Vieux Château
  8. 7 : km 8.28 - alt. 22 m - The Manor House
  9. 8 : km 8.82 - alt. 20 m - Chemin de Saint-Gabriel. Road above the - Seulles (fleuve)
  10. 9 : km 10.32 - alt. 42 m - GR223 on the left
  11. S/E : km 11.61 - alt. 48 m - Bread oven car park

Worth a visit

(S/E) Villiers-le-Sec: this village dates back to Gallo-Roman times. Due to a need for water, it was moved but retained its name, Le Sec.
The church is dedicated to Saint Lawrence. The ogival choir dates from the 13th century, as does the tower.

(4) The Bazenville cemetery was the first British military cemetery, built on 8 June 1944 in the Gold Beach area where the British 50th Division landed on 6 June 1944.

Take the time to admire the building.

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

4.4 / 5
Based on 12 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
JM C
JM C

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 10, 2025
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 well-maintained paths and beautiful stones to discover.

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BellesPortes111
BellesPortes111

Thank you for your participation.
Have a nice day.

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NathalG
NathalG

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

A very beautiful hike along sunken paths and across fields... a few sections on roads, but little traffic in the afternoon when I passed through.
Lovely views, a beautiful discovery of the Bazenville cemetery, then off the trail to the priory of Saint Gabriel de Brécy, turning off at point 9 as indicated in a previous review.
I followed the trail and not the local markings, which would have led to another hike.

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Loiseau14
Loiseau14

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike dotted with educational signs.
Taken on 9 June 2024, three days after the 80th anniversary commemorations of the D-Day landings.
The visit to the military cemetery was very timely.
It was very moving to learn that this cemetery was created on 8 June 1944 and that it contains the graves of British soldiers, as well as American, Australian, Polish and even German soldiers.
Thank you for your work.

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BellesPortes111
BellesPortes111

Thank you for taking the time to give your opinion in the general interest.

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benoitrando
benoitrando

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

no difficulty

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huguestricot
huguestricot

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The main attraction of this route is that it allows you to discover pretty Norman villages and their historical remains. It also offers a variety of landscapes: plateaus, wooded areas, rivers, etc.

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Vivrenature19
Vivrenature19

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Route in the countryside, with the English cemetery as the main point of interest and a detour to the Roman milestone.

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darwin72
darwin72

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The trail is also called Les Balcons de la Seulles (The Balconies of the Seulles) and starts at the church square in Vienne en Bessin. We did it this way, walking clockwise. The English cemetery in Bazenville is truly magnificent. Then, at number 9 on the map, continue on a round trip to the Priory of St Gabriel-Brécy. Very pretty. Return to number 9 and finish with a descent towards the beautiful buildings of the Manor. A very beautiful route that combines nature and history.

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zumba
zumba

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 29, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

This route is particularly worthwhile for exploring the isolated English cemetery in the countryside and the charming villages along the way. I plan to do this hike again one day in the opposite direction to approach the cemetery from the trail.

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Cram1410
Cram1410

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A really lovely walk! Well signposted and very informative! Thank you very much!

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dezert48
dezert48

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 11, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

interessante route

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coco14
coco14

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 01, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

very nice, lovely walk

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BellesPortes111
BellesPortes111

We apologise for your dissatisfaction. Please note that the different coloured markings do not belong to us. They were there before.
Have a nice day.

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bibi
bibi ★

Thank you for your review. This hiking guide does not mention any signposting, so please disregard it when following this route.
The markings must be there for another hike.
Kind regards

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