The trails of Val-de-Reuil

Starting point: Val-de-Reuil railway station.
Access: from Val-de-Reuil, take the Route des Falaises towards the station.

Signposting: Yellow (and Red and White in places).

(S/E) From the station car park, head towards the banks of the Eure. Cross the bridge and head down to the right along the riverbank. Pass under the bridge and follow the path which runs upstream.

(1) Cross the Route de Seine and continue on the other side, still following the river, to reach the village of Le Vaudreuil.

(2) On reaching the village centre, at the car park on the right, take the metal footbridge then continue along the Chemin de Comberton, which runs alongside the river, passing under the bridge. Cross another small footbridge over a tributary of the Eure and continue along the river.

(3) Just as you come off a footbridge, turn right onto a path paved with old railway sleepers towards the church (marker on a concrete fence post). Turn left into Rue Arthur Papavoine, then turn right into Rue du Général Leclerc.

(4) At the schools, turn left into Rue du 8 Mai 1945.

(5) Cross the Route des Sablons and continue along Rue du 8 Mai 1945.

(6) At the end, turn left, then turn left again to follow Rue Bonaventure, which runs through a residential area.

(7) Cross the Route des Falaises at the wayside cross and head up Rue de la Cerisaie.

(8) Turn right onto Voie de la Pommeraie.

(9) At the end, turn right and then left onto a small footpath between the houses. At the end, turn left into Rue du Château d’Eau and walk uphill for a few dozen metres.

(10) After the last houses, turn right onto a path that climbs through the fields. Follow the edge of the copse until you reach a street.

(11) Turn left onto the tree-lined path leading up towards the forest. Cross the road at the edge of the woodland to reach the Bord-Louviers forest.

(12) Go through the gate (make sure to close it properly behind you) and follow the path through the undergrowth. When you reach the junction, turn right onto the Route Forestière des Damps. Further on, you’ll come to the GR® 222A, which you’ll follow. Turn right onto a road known as the Chemin des Vauloines

(13) After 250 metres, turn left onto a footpath. Follow it through the woodland until you reach the main track; turn left for about a hundred metres, then turn right to join the Chemin Vert au Vallot.

(14) First turn right then left; repeat this when you reach the Route Forestière de Cobourg. At the next junction, turn right to join the Route Impériale.

(15) Leave the GR®222A by turning right, then, 300 metres further on, turn left onto a path that descends towards Léry. Pass under the D77. At the next junction, carry straight on into Rue de la Forêt, then turn left onto Rue du 11 Novembre until you reach the junction with Rue de l’Eure.

Turn right, then right again onto Rue des Emotelles, which runs alongside the River Eure. Continue to the church at the entrance to Île du Roi.

(16) Turn left; do not cross the branch of the Eure but turn right onto the towpath.
Carry on straight ahead, cross the bridge by the station and follow the path up to the left to return to the starting point (S/E).

Val-de-Reuil: accommodation; restaurants; food and services; chemist’s and GP.

Le Vaudreuil: restaurants; accommodation; food and services; chemist and doctor.

Léry: catering; rural accommodation; food shops; chemist and GP.

The hydroelectric power station

On Rue des Emotelles: a mid-12th-century Romanesque church built of white stone, restored towards the end of the 19th century and partially listed as a historic monument in 1911.

On Rue des Emotelles: the old Léry lock.