The glassmakers and the Moriville forest

From Charmes, take the D32 towards Rambervillers. Drive as far as Moriville and stop at the Salle de la Louvière.

Signposting: Yellow Rectangle on a grey background along the entire route

(S/E) At the Salle de la Louvière in Moriville, take Rue de l’Église to the right of the hall and continue straight on until you leave the village and reach a gravel road. Carry on to the first path junction after the water tower.

(1) Turn right and follow the signposted path for 700 metres. First, cross the old Charmes-Rambervilliers railway line by continuing straight ahead, then rejoin it by turning right. Stay on this path until you reach the road (Rue du Faubourg de Damas).

(2) Cross the street to take the gravel path opposite. Follow it to the next junction.

(3) Turn right. Then ignore a track on the right (Tranchée de la Hichère) and cross the Rancerot to reach a junction by an arboretum.

(4) Turn left onto the stony path. At the top of the Tranchée du Torlot, walk through the magnificent beech forest which leads to the foot of a service tree (a notable tree). Stay on the path until you reach the first path on the left.

(5) Take this path. 400 metres further on, turn right, then left to reach the Portieux glassworks on the hillside, with its three centuries of history. Then rejoin the stony track.

(6) Follow it to the left. Continue along this track for about 1 km, then take the path leading off to the left. Then turn right onto the track leading towards the glassworks. Keep to the left until you reach the stream.

(7) Cross the stream, then enter the neighbourhood. Continue straight on at every junction (Rue des Écoles) until you reach the junction with Rue du Marché on your right.

(8) Take this street and, at the junction, carry on straight ahead into Rue de la Libération and rejoin the^GR®5F.

(9) Follow the D87 until the next junction on the left with the Tranchées de la Voie Maujean.

(10) Follow this track until you emerge from the woods. Turn right once you’ve left the woods and cross another track.

(11) Continue straight ahead through the fields to reach Rue du Haut Fossé. Turn right onto the departmental road and continue straight ahead to the Salle de la Louvière in Moriville (S/E).

Thank you to the FRPP for organising this walk and for the work carried out by its teams throughout the year to mark out and maintain these paths.

As the path winds on, two ‘Charmes Siamois’ invite us onto the old Charmes–Rambervillers railway line shortly after the ‘1 ’. It came into service in 1871 and was decommissioned in 1943. The platform of the passenger halt and its period lime trees still bear witness to this history.
The hollows in the Scots pine forest and the ravines of La Hichère remind us of a former gypsum quarry, whilst on the hill there is a shooting range lined with badger setts.

The Portieux Glassworks: founded in 1690 by François Magnien de Magnienville, it became, two centuries later, the largest company in the Vosges with around a thousand employees. The Portieux crystal works is the successor to one of France’s oldest crystal manufacturers, specialising in goblets, decorative items and novelty glassware.