An uphill battle

It's a route that will delight altitude enthusiasts (Carto exploreur and the Visorando app suggest it's as high as 500m). What's more, the views are stunning.

Route slightly modified in November 2019.

All trails are very good as of May 14, 2020 (even if some are very grassy).

Technical sheet

542939
Creation:
Last update:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 25.72 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 8h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 418 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 416 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 185 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 66 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in Fauquembergues on the square in front of the post office.

(S/E) Opposite the Post Office, take the right-hand street. This becomes a footpath and joins Rue Saint-Sébastien, which you follow to the right. Cross the Aa river and turn left onto the D191. Pass the Saint-Martin-d'Hardinghem church and, shortly afterwards, reach a fork.

(1) Turn left. First climb ahead. At another fork, turn right onto a steeply uphill dirt track. At the crossroads, go straight ahead and, downhill, reach another crossroads. Take the path opposite (dirt, grass). Follow it to reach the D158 and continue left for 300 m.

(2) Turn right (Rue du Marais) to reach the Villaine river, which has washed away the footbridge I was using. Waiting for it to return, continue on Rue du Marais to reach a T-junction.

(3) At the T-junction, turn right. A hundred metres further on, take a hairpin right to reach a fork in the road. Turn right up towards Cloquant and join the D191. Superb view of the Vallée Saint-Pierre on the left.

(4) Follow the D191 to the right for a few metres, then turn left onto the path with the GR®127B. Continue on the same path to reach the D225 at Merck-Saint-Liévin (opposite, the wind turbines await you).

(5) Follow the D225 to the right for a few metres, then turn left into Rue du Moulin. After 100m, at the crossroads, leave the GR® which goes off to the left, and continue straight ahead, then turn right.

(6) Cross the Aa on a footbridge near the mill. Follow the road to the left to reach the church.

(7) Turn right and rejoin the GR®. Now tackle the "petite côte de l'église". Good path at first, then a little rough.

At the top, turn right. Ignore a path to the left, another to the right and, as you descend, reach a small road. Follow it to the left, then turn left again (Rue de la Creuse) to join the D928.

(9) Cross it to take the wide road opposite. Approx. 1.3 km further on, at the T-junction, turn right onto the D158. Cross it and take the path opposite (still GR®). Pass a farmhouse (abandoned?) and continue southwards, ignoring a track on the right. On the left, the embankment has been converted into a fitness trail. Reach the D92.

(10) Follow it to the left (caution, poor visibility). 300m after the left-hand bend, leave the road to take the path on the right. 100m further on, leave the GR® (which goes downhill) to take the path on the right, not very obvious but very pleasant (edge of field). Continue straight ahead until you reach a hut on the right. Turn left to follow the path marked on the IGN to the south-east, reaching a T junction at 124m.

Turn right, then left to reach a crossroads.

(12) Turn right onto GR®127A. At the fork, keep right and climb to a crossroads (windmill).

(13) Continue straight ahead to reach a wider track. Follow it to the left and join the D928 .

(14) Cross it to take the track opposite. Just after a wind turbine, reach a fork in the road.

(15) The easiest thing to do (see practical info) is to take the path on the left (not always easy) to reach a crossroads.

(16) Take the right-hand track, which descends gently to reach a path which you follow for a few metres on the left until you reach a hut (see the difficult variant in the practical info).

(17) Go right, past the hut, ignore the side paths and reach a small road.

(18) Follow it to the right and reach a block of houses. Continue straight on for about 150 m.

(19) Turn right, cross the D928 and reach a T-junction. Take the left-hand path to reach Fauquembergues and the Rue de Fruges. Follow it to the right until you reach the traffic lights. Turn left to reach the post office (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 75 m - Fauquembergues substation
  2. 1 : km 0.78 - alt. 82 m - Three-way junction in Saint-Martin
  3. 2 : km 3.06 - alt. 95 m - Right towards the river
  4. 3 : km 3.88 - alt. 91 m - T-junction
  5. 4 : km 5.96 - alt. 159 m - D191
  6. 5 : km 8.37 - alt. 73 m - D 225 to Merck
  7. 6 : km 8.73 - alt. 67 m - Aa (fleuve)
  8. 7 : km 9.36 - alt. 68 m - Church of Merck
  9. 8 : km 10.23 - alt. 156 m - Arrival at the crest
  10. 9 : km 12.32 - alt. 82 m - D928
  11. 10 : km 15.67 - alt. 181 m - D92
  12. 11 : km 17.17 - alt. 124 m - T-junction
  13. 12 : km 18.23 - alt. 109 m - Connection with GR127A
  14. 13 : km 19.75 - alt. 183 m - Crossing in front of the wind turbine
  15. 14 : km 20.16 - alt. 185 m - Junction with the D 928
  16. 15 : km 20.65 - alt. 173 m - Fork after the wind turbine
  17. 16 : km 21.11 - alt. 171 m - Cross
  18. 17 : km 21.95 - alt. 103 m - Near a cabin
  19. 18 : km 23.15 - alt. 86 m - Right on small road
  20. 19 : km 24.05 - alt. 88 m - To the right
  21. S/E : km 25.72 - alt. 75 m - Fauquembergues substation

Practical information

Good equipment, plenty to drink and, of course, courage.
A good shortcut is to take the road opposite (10) to go directly to (13) (there is also less ascent).

Variant to get to (17)
For thrill-seekers: at point (15), take the path opposite (blocked by a concrete block to prevent vehicles from passing) and descend to reach point (17).

Warning, this part is very difficult: huge ruts, steep slope and is as slippy as it is chalky. It was relatively okay on May 12, 2024, but you have to be careful. It's worth a try, even if it means heading back to point (16) if it gets too dangerous.

Variant after point (4) for lovers of grassy paths :
- Just before descending steeply to Merck (hill 126), take the grassy path on the left. It bends right, then left to arrive opposite the Rue de Thiembronne school.
- Turn right onto the D225.
- Cross the road and take Rue du Hamelet (one-way street).
- At the end, turn left and then immediately right to cross the Aa river (back on the GR®) and reach the church (7).

And for the mad ones
You can easily add a good ten kilometers (and a nice climb) by adding the "de la Turquie au Fond Breton" trail to this route. https://www.visorando.com/randonnee-de-l...
After point (13), just after the wind turbine, turn right onto the GR® which leads to point (2) of the short hike (link above).
After this circuit, back at point (2), follow the GR® again to rejoin the main route.

 Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

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

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 20 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
benoitrando
benoitrando

That's right for the bridge and at point 15 I followed 16 and then 17.

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joorange
joorange

Lost! This footbridge is at Merck-St-Liévin and crosses the river Aa.
The table must be brand new. I'll make a note of it in the description.
The other footbridge was at Thiembronne and I'm afraid we'll never see it again.
What a shame!
At point 15, did you take the direct route to 17?
I took it this morning, and in dry weather there's no risk.

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benoitrando
benoitrando

I do remember going over a footbridge and think it was at this point. There's a post indicating fire access and just after the footbridge there's an almost new picnic table.

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joorange
joorange

After point 2, has the footbridge over the Villaine been reinstalled?

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benoitrando
benoitrando

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A magnificent route, both in terms of distance and in terms of the countryside, through farmland with superb views over the rolling countryside. In the villages you pass through, you can see some beautiful religious buildings, most of which are closed for renovation.
Thank you joorange for this beautiful track

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manhatan
manhatan

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : N/A
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

This walk takes you through the fields of the Pas-de-Calais and gives you a chance to enjoy the inland scenery. Some parts are very, very muddy (because of the farmers' tractors). When I went through (February 2025) I was lucky because the ground was frozen so I didn't sink into the mud, but when the ground is wet it must be something else. You can get very close to wind turbines.
It's not difficult, but you need a map or a GPS as there are no markers. You pass along fairly wide farm tracks.

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joorange
joorange

At point 15 did you take the difficult route to 17?
If so, what was it like?

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dom62
dom62

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : May 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

beautiful hike, made for the second time 19/05/2023 and 25/05/2024.un small change at the level of the small footbridge which disappeared.parcourt varied with very little tar plain, under wood, cemin of ground and calloux.je recommend this hike

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joorange
joorange

So La Villaine took the footbridge...
What a villain!

Is it possible to cross, or should we follow the small road to the village of Thiembronne?

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Martin Aston
Martin Aston

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Busy trail : No

Watch out for the footbridge at point 2!
Otherwise a pleasant walk, even if the landscape remains unobstructed and there are no views over the valleys, but overall it's monotonous.

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remorque
remorque

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 01, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

Busy, but not too busy

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Nicolas pepito
Nicolas pepito

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 27, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

As in a previous comment, we did the hike yesterday in 6h20, without having to force ourselves to walk.
My Komoot app was telling me 7h11 at the start. In the end we went a little faster than the average reference speed.

It was a fun walk, accessible to everyone, and we had a great time. ☺️

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marcherverslebonheur
marcherverslebonheur

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 01, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A beautiful walk! Beautiful paths, hedges, woods, hills and a few roe deer. I had a lovely day, despite the northern weather, which made the route a little more technical (lots of unmade paths, which was great!) and visibility poor at times. I'll definitely be doing it again in the summer to enjoy the different colours.

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annie 59
annie 59

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : Yes

lack of precise details to mark out the route

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HerickB
HerickB

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

I did this route in May when the weather was very sunny and dry. Thank you for sharing it with us! and thank you for the very clear explanations that make it easy to follow. well done! Beautiful scenery and peace and quiet. A must in the region. A bit strenuous for the total time, 6.5 hours, but well worth it! We recommend it without hesitation.

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