Short circular loops around Morigny-Champigny

Departure from the Espace Claude Laydu car park, at the foot of the Alphonse Daudet primary school. From the village centre (church), follow Rue de la Mairie and continue along Avenue des Champins: the car park is located after the town hall and a small roundabout.

Yellow markings +^PR®38signposts
The markings are in both directions, but the signs are one-sided, in the direction of this description.

(S/E) Leave the car park via the entrance you used to drive in and follow Avenue des Champins towards the clearly visible church. Take the^first right, Rue au Comte. At the stop sign, make the first turn right then left to follow Rue des Vignes. Immediately ignore a street on the left and pass a farm shed on the right-hand side.

(1) At the end of the tarmac road, continue along a dirt track that runs between the fields. Continue straight ahead towards a wood. Enter the wood and immediately ignore a turning on the left and one on the right. Follow a wide stony path uphill, which curves to the right and then to the left. Pass under a power line, go past a reservoir on the right-hand side and you will come to a crossroads.

(2) Then turn right twice and follow a path lined with wire fencing on the left-hand side in a west-north-westerly direction. Pass the reservoir again (but on the other side than before) and under the power line. Descend into the undergrowth, keeping the wire fencing on your left.

(3) At the bottom (houses), turn left, pass through a forest gate and walk along the cemetery wall on your right (note the view of the Tour Guinette d'Étampes above). At the corner of the cemetery, continue straight ahead and downhill. Go through a forest gate and continue to a wooden gate on the left. Then descend to the right to immediately reach a road (D17).

(4) Cross the road, with two options:
- look for a pedestrian crossing on the left just before a roundabout and then turn back, as shown on the map and indicated by the signposts;
- or cross directly if there is no traffic (be careful).

Then turn left onto a path that starts at the foot of a yellow two-sided sign, between garden fences on the left and the wall of a property on the right. Continue straight ahead, ignoring a path on the left, and after the wall, walk along the horse pastures on your right. At the crossroads, turn left onto Chemin des Rouas (tarmac). At the end, cross the D17, follow it to the left and cross Rue des Alouettes on the right-hand side.

(5) At the fork that appears immediately, turn right onto Chemin des Roches (tarmac). When the street turns right, go straight ahead on a slightly uphill path. At the end, continue on the tarmac and walk alongside a housing estate on your right.

Cross a road and continue opposite (yellow sign with two sides) along a field path. The path curves slightly to the right: ignore a path on the left and walk alongside a fenced wood on your left. Enter the undergrowth and climb gently, keeping the fence on your left.

(6) At the top, turn left and follow a path between two hedges, then along the edge of the field on the right-hand side (with the fence still on your left). At a fork, turn right and you will immediately come to the crossroads you took on the way there.

(2) Then turn right and immediately left, and follow a flat path through the woods. Ignore a path on the right and then a trail on the left. Exit the woods and continue along the edge, walking alongside a field on your right.

(7) At the corner of the field, turn left and, at the T-junction that immediately appears, turn left again. Go down a very wide path. Leave the woods and pass a green shed on your right. At the next junction, follow Rue des Passereaux straight ahead. Go straight ahead, ignoring the side streets. At the traffic lights, cross the D17 and continue straight ahead towards Étampes.

No signposts

(8) Take the^first left, Rue du Clos Pépin. At number 12, enter Parc de Saint-Périer through a small gate on the right. At the T-junction immediately ahead, turn left. Walk along the lake on your right and note the old small castle on your left. Pass under a cedar tree and go around the back of the church on the right. Turn left, leave the park and pass the small church car park on your left.

Yellow markings

(9) First turn left then right at the corner of a bakery, pass a bar-tobacconist's and then the town hall on your right. Cross Rue au Comte (from the alley) and continue straight on along Avenue des Champins. Immediately after the small roundabout, you will find the car park where you started on your left (S/E).

Hiking boots are recommended.

There is a bakery and bar-tobacconist just after the church in Morigny-Champigny (9).

For the most part, this hike follows the^PR®38"Les Blandards" trail, designed and maintained by the Essonne departmental committee of the FFRP. The signage is excellent (as of March 2019)! However, a 1:25,000 map is always useful (at least the one accompanying this description).

Saint-Périer Park opening hours:
- October to March: 8.30am to 5.45pm.
- April to September: 8.30am to 7.30pm.

Alternative route:
At the point (8), it is of course possible to continue along the^PR®38marked in yellow. Continue straight ahead then turn left with the street. Cross the Juine (be careful, there is no pavement on the left-hand side), cross Rue du Moulin de Valnaze on the right-hand side, and continue straight ahead with the river on your left (note the two wash houses as you pass). At the crossroads, turn left and cross the Juine. You will arrive at the church car park and rejoin the main route at point (9).

Additional information:
This hike can be combined with the hike "La Garenne de Villemartin and the polishing stone of Notre-Dame des Prés", which starts in the same town, about 1.3 km from the start of this hike. Plan to transfer by car and allow for about 20 km for the entire hike.

Hike completed by the author on 21 March 2019.

Things to see along the way:
- Pleasant forest trails.
- Several viewpoints, notably of the Tour Guinette d'Étampes.
- Saint-Périer Park, between (8) and (9).
- Sainte-Trinité Church (9). Church of a former Benedictine abbey, built in the 12th-13th centuries and remodelled in the 16th century.
- Old castle (9).
- Le Vieux Logis (16th century), shortly after (9), which now houses the town hall.

Biographical note:
Claude Laydu (1927-2011), after whom the area where the starting point is located is named, was an actor and producer of Swiss origin. He made around fifteen films, including Robert Bresson's Diary of a Country Priest (1951), based on the novel by Georges Bernanos, in which he played the lead role. In addition to his films, he is remembered for having conceived and created, with his wife Christine Bailli, the television series Bonne nuit les petits in 1961-1962. Source: Wikipedia.