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Access: between Villey-Saint-Étienne and Liverdun; cross the bridge to the restaurant ‘Le Pavillon Bleu’. Car park next to the restaurant by the lake.
(S/E) Start the walk by following the tarmac road that runs from the car park for about a hundred metres, towards the left-hand side of the restaurant.
(1) At the first junction, you’ll find the first information board: ‘Site de la Vallée du Terrouin’. A wooden signpost (which you’ll see throughout the walk) points you towards the limestone grasslands. Take the middle path: the visible markings are a Red Rectangle.
(2) Turn left towards the limestone grasslands (wooden signpost). You’ll always see a Red Rectangle marker. A little further on, ignore a path on the right.
(3) Leave the path on your left with the wooden walkway and footbridge over the Terrouin – you’ll take this later on your return journey. So carry on straight ahead, ignoring the path branching off to the right which has several markers, including the Red Rectangle; leave this path by continuing straight on until the next junction. From here on, the marker will be a Dark Blue Disc.
(4) Turn left, towards Jaillon (dark blue Blue Disc markings). You will soon pass alongside the fenced-off grounds of a sewage treatment plant. At the left-hand bend, level with the plant, carry on straight ahead.
(5) Start of the circular path: carry on straight ahead towards Jaillon. 30 m further on, take a short detour to the left to see the wash house, then rejoin the path towards Jaillon on the left, which you’ll follow straight on until you reach the village. Enter Jaillon via the Chemin du Lavoir.
(6) Turn left onto the Chemin de Villey-Saint-Étienne and walk for about 200 m.
(7) At the information sign at the end of Chemin de Villey-Saint-Étienne, take a short detour along the grassy path to the right (not the one that goes downhill, but the one that runs more level alongside the houses’ grounds). This will take you to a magnificent viewpoint, high up on the dry grassy slopes, overlooking the Terrouin valley and the Meuse hills in the distance. A spot where you can stop for a picnic and enjoy the view.
(8) Retrace your steps.
(7) Continue to the right along the wide, stony path that descends towards the Terrouin. Ignore a path branching off to the right, then, a little further on, leave the path just as it turns right to cross the Terrouin via a bridge. Continue straight on along the narrow path that enters the forest, then runs alongside meadows. After two bends to the left, the path becomes a wider stony track again and climbs slightly. Carry on until you reach the finishing path fairly quickly.
(5) Turn right and retrace your steps along the path you took on the way out, passing the sewage treatment plant again.
(4) Turn right.
(3) Turn right onto the footbridge mentioned on the way out, which spans the Terrouin. Take the path on the right, bordered on the right by the stream and on the left by the barbed wire fencing around the meadow. Wind your way uphill towards the forest. In the forest, you’ll come across an information board, then another one further on, at the top of the hill, where it’s well worth stopping.
(9) A superb view opens up before you of the ‘Sous le Breuil’ quarry. Continue along the path as it descends, turn left (wooden post marked ‘return to lake 20 mins’), then immediately left again.
You are now in the heart of the quarry. The path continues in a long straight line, flanked in its first section by two rock faces on either side. Further on, you’ll come across more information boards. Then pass through a wooden gate marking the end of the path through the quarries, and continue to the edge of the forest and a small road, which you’ll take to the left towards Terrouin.
As you cross the bridge, you’ll see a final educational sign about ‘Wetlands’.
(1) Head straight on to quickly reach the lake and the car park (S/E).
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