Beneath the Monts d'Ancre

A very pleasant walk through the undergrowth, with the sound of small streams flowing through this magnificent forest. Lots of mushrooms in season.

Technical sheet

746008
Creation:
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Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.22 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 269 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 265 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 248 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 97 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from the Hamars church car park.

(S/E) From the car park, turn left and walk 20 metres (Chemin de la Roque) and take the wide path down to the right.

(1) At the bottom, after the pond, take the path on the left and climb up to join the D36. Cross it and continue for 200 metres on the tarmac road opposite.

(2) Continue straight ahead, pass to the right of a farm building, and go down the road on the right (Chemin des Bignes). Cross the D6. Follow the path opposite between the pastures. At the end, turn right and climb up into the Mont d'Ancre woods.

(3) At the top, turn right and follow the wide path (GR®221A) through the woods for 1 km. At the crossroads of three paths, take the one on the right down to the barrier.

(4) Go up to the left, then follow the wide path on the right through the woods. Leave the path and go down to the right, cross a ford and reach a road.

(5) Go down it on the right and join the D6. Follow it to the right for a few dozen metres, then turn left onto a path running along the side of the valley for 1.4 km.

(6) At the crossroads above Valcongrain, continue straight ahead along the path through the woods for 2 km, staying above the Vingt Bec stream.

(7) After the ford, take a path on the left that follows a small valley for 700 metres until you reach a fork.

(8) Descend to the left along a path that climbs alongside the stream (wet path, several fords). Ignore a path on the left, continue climbing, and walk alongside a pond.

(9) At the entrance to the pond, climb the path on the right (Chemin des Sources) and cross the Quesnay. Take the D121 on the right for 150m. After the last house, take the path on the right (magnificent view)

(10) At the crossroads, continue straight ahead and walk a few metres to the left to reach the crossroads. Descend the D36 on the right to return to Hamars and the church car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 169 m - Car park at Hamars Church
  2. 1 : km 0.85 - alt. 97 m - On the left, by the pond
  3. 2 : km 1.79 - alt. 152 m - Agricultural building
  4. 3 : km 2.73 - alt. 190 m - On the right with the GR
  5. 4 : km 4.11 - alt. 218 m - Barrier
  6. 5 : km 5.3 - alt. 203 m - Towards the D6
  7. 6 : km 7.22 - alt. 171 m - Above Valcongrain
  8. 7 : km 9.2 - alt. 106 m - On the left after the ford
  9. 8 : km 9.85 - alt. 137 m - On the left, along the stream
  10. 9 : km 11.48 - alt. 193 m - On the right, Chemin des Sources
  11. 10 : km 11.95 - alt. 221 m - Opposite
  12. S/E : km 13.22 - alt. 169 m - Car park at Hamars Church

In the nearby area

Hamars: The village's origins date back to the 17th century. Hamars, first established as a castellany and then a marquisate, was an important market town where markets and fairs were held every week.

The village church, formerly dedicated to Saint Leonard, houses several wooden statues and a wrought iron lectern dating from 1753. The purity of the lines of the ironwork attests to the skill of the craftsmen of the time.

A memorial stone in the hamlet in the valley was unveiled in 1984. It pays tribute to four French airmen from the Lorraine group of the Allied Forces who were shot down on 30 July 1944 by anti-aircraft fire.

 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

4.5 / 5
Based on 20 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
User 20915617
• Last modified:

Very beautiful route. Two climbs that are long but not steep.
As mentioned in the comments, from 7 to 9, it's a muddy mess.
At 8, you can turn right to avoid some of the mud.
The trail is often shared with trail runners and mountain bikers.
Thank you for this beautiful ride, which can be done in both directions.

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User 20915617

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Sep 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

Very beautiful route. Two climbs that are long but not steep.
As mentioned in the comments, from 7 to 9, it's a quagmire.
At 8, you can turn right and avoid some of the mud.
The trail is often shared with hikers and mountain bikers.
Thank you for this beautiful ride, which can be done in both directions.

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Nork
Nork

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

Beautiful hike and very pleasant
Great for families

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petiteninie
petiteninie

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Very nice route

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BellesPortes111
BellesPortes111

Thank you for your participation.
Yes, over time, routes change due to the climate or vehicles, motorbikes, etc.

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jeangazon
jeangazon

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A beautiful walk, mainly through woodland.
Between 7 and 9, the path is unfortunately ravaged by large machines that leave huge ruts with their wheels.

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BellesPortes111
BellesPortes111

Thank you for taking the time to participate in the evaluation.

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basley claudine
basley claudine

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : May 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Very beautiful, easy hike

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domiclau14
domiclau14

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Superb hike, well sheltered from the sun for most of the route. Much appreciated during this heatwave. Sometimes it can be difficult to choose the right path if you don't have the GPX track.

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Conqué
Conqué

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

A beautiful hike, quite varied and with a good elevation gain. There are a few tricky sections, but with the right equipment, there are no major problems.
The icing on the cake is the possibility of doing variations.

Thank you very much for this route!

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Jean-Paul BUTEAU
Jean-Paul BUTEAU

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Hello,
Hiking is still as enjoyable as ever at the start of autumn.
Despite the relatively dry summer, some muddy areas remain, mainly at crossing points 7 and 9.
For convenience, I have posted a photo of the barrier at crossing point no. 4. I hope it will be accepted and published.

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Jean-Paul BUTEAU
Jean-Paul BUTEAU
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Hello,
A very beautiful hike, made even more enjoyable by the cool forest air, which is very welcome during this hot summer period.
After heavy rainfall from May to mid-July this year, the water table is high, the springs are flowing freely and there are quite a few muddy areas, which is why I recommend using walking sticks and high, waterproof shoes to better navigate around or cross the muddy patches.
I have two points to make:
- at crossing point no. 4, the barrier has lost its horizontal bar and only the two grey granite posts remain, which may make you doubt that you are in the right place,
- at crossing point no. 8, the layout on the ground does not correspond exactly to the IGN map. This is misleading because the two branches of the fork are right in front of you, whereas you would expect the right-hand branch to go backwards. The correct route is therefore to follow the fork that goes down to the left and ignore the fork that goes up to the right.

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DelamareCaen
DelamareCaen

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

Hello everyone,
i took 4½ hours as indicated. It's varied, with a beautiful view when you come down from Le Quenay.
The only thing to watch out for are the muddy patches between 8 and 9...

Bertrand Delamare

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atkinson
atkinson

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

enjoyable hike

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BellesPortes111
BellesPortes111
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Sep 06, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

In response to Michele hebert5@orange.fr for her comments on this hike.
As the originator of this walk, and in light of the comments posted by Michele Hebert, we went to see if the remarks were true.
I must say that we followed the route as indicated on the map and did not notice any changes. It is still the same route, with no modifications.
BellesPortes111

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