In the footsteps of two emperors and three Auvergnats in Beaumont

Park near the Beaumont Tourist Office – Grand Place, No. 10.

(S/E) With your back to Saint-Servais Church, follow the Ruelle des Quatre Bonnets until you reach a small square; then take a narrow alleyway leading to Rue Luc Baudour. Follow this street to the right.

(1) Turn off onto the cobbled, stepped street, Rue de la Poterne, which descends towards the valley; go through the postern gate and head right towards the foot of the Salamandre Tower.
Continue down the slope to the right, passing a pretty white chapel, the Chapelle Saint-Julien l’Hospitalier. You’ll reach a crossroads

(2) Turn left onto the Allée des Soupirs to head back up towards the town. The path gives way to tarmac and leads onto the N 53.

(3) Cross at the pedestrian crossing and follow Rue Marcel Tonglet, directly opposite, towards Solre-Saint-Géry. The street descends steeply, passing under the old Mons–Chimay railway line, now converted into a Ravel cycle path.

(4) Carry on straight ahead, still on Rue Marcel Tonglet, and you will soon reach a gravel track at the bend to the right. Turn left onto it and head uphill. Continue along this track, ignoring the paths to the right and left, and, after a long climb, you will reach the first crossroads.

(5) Carry on straight ahead along the dirt track. Cross Rue Barrière du Bois Laurent, pass under the power line and reach a four-way junction.

(6) Turn slightly left, walking past a chapel. On the right, enjoy a lovely view of the village of Barbençon. Walk past a cemetery, turn right, pass two streets on the left and, after walking past a school, reach another crossroads. Carry on to cross Rue du Pavé.

(7) Carry on straight ahead into Avenue des Tours; you’ll see two white gatehouses that once marked the entrance to the Château de Barbençon estate. Reach a crossroads featuring two roundabouts and turn left onto Allée des Tilleuls. Cross a footbridge to reach the shore of Lac de Batbençon. Continue past a restaurant until you reach a crossroads.

(8) Turn right and cross the Barbesigneau on Rue Promenade du Lac. Leave this street at a right-hand bend and continue straight on towards a solitary white house. Pass this house on your right and follow a steep, stony climb to a crossroads. Turn right towards a beautifully restored old farmhouse.

(9) Join Rue Brun-Fayt, which comes from the left, and continue straight ahead; once again, there is a lovely view of the lake and the village of Barbençon on the right. Ignore a street on the left and begin the descent. Pass a bench by the side of the road; a few metres further on, follow the dirt track to the left as it climbs towards the Chapel of Notre-Dame des Lumières.

At the top of the hill, take a short detour to the left to visit the chapel. Continue along the track, which becomes a footpath and descends again. You’ll reach another footpath coming from the left; continue down the slope, turning to the right. On the left is a small private pond. At the bottom of the descent, turn left onto a dirt track and you’ll reach the junction with a small footpath.

(10) Turn right onto this path and head between two meadows, cross a small stream via a ford and climb to the top of the valley. You’ll reach a junction with a wayside shrine on the left; continue straight ahead. Follow an uphill road until you reach a dirt track which, after heavy rain, can be very muddy. Follow it to a crossroads at the edge of a copse.

(11) Carry on straight ahead and take a narrow path which, unfortunately, is rutted with numerous ruts and deep puddles. To get through this tricky section – which is a good hundred metres long – as easily as possible, start by following a track on the right-hand side of the path, created by walkers, until you reach a fence. From there, alternate between the raised left and right-hand edges of the path. After one final tricky stretch – which is quite a long walk – you’ll reach a dirt track; follow this to the right.

Follow this wide track, ignoring a path on the left and a trail on the right, until you reach the road linking Solre-Saint-Géry to Renlies; follow it for a few metres to the left and turn onto the dirt track heading off to the right.

^GR® signposting

(12) Pass under a power line, cross a copse and emerge into a field. Be careful here: the farmer sometimes ploughs his field and the path, making the trail less distinct. As you emerge from the copse, cross the field diagonally and join the path leading into the woods. Take a sharp bend to the left and head down towards the Hante valley. Take care, as the path is very stony. At the bottom of the descent, take a wider path to the right and rejoin the Hante stream.

(13) Cross it via a stone bridge, leave a path on your left and head for a ford. Use the footbridge on the right. Take care as the bridge has no parapet.
You’ll reach a road, Rue Longuinière; follow it to the left. Cross the Hante again and go round the Château des Forges.

(14) After a beautiful building – no doubt the former gatehouse – leave the road as it bends and climbs to the left, and follow the path leading off to the right. You’ll come to a metal gate.
Go through it and, after a short climb, leave a grassy path on your left and join Rue du Tumulus (cross on the left) between the houses.
Leave this almost immediately to follow the faintly marked path leading off to the right. Join a wider track, follow it to the left, reach Rue de Gravelotte and follow it to the right.

Outside the^GR® route

Take the first street on the right, Rue Nicolas Bail. At the three-way junction, take the alleyway to the right and cross a leat over a stretch of the River Hantes. Join Rue de la Bouchère and turn left; pass a street on the right to reach Rue dessous Plagne and follow it to the left.
Pass a street on your left and continue straight ahead up Rue Lambot. Ignore the next two streets until you reach a Fork in the road.

^GR® signposting

Take the street leading downhill to the left until you reach a T-junction.

:15:: Head left and cross the Hantes once more. Note here: on the left, the imposing building – which was undergoing renovation at the time of writing and formerly housed a spinning mill. Walk past it on the right and follow the path which climbs up and joins the Ravel. Do not climb onto the embankment but pass underneath it and continue straight ahead.

Join a road and follow it to the right. Stay at the bottom of the valley, cross the Hantes one last time and, after a beautiful beige house situated high up on the right, leave the road and take the stony path to the right which leaves the valley.

Outside the^GR® route marking

(16) Here, rejoin the Ravel and follow it towards Beaumont, to the left (tables and benches). Pass a flight of steps leading down towards Rue Marcel Tonglet on the left and you’ll immediately come to the junction you passed on the way out.

(4) Continue straight ahead until you reach another bridge spanning a road. Immediately after the bridge parapet, turn left downhill and join the Chemin de Buse. Follow it uphill to the right to reach the junction with the N53 that you passed earlier.

(3) Turn right onto it. Reach a pedestrian crossing and cross it, then head to the right and enter Beaumont. Take the^second street on the right, Ruelle Dupuis. Just before reaching Rue Rempart Nord, turn left between two houses, towards some garages. Go round them on the right and turn into Ruelle Marchand. Join Rue Madame, follow it to the right; a few metres further on, between Nos. 19 and 21, turn left into another alleyway and reach Rue de la Déportation, then turn left.

(17) Follow it to the Grand’ Place de Beaumont to return to the car park near the Beaumont Tourist Office (S/E).

There are several car parks in Beaumont; the two closest to the starting point are on the Grand Place and at the Belvédère car park.
Wear sturdy shoes and bring walking poles for the muddy sections.
There are plenty of benches in Barbençon between (3 and 5)
Benches and picnic tables on the Ravel after (16).
Beaumont is a tourist town and offers plenty of cafés with welcoming terraces.
There are some excellent restaurants in the area, in Solre-Saint-Géry, Grandrieu, Hantes-Wihéries and many others besides.

The Val Joly site is 20 km away, whilst the dams and lakes of Eau d’Heure are 14 km away.
The Tourist Office provides maps of the various signposted routes.