Three Romanesque churches and five crosses around the Orvanne

Departure from the Flagy town hall car park, opposite the church.

The route is mostly signposted. Except in the villages you pass through, the signposting is sparse and, between the fields, it is non-existent due to a lack of support.

Yellow markings

(S/E) With your back to the town hall, turn left and follow Rue Monte à Regret northwards. Cross a branch of the Orvanne river, then turn left into Rue des Bas Vergers. At the end, cross the D120 (Rue de l'Orvanne) and follow it to the right. Cross the Orvanne and continue on the left side of the road, on a parallel path bordered by a hedge. At the crossroads, continue along the D120, uphill, on its wide left-hand shoulder.

Yellow + red and white markings

(1) Before a 70km/h speed limit sign, take a path on the left towards an electricity pole. Follow the^GR®11Ebetween the fields, which curves to the right and climbs between two wooded hills. At the top of the hill, continue straight ahead, heading north-east. Ignore a path on the left (elevation 119) and continue to a crossroads.

(2) Continue straight ahead downhill on a tarmac road. When you reach a road, make a zigzag turn first left then right to take a path that descends and leads immediately to the Croix de Saint-Vincent. Immediately afterwards, follow a small road downhill to the right. Enter Noisy-Rudignon and, at the stop sign, turn right onto Chemin de l'Abreuvoir.

Red and white markings

(3) At the corner of No. 8, turn left onto a street which you will later learn is Rue de la Petite Fontaine. At the crossroads, turn left, leaving the war memorial on your right and walking alongside the church on your left.

Yellow + red and white markings

(4) At the end of the street, turn left. At the fork, take Rue de Moret on the right and climb up into a residential area. At the crossroads, follow a wide grassy path straight ahead (at this crossroads, ignore 1 path on the left and 2 on the right).

(5) At the edge of a copse and level with a stake on the left-hand side, turn right onto a downhill path (be careful not to miss this turn). You will soon come to a parallel path on the right: do not try to join this path, but continue on the trail, which soon gives way to a wider path. This will take you to a cement structure of the Vanne underground aqueduct.

Yellow + Yellow and Blue markings

(6) At the crossroads, make a zigzag turn to climb an embankment and reach the grassy bank of the underground aqueduct. Walk west then west-northwest along the edge of fields on your left and woods on your right. Pass a shed on your left and you will come to a crossroads.

(7) Continue straight ahead on a gravel track. Return to the tarmac road and pass a tennis court on your left, followed by a school. Immediately afterwards, turn right onto Rue du Cormier. At the end, turn left and walk alongside the church of Ville-Saint-Jacques on your right.

Yellow markings

(8) Cross the Grande Rue (D403) and follow it to the left for about 40 metres. Turn right onto Rue de Moret towards the village hall. At the T-junction, turn right. When the street turns right, leave it and turn left at the corner of No. 5 onto a gravel path that quickly becomes grassy. Ignore a vague path on the left towards an electricity pylon.

(9) At the junction directly below a high-voltage power line, turn left onto a gravel track. After about 400 metres, turn into the first path on the left. Turn right with the path. Cross the D403 (take care), continue on the path opposite, heading south. When the path turns left (elevation 111), continue straight ahead on a grassy path.

(10) Enter a wood and continue south. At the first junction after leaving the wood, go straight ahead and downhill. At the second junction (elevation 97), continue straight ahead with a hedge on your left. At the next junction (electricity pole), go straight ahead again.

Yellow + red and yellow + blue markings

(11) Follow the small road on the left (Rue des Moulins). At the stop sign, turn right onto Rue des Ponts. Cross the first branch of the Orvanne (old mill on the left), a stream and the second branch of the Orvanne. Walk along the left side of the old Fort de Challeau and note the castle of the same name opposite.

Yellow + red and yellow markings

(12) At the stop sign, turn left (ignore the blue markings on the right). After about 100 metres, turn right onto Rue de la Garenne. When the road turns left, continue straight ahead on a grassy path. Climb up with a hedge on your left. At the top, rejoin the road and follow it to the right.

(13) After about 150 metres, leave the road on the left and take a good sandy path that enters the woods (no arrow or marker here).

(14) At a three-way junction, turn left and climb slightly. On the left, ignore a vague path and then another more obvious one (small rocks). Stay on the main path through woods with a variety of tree species and a few small rocks scattered about. Descend, walk alongside a reservoir on your right and you will come to a T-junction.

(15) Turn left. At the first houses, the path gives way to tarmac. Go straight ahead and cross Rue Saint-Martin on the left. At the next junction, turn right at an acute angle. At the crossroads, turn left onto Allée des Noyers towards the village hall. Pass the village hall on your right, ignore a turning on the right (rubbish containers) and continue eastwards for about 250 metres.

(16) At the crossroads, turn right onto a grassy path between the fields, which curves to the left further on. Twice, when a path comes in from the right (a bench each time, a metal cross the second time), continue straight ahead (east-south-east). Pass a triangular copse with a cross on your left, cross a small road and continue east between the fields. Pass under a high-voltage power line and you will arrive at the Croix de Saint-Pierre.

No markings

(17) Continue straight ahead (south-east) between the fields. Take the first path on the right (elevation 96). Directly below the high-voltage power line, you will find the Menhir de la Pierre Cornoise on the left, in the middle of the field.

(18) Retrace your steps back to the Croix de Saint-Pierre.

(17) Then turn right (north-northeast). At the next crossroads (Croix de Saint-Marc), turn left onto a tarmac road. Cross Rue du Safran on the right-hand side and, at the corner of the cemetery, turn right. Cross Rue d'Épisy and follow Rue Maigrette opposite. Take the first left, walk past Flagy Church on your right and return to the town hall car park (S/E).

Hiking boots are required. The field paths are very well maintained in the commune of Flagy and are dotted with sturdy, comfortable benches (as of June 2018)!

No water sources identified along the route. Bar-restaurant in Flagy (S/E). Bar-grocery store in Ville-Saint-Jacques (8).

Map required (at least the one accompanying this description).

Access to the Menhir de la Pierre Cornoise:
The menhir is located inside a cultivated field, which is private property with no access road.
When crops are planted, do not enter the field, even if the vegetation is still at the seedling stage. Simply view the menhir from the edge of the field. N.B. If the crop is corn, visibility may be reduced from summer onwards...
- The only period suitable for observing the menhir up close is immediately after the harvest and before the first tilling for the next crop. The dates of this period obviously depend on the type of crops in question...

Alternative route:
- Avoid the detour to the menhir - At the Croix de Saint-Pierre (17), turn left. This shortened version of the hike is about 16km long.

Hike completed twice by the author, the first on 30 April 2006, the second on 23 June 2018.

- Pretty village of Flagy (S/E).
- Church of the Assumption and Notre-Dame-de-Pitié (12th-13th century) (S/E). Note the bell tower and adjoining stair tower on the south wing.

- Saint Vincent's Cross, just before Noisy-Rudignon.
- Church of Sainte-Barbe (13th century) (4).
- Cherry and walnut trees line the paths between (2) and (6): in season, enthusiasts can enjoy themselves to their heart's content.

- Saint-Jacques Church (12th-16th century) (8).

- Moulin de la Vallée (13th century), shortly after (11). The mill ceased operation in 1914.
- Former Fort de Challeau (12th-15th centuries), probably a former watchtower.
- Challeau Castle (mid-18th century).

- Pleasant forest walk on the Butte à Collin.
- Unnamed cross and Saint-Pierre Cross (17).
- Menhir of Pierre Cornoise (18).