Three villages in the heart of Les Sablons: Montherlant, Valdampierre, Pouilly

A lovely walk through three beautiful, peaceful villages. Make your way from one to the next via farm tracks or along quiet roads.

Details

4241382
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.69 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 85 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 85 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 179 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 108 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Start from Rue de l'Église in Montherlant, in the car park in front of a beautiful half-timbered house.

(S/E) Return to the main road: Rue de Gournay and turn right, walk past the Château, continue to the village exit and turn left onto Rue de Pontavesne, walk for 1.1 km and pass the dog club.

(1) At the hamlet of Pontavesne, pass a large farm on the right and the castle ruins on the left, then head left onto Rue du Hameau (gravel track). A little further on, at the fork, keep right onto the dirt track leading through the fields. Continue along this track for 1.5 km. As you enter a wooded area, head down to the left to reach Valdampierre. Further on, the track becomes tarmac.

(2) At the first junction, turn right and at the next crossroads, go straight on into Rue de l’Église. Pass the town hall and, to the left of the church, continue downhill, cross Rue de Beauvais and take the small passage opposite.

(3) Once on Rue Neuve, turn left and cross Rue du Général de Gaulle (the main street) to head up Rue du Chapron (formerly Rue du Cimetière, marked with red and white signs) on the opposite side. Pass to the right of the cemetery and go through the metal gate. At the junction, turn left onto the D115, leave theGR®® and walk a few dozen metres along the main road before taking the farm track on the left for 1 km.

(4) At the end of the track, turn left onto Rue de la Briqueterie and then right towards Val de Pouilly. Continue along this road for 1.3 km (D129). At the junction with the D129, continue straight on towards Pouilly.

(5) At the entrance to Pouilly, by the wayside cross, continue straight on, passing the riding school and the church. At the next fork, leave Rue de l’École on your left and continue along Rue Principale. A little further on, you’ll find a pretty park with an old wash house and a stream.

(6) At the end of Rue Principale, turn left onto Rue du Pont. Cross the bridge over the stream and pass the Allée du Château. Then, at the fork, turn right onto the uphill road: Rue de Montoisel. Pass the cemetery, continue along this road and cross the hamlet of Montoisel.

(7) At the next junction, turn left towards Montherlant onto a tarmac road running alongside the forest on the left and a field on the right. Turn left at the next junction to join Rue de l’Église, walk past the church and you will come to the car park a little further on (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 146 m - Car park on Rue de l'Église in Montherlant.
  2. 1 : km 1.41 - alt. 160 m - The hamlet of Pontavesne
  3. 2 : km 3.65 - alt. 147 m - Valdampierre
  4. 3 : km 3.96 - alt. 154 m - Rue Neuve
  5. 4 : km 5.55 - alt. 138 m - Rue de la Briqueterie
  6. 5 : km 8.16 - alt. 112 m - Entrance to Pouilly
  7. 6 : km 8.79 - alt. 109 m - Rue du Pont in Pouilly
  8. 7 : km 9.9 - alt. 137 m - Crossroads
  9. S/E : km 10.69 - alt. 146 m - Car park on Rue de l'Église in Montherlant.

Notes

Park in Rue de l'Église, in the small car park in front of a half-timbered house. The street is one-way; there are other parking spaces a little further on.

Make sure you have sturdy shoes, sun protection and water.

Worth a visit

Church and Château de Montherlant.
Ruins of Pontavesne Castle.
Valdampierre Church.
Equestrian centre, church and wash house in Pouilly.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
3.2 / 5
Denis26
Denis26 ★

Thanks, Henry, for pointing that out; I’ve just updated the description accordingly.

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henry
henry

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 26, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Bonjour, parcours sympathique sans réelle difficulté. Un point à revoir, dans le descriptif (1), il est dit : un peu plus loin, à la fourche, bifurquer à gauche , oui juste après la ferme mais un peu plus loin, une seconde fourche, et c'est à droite qu'il faut prendre sinon vous allez vers "la Verteville".

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Loutchia
Loutchia

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

What a let-down! Three-quarters of the walk is along a country road with traffic! We could hardly let our dog off the lead! It wasn’t pleasant at all!

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Jean LEF
Jean LEF

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A short walk on a Saturday in January (visibility was poor due to mist and a temperature of 2°C).
Highlights: Lots of tarmac or hard-packed paths, which avoids the ‘Verdun trenches’ effect.
We didn’t see a soul (though, given the weather, that’s hardly surprising).
A mix of fields and horse pastures.
Good.

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kingclauduis
kingclauduis
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A lovely route, but most of it is on tarmac. To make matters worse, there was a heavy downpour, which wasn't great.

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gourdegu
gourdegu

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A stroll through small villages, fields of crops and pastures

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Geono60
Geono60

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 13, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk to do in winter when the paths are usually very muddy. A short section is on roads with very little traffic, the rest on grassy paths and therefore not too muddy. We had a bit of trouble finding our way just outside Pontavesne. You have to walk for quite a while before you find the “fork” in question, and above all, don’t take the tarmac road that branches off to the left after the hamlet. The landscape is pleasant and varied; we didn’t see a soul during the 2 hours and 40 minutes’ walk. It’s a shame that the traffic noise from the A16 motorway is very noticeable almost constantly, even though it’s quite a distance from the route. Perhaps it’s a question of the wind direction… We didn’t think there was any. Despite these minor criticisms, we enjoyed this very varied walk; thanks to the person who created it.

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