Petit Morin Valley – From Villeneuve-sur-Bellot to Saint-Cyr-sur-Morin

Start at the “Le Fourcheret” stop on line 34 (Verdelot – La Ferté-sous-Jouarre) of the Transdev – Marne et Morin – Réseaux du Pays Fertois bus service.

Yellow markings

(S) At Le Grand Fourcheret in Villeneuve-sur-Bellot, cross the Route de La Ferté-sous-Jouarre (D31) before turning left onto it for 10m. Head up to the right via Rue des Sablons. At the junction, turn left onto the^PR®® de Bellot and head north-west up through the meadows (ignore the^PR®® “La Petite Suisse Briarde” signpost opposite, pointing towards Villeneuve-sur-Bellot). After 200m at the edge of the woods (elevation 112m), turn right and continue climbing northwards between meadows and fields. Follow the edge of the Bois des Henry, then enter the woods.

(1) At the junction, a few metres after entering the woods, take the path on the left (west). At the crossroads, take the path on the right. After about a hundred metres (elevation 179), turn right and continue northwards along the edge of the Bois de la Tuilerie in the bed of a stream (sometimes dry, sometimes well-fed). Ignore a path branching off to the left and reach a cultivated plateau.

(2) At the edge of the woods, turn left onto the dirt track at the edge of the woods. Head down Route de La Noue to the left (elevation 171).

(3) At the bend after Les Hacots, take the path on the right (Rue des Hacots), and turn immediately right. Continue down Rue du Montcel to Sablonnières.

(4) At Château Morin, take Rue d’Hondevilliers to the left. Cross Chemin de Villeneuve and continue down Rue d’Hondevilliers until you reach a Fork in the road. Then turn right onto Route de la Noue, leaving Rue des Hacots to your left. Cross the D31 (Route de la Vallée) via the pedestrian crossing set back to the right, in front of Sablonnières Town Hall.

(5) Turn left onto Place de l’Église and first turn right then left to follow Route des Brodards. Turn right, then cross the Petit Morin. At the T-junction by the Avosnes cemetery, turn right onto the road towards La Chênée.

No signposting

(6) Leave the Bellot^PR®® which climbs to the left towards Le Vautron and continue straight ahead alongside the riding centre. At the Fork in the road, keep to the right past the riding centre’s lodges. After the old cemetery (water point), cross Route de Rebais (D222, dangerous crossing). Continue straight ahead along the Chemin de La Forge, skirt the constructed wetland (reed filter) and ignore a path branching off to the left (marker 82). Head north-west, cross the Bois de La Bourbière, follow a circular bend in the Petit Morin (marker 77) and ignore another path branching off to the left.

Yellow markings

(7) In a woodland, the path widens to join the embankment of an old railway line, which you will follow to the Moulin du Pont. Ignore the paths branching off to the right towards La Forge.

(8) Cross the road leading up from La Forge. Continue straight ahead along the path towards Coton. Ignore a grassy path branching off to the left and head for the bridge leading to the old Coton mill (sign for “Bataille du Petit Morin”).

(9) Follow the D55 to the right (station of the old railway line). At the “Saint-Georges” sign, the road turns right: take the path opposite heading north-west, between the edge of a wood and the Petit Morin. Ignore the paths branching off to the left.

(10) At the fork in the road at the entrance to Moulin du Pont, take the grassy path on the left. Turn left, continue along the road, turn right and follow the edge of a wood. At the corner of the wood, at the exit from Moulin du Pont, climb up to the left along the edge of the wood and then through the wood. You will come out onto a road.

(11) At the^PR®® signpost for Saint-Ouen-sur-Morin (elevation 136), take Rue du Montcel on the left for 50m. Then climb up the path on the right, continuing through the woods. At Bitibout, take Rue de la Tuilerie to the right for 50m, then turn left into Cour des Meulières, which continues as a grassy path. Climb through the woods and, at the edge of the woods (elevation 174), continue straight ahead along Rue de la Tuilerie across a cultivated plateau.

(12) At Gibraltar, take Route du Champ Maillard to the right. Cross the D68 (dangerous crossing) and continue straight on along Route de Bois Baudry. At the left-hand bend (sign for “Bataille du Petit Morin”), turn right onto Rue Creuse, which continues as a path. At the copse, take the sunken path on the left. Cross the road leading to Les Neuillis. Continue along the path opposite.

No signposting

(13) At the junction (shed), leave the Saint-Ouen-sur-Morin^PR®® which descends to the right towards Les Neuillis and continue straight ahead. After about 500m, turn right downhill and follow the edge of the Bois de Chavigny.

(14) At the T-junction, turn left (west) into the woods. Then turn right to head down towards the edge (north-north-west). Then head north.

(15) At the junction, turn left and continue along the slope through the Bois de Saint-Cyr (north-west). Cross a wooden bridge, then a footbridge, both made of wood. At the start of the descent, ignore the paths branching off to the left, then head north. At the crossroads, head straight down to a road (elevation 75).

(16) Turn left onto Rue de Chavigny, follow the Petit Morin on the right-hand side and enter Saint-Cyr-sur-Morin.

(17) At Place du Bourg, walk along the car park on the right. Cross the bridge over the Petit Morin via Avenue Eugène Simon (D31) to reach the bus stop for La Ferté-sous-Jouarre (E).

Walk completed by the author on¹ September 2018.

Access by public transport:
- To get to Villeneuve-sur-Bellot:
. train to La Ferté-sous-Jouarre station (Transilien Line P from Paris-Est),
. then Transdev bus – Marne et Morin – Réseaux du Pays Fertois, route 34 (Verdelot – La Ferté-sous-Jouarre), alight at “Le Fourcheret”.
- For the return journey from Saint-Cyr-sur-Morin:
. Transdev - Marne et Morin - Réseaux du Pays Fertois bus line 34 to La Ferté-sous-Jouarre station,
. then train (Transilien Line P to Paris-Est).
Information and timetables:
- Transilien website,
- Transdev website.

For motorists:
- Park in the car park at Place del’Église Saint-Loup in Bellot. To reach the start of the walk, follow the yellow^PR®® signposting from Bellot:
From the car park, with the church on your left, take Rue du Pont du Ru on the left. Turn right into Rue du Pont du Ru and cross the bridge in question. At the Fork in the road, take Rue du Fourcheret on the left. At the end, take Rue du Souvenir to the right, then turn left onto Rue du Petit Morin (D46). Cross the two branches of the Petit Morin, pass a beautiful house on the left and reach the Grand Fourcheret via Rue du Château.
- For the return journey, leave a car in the car park at Place du Bourg in Saint-Cyr-sur-Morin.

For groups and children, take particular care when crossing the roads:
- D222 at Sablonnières,
- D68 at Gibraltar.

This route partly follows three walking and hiking trails marked in yellow by the Seine-et-Marne Departmental Hiking Committee:
- Bellot,
- Les "tocards" de Boitron,
- Saint-Ouen-sur-Morin.
The description of the “Les ‘tocards’ de Boitron” route can be found in the TopoGuide “La Seine-et-Marne à pied” published by the French Hiking Federation under reference D077.

Muddy sections during wet weather.

Water available at the old cemetery in Sablonnières.

Bellot: restaurant, bar/tobacconist.

Saint-Cyr-sur-Morin: grocery shop, bakery, café.

Nicknamed the "Little Swiss Brie" and classified as a Natura 2000 site, the Petit Morin valley demonstrates its vitality by being home to protected species. A proposed Regional Nature Park, the PNR Brie et deux Morin, should formalise this recognition.

In Hacots, wash house (3).

In Sablonnières, Château Morin Antiquités offers an exhibition of furniture and chairs from the 15th to the 20th centuries (4).

After Sablonnières, at (7), follow the embankment of an old railway line to the Moulin du Pont (10). This is the embankment of the little train nicknamed the “Tacot Briard”, which, during the Belle Époque, served the Petit Morin valley from La Ferté-sous-Jouarre to Montmirai, in the Marne. The CFD (Chemin de Fer Départemental) company, which operated the line, ceased trading in 1947. Some stations have been converted into residential properties, such as those in Sablonnières and Coton. To explore the route of the “Tacot Briard” through photographs, see Train Journey... The La Ferté-sous-Jouarre – Montmirail line.

Old mill on the right bank of the Petit Morin at Coton (9).

In Coton (9) and at Bois Baudry, shortly afterwards (12) , information boards invite visitors to explore the Route of the Battle of the Petit Morin (6–9 September 1914) organised bythe Brie Champagne Tourist Office in Rebais.

12th- and 13th-century churches, remodelled in the 16th century, listed as Historic Monuments at:
- Sablonnières, Saint-Martin Church (5),
- Saint-Cyr-sur-Morin, Church of Saint-Cyr and Sainte-Julitte (17).