Retourneloup and the Saint-Hubert Spring

Parking is available at the Place de l'Église car park in Sablonnières. For access by public transport, see the practical information.

Unmarked route
From place to place, there are isolated yellow signs (markers, arrows, crosses) but these do not correspond to a single^PR®® and are so far apart that it is best not to rely on them. In this description, they are only indicated when necessary.

(S/E) From the church square, take the main road through the village (D31). At the stop sign, turn right onto this road (despite a yellow cross). At the village exit, just after a 30km/h speed limit sign, which you will see behind you, turn left at an acute angle to take a path that climbs between two garden fences.

When you reach Chemin de Villeneuve, make a zigzag turn to take Route de La Noue, which climbs towards the woods. After a right turn and two left turns, look for a sign on the left side of the road indicating the Grotte de Saint-Hubert. Then turn left onto a faint path that descends to the shaded site of the Source Saint-Hubert (picnic tables).

(1) Facing the spring, take a grassy path on the left (not shown on the IGN map) that leads away from the picnic tables, passing at the foot of a large oak tree on the left. At the T-junction that follows, turn left and descend to the houses.

At the crossroads (weather vane in a tiny garden), take the street on the right (Chemin de Villeneuve). Continue straight ahead downhill, cross Rue de Hondevilliers and then Rue du Montcel to reach the D31 (football pitch opposite on the right). Take this road on the right. At the crossroads (wash house opposite on the right, war memorial a little further on), turn left onto the D222 towards La-Ferté-Gaucher.

(2) Cross the Petit Morin and pass the sign for La Chenée. Immediately after the sign, before the road turns left, turn right onto a wide, stabilised path that runs alongside the old Sablonnières railway station on your left. Go around the fenced-off area on the left and head towards the woods.

At the crossroads (yellow crosses on the perpendicular path), continue straight ahead and enter the woods. Stay on the wide path for about 1.5km, on a slight incline. On the way, cross a stream over a small bridge, pass through the village of La Trétoire (sign reminding you that motorised vehicles are prohibited) and cross a perpendicular path (private property). Shortly after a yellow arrow inviting you to turn right, you will come to a crossroads (elevation 137).

(3) Contrary to the previous arrow, turn left and continue uphill. Leave the woods, walk along a meadow on your left and, when you reach the edge of a cultivated field, turn left. You will come to a small road, which you should take to the right, continuing uphill.

(4) When the road begins to bend to the right, turn sharply left (there is an electricity pole on the corner) and follow a path towards a telecommunications antenna. At a T-junction, turn right, go around the antenna on the right and you will reach some houses. Continue for a few metres along the small road, which makes a sharp right turn, then turn left onto Rue Mathieu (Saint-Christophe cross). After passing a shed on your right, the street becomes a grassy path that joins a small road.

(5) Take the road on the left and follow it south-east for about 1.8 km: pass the hamlet of Coupigny, cross another small perpendicular road (signposted "Impasse" on the right) and you will reach the D222 road.

(6) Cross the road (be careful, it is busy) and take the path opposite. Follow this path for about 1.7 km between fields, meadows and woods, keeping an east-southeast direction until you reach Retourneloup: ignore all the paths branching off to the sides, including those near houses, when a yellow marker seems to invite you to turn right. Cross the hamlet in the same direction.

(7) At the end of the hamlet, leave the road straight ahead towards Launoy and turn left at a right angle, following a plastered breeze block wall on your left. Go down the small road that passes between meadows.

(8) At the bottom of the descent, at the stop sign, cross the road (take care) and descend opposite onto a wide grassy verge bordering a cultivated field. Turn immediately right and walk along the field (on your left), staying on the grassy verge and respecting the crops. The verge slopes to the left and then becomes a grassy path that goes around a gas installation on the right and leads to a small road at the exit of Bellot (metal cross on the left).

(9) Take the small road on the left. At the next fork, turn left towards Sablonnières (sign). Cross the hamlet of Les Brodards (spelled with a final "t" on the map; beautiful houses) and reach a junction with the road coming from Le Plessier.

(10) Ignore this road coming from the left and continue north-west towards Sablonnières. After passing the cemetery, turn right.

(11) Cross the Petit Morin again. Ignore the road on the right towards the Ferme des Domaines (sign) and turn left onto Route des Brodards. You will immediately reach the Place de l'Église in Sablonnières (S/E).

To reach the starting point by public transport:
Train to La Ferté-sous-Jouarre station (Transilien line P) then Pays Fertois bus, line 34, stop "Sablonnières Mairie". Information and timetables: Transilien website and Transdev Marne-Morin website.

A 1:25,000 map is essential (at least the one accompanying this description).

Of all the walks published in the Francilien sector of the Petit Morin Valley, this walk has the longest stretches on roads. However, with the exception of the departmental road briefly taken on leaving Sablonnières, which passes point (2), these roads are very quiet. The path between (2) and (3) is in excellent condition, even in wet weather. There is a short muddy section after (3). The paths between the fields are generally grassy: after rain, or early in the morning, you may get your feet wet...

Depending on your inspiration, schedule or desire to stop there or not, the detour to the Source Saint-Hubert can be done at the end of the hike rather than at the beginning.

Hike completed by the author on 22 May 2015.

In Sablonnières:
- Saint-Martin Church (12th-20th century), at the starting point. Note in particular a bas-relief depicting the scene where Saint Martin shares his cloak.
- Source and Grotto of Saint-Hubert, at (1). The shaded area, equipped with picnic tables, is ideal for a break. The source itself, enclosed in masonry, is not visible. As for the grotto, everyone is free to appreciate its aesthetic appeal...
- Wash house at the junction of the D31 and D222 roads (shortly before).

In Bellot, off the trail (east of (9)), there is the beautiful Saint-Loup church.

Within the Ile-de-France region, the Petit Morin valley is a preserved area with a strong rural and agricultural character. This hike is part of a series of routes lasting between 3 and 4 hours, covering the small roads of this charming valley and the communal paths where motorised vehicles such as quads and 4x4s are prohibited (see below for the URLs of the other hikes).