From Verneuil-sur-Seine to Cergy via the Hautil Forest

Starting point and access: Vernouillet-Verneuil station.
- Transilien - Line J, on the section between Paris-Saint-Lazare and Mantes-la-Jolie via Poissy.
Take the underpass and the North exit towards the car park (the South exit, which should be ignored, leads to Place Charles de Gaulle).

No signposting

(S/E) Walk alongside the railway line on your right and the covered car park on your left. At the corner of the car park, turn left, pass a row of concrete blocks and then the car park access barrier. Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and head into the cul-de-sac opposite. The tarmac soon gives way to a path; follow the Étang du Gallardon on your left. Turn right and continue along the pond.

Red and white markings

(1) At the end of the path, turn left onto Rue du Val de Seine and continue with the pond on your left. Follow the street as it curves to the right. At the end, cross Route de Vernouillet and take the narrow lane leading down towards the Seine. Turn right and follow the river on your left. At the foot of the bridge, climb the steps on the right. At the top, turn left and cross the bridge over the Seine.

(2) As you leave the bridge, go down the steps on the left. At the bottom, turn right onto the quay and walk along the Seine on your left. At the Stop sign, cross a small roundabout and continue straight ahead. At the next roundabout, turn right towards the Théâtre Octave Mirbeau. Take the cul-de-sac that goes round the theatre on the right and, at the end, climb a flight of steps. You’ll come out onto a street; follow it to the left. When you reach the post office, turn right into a 30 km/h zone and immediately turn right towards the church.

(3) Leave the signposted route briefly to turn left into the car park and walk round the church clockwise (otherwise, continue straight on and pass under the porch formed by the church itself). Return to the signposted route and continue up Rue Galande. Pass under the railway bridge.

(4) At the crossroads (Place des Marronniers), take the first street on the right (note: two branches of^{the GR®®} split here; ignore the signs to the left). At the Stop sign, make a zigzag turn first right then left to climb a flight of steps (Rue Octave Mirbeau). At the top, ignore a street on the right and continue uphill along a footpath. Cross Rue des Temporêts and continue uphill along Rue Octave Mirbeau, ignoring all the side streets.

(5) At the edge of a wood, turn right and head slightly downhill. At the Fork in the road, take the Sente du Battoir (path) on the left. At the next junction, continue straight on along the same path, which becomes tarmac. Ignore a turn-off on the left, continue along a path and, after a few metres, go down a flight of steps on the right. At the bottom, turn left and cross Allée Georges Bizet. Continue straight on along the main avenue, heading downhill and ignoring all the side streets.

(6) After the “J.S. Bach” bus stop, turn left and head up the Sente des Marais. Pass through some private gardens, then a hairpin bend, and continue along a path that runs first between two fences and then through shrubbery. Ignore any vague paths branching off to the sides and head down towards a house. At the T-junction, follow the road to the left. At the next junction, continue straight on along the Grande Sente des Marais and head down into a residential area.

Between points (7) and (8), the purple route, which is supposed to represent the^GR®®2on the IGN map, is inaccurate.

(7) At the T-junction, go down the street on the right ( narrow pavements). At the small square, turn left onto Rue de Pissefontaine and walk past Pasteur Primary School. Opposite the church in Chanteloup-les-Vignes, turn left onto Rue du Général Leclerc. At the^first fork in the road, turn right onto Rue de l'Abreuvoir and, at the^second fork in the road, continue right along the same street. Cross Rue des Barrois on the right-hand side and arrive at a junction.

No signposting

(8) Then turn left onto Rue du Réservoir (let the^GR®® continue straight ahead). Cross Rue Pauline Soyer on the left and, at the Fork in the road immediately ahead, turn right onto Rue de la Forêt. Wind your way up this street, ignoring all the side alleys and Rue des Champs on the right. You will reach a crossroads in the forest.

Yellow markings

(9) Continue straight ahead (due north) along a tarmac lane. When it turns left, leave it and pass a few boulders at the edge of the path, then a forest gate. Head north along a wide forest track, ignoring all turn-offs to the left (no entry), follow the wall of a property on your right and head downhill.

Red and yellow markings

(10) At the junction just after a small house on the right-hand side, continue straight ahead along a narrow path between two hedges. Continue along the edge of the field on the right-hand side. Cross a small road and follow Rue de Bellefontaine straight ahead (panoramic view on the right). Walk alongside a farmhouse on your left (beautiful gatehouse). Continue north-west along a farm track and immediately ignore a turn-off on the right.

(11) At the junction directly beneath the medium-voltage power lines, turn left and leave the pylons on your right (no arrow or marker here). Walk past horse pastures on your left and enter the Forêt de l'Hautil. After a few metres, turn right and pass a pond on your left. Continue along the edge of the woods until you reach an orientation table.

(12) Continue north-west along the edge of the field on your right, and head downhill. Pass through two forest gates in succession. At the corner of a wall, turn left towards a bus shelter. At the first pedestrian crossing, turn right (the purple route on the IGN map is inaccurate here) and take a path leading to the Ferme car park (even if inconsiderate drivers have parked right in the middle). Go under a stone arch and ignore a path on the left. At the corner of a fence, turn left and arrive at the entrance to the Écancourt educational farm.

Yellow markings

(13) Continue straight on and walk alongside the farmhouse on your right. At the corner of the building, turn right and pass a pond on your left (information board). At the next fork in the road (signpost with map), take the farm track on the left. Walk past sheep pens on your right, then a shelter on your left. Ignore a path branching off to the right and enter the forest via a wide, hard-packed track. At the next junction (plots nos. 5 and 6), continue straight ahead. After about 50 metres, when the hard-surfaced track turns left, continue straight ahead onto a dirt track (plot no. 5). Wind your way uphill through the forest, ignoring faint tracks on either side. Join a hard-surfaced track and follow it to the right.

(14) At the next junction (the felled Chêne de l’Hautil on the left, information board), continue straight ahead. Descend into a sunken track then climb gently up a sandy path through a beautiful fern-filled undergrowth. At the junction (picnic tables), continue straight on along a hard-packed track between plots no. 8 and no. 7. Pass through a forest gate, follow a fence on your right (water tanks) and pass through a second forest gate.

(15) Turn immediately right downhill into Rue de la Ferme. Walk past the farm and its dovecote on your left. At the junction (small castle on the left), pass through a forest gate and continue straight ahead along a small, slightly downhill tarmac road. At the next junction, turn sharply left and walk along a wall on your left. At the end, make a zigzag turn to follow Rue Hérou (misspelled on the IGN map). At the end, turn left and, opposite No. 10, take the path on the right between two walls. At the end of the path, continue straight ahead into a street. At the next junction, turn right downhill.

(16) Cross the road to the left at the pedestrian crossing located in the traffic chicane. Cross the small car park of the equestrian centre and turn left onto a farm track which soon bends to the right. Walk alongside horse pastures, first on your right then on your left. At the end of the track, continue right onto Rue André Parrain (ignore the yellow sign for Rue du Maréchal Leclerc on the left; two^PR®® trails cross here). At the roundabout, turn left and walk past the tennis courts on your right, then a school. At the junction, continue straight ahead, still on Rue André Parrain, and ignore the side streets and paths on either side.

(17) At the T-junction (with the church opposite on the hill), follow Rue Vieille Saint-Martin to the right. Take the^first left into Rue Charles Cavan. At the Fork in the road, turn right into Rue de la Ferme. At the T-junction, turn left. At the next junction, turn right onto Rue de la Grande Neuve. At the foot of the water tower, go through a forest gate and continue down a grassy path. Go through a^second forest gate and continue along a narrow lane.

At the junction, take the^second left, back onto Rue Vieille Saint-Martin. Head downhill, skirting a golf course on your left and passing under some medium-voltage power lines. At the roundabout, turn left. Pass through a residential area and ignore all the turn-offs on the left.

(18) At the large roundabout, continue straight ahead onto Rue des Coudraies. After Square Mozart, turn left with the road. At the traffic lights, turn right onto Boulevard des Chasseurs. Continue straight ahead, temporarily leaving the signposting. At the next set of traffic lights, cross Boulevard Sainte-Apolline and turn right onto Chemin du Bassin.

Cross a large covered passageway, then a street, and continue straight on (the signposting reappears). Pass through a barrier and follow a pond on your right. After a second barrier, cross Boulevard de la Crête and follow Rue du Désert aux Nuages to the right. Ignore the first street on the left and take the second, Rue de l’Embarquement. Walk past the coach station on your right and head towards Cergy-le-Haut railway station, first accessing the RER and then the Transilien (E).

To get back home:
- RER - Line A, towards Paris.
- Transilien - Line L, towards Paris-Saint-Lazare.

Train timetables: see the Transilien website.

For motorists:
Arrange for at least two vehicles, one in the car park at each of the two stations, which are on different lines. With just one vehicle, travelling one way or the other by train would require a change at Paris-Saint-Lazare station.

Hiking boots required. Potentially muddy sections between (6) and (7), between (9) and (12) and between (16) and (17).

No water points identified along the route. Shelters and picnic tables in the Forêt de l'Hautil, between (13) and (15). Bars, restaurants and shops in Chanteloup-les-Vignes, between (7) and (8).

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

Hike undertaken by the author on 22 December 2017.

- Saint-Martin Church (13th–16th centuries) in Triel-sur-Seine.
- Saint-Roch Church (16th–19th centuries) in Chanteloup-les-Vignes, between (7) and (8).
- Bellefontaine Farm with its porch, between (10) and (11).
- Orientation table and panoramic view of the Oise Valley (12).
- A pleasant walk through the Hautil Forest, between (12) and (15).
- The Hautil Oak (14). An oak tree felled during the 1999 storm, estimated to be 150 years old, and left in situ to demonstrate its natural decomposition.
- Beautiful farmhouse, dovecote and castle (15).
- Saint-Martin Church (12th–18th centuries) in Courdimanche (17).