Wednesday 27 April on the rivière du Roi Soleil

Etang de la Tour at Vieille Eglise en Yvelines

La Rivière du Roi Soleil

This week our hike will be 17 km through fields, villages and the beautiful Rambouillet Forest from Le Perray en Yvelines to Rambouillet. We will walk along a channel and three ponds which were dug in the 1680’s for Louis XIV. This channel and many others in the region were part of his ambitious plan to divert water from the Eure River for his chateau and fountains at Versailles. That plan was abandoned in 1688 because Louis needed his men to wage war. We will pass through the delightful village of Vieille-Eglise-en-Yvelines before entering the Foret de Rambouillet, another of the former royal hunting grounds. The walk will be on flat terrain.

Not far from our itinerary is a farm, Les Trois Ponts, which some (or all) of us might want to visit, although they are not open during lunch hour except for groups with reservations. Check out their web site.

 http://www.3ponts.com/index.asp

Getting there:  We will take the 9:33 train from the Gare Montparnasse, train 62477, direction Chartres, to Rambouillet, zone 6.  This train stops at the gare de Versailles Chantiers at 9:47 where I will board. I will look for you in the last car going out from the Gare Montparnasse. At Rambouillet we will change trains for a short hop up to Le Perray, arriving at 10:16. There is the possibility of taking the RER C1, direction St. Quentin en Yvelines, to Versailles Chantiers to catch the Montparnasse train to Rambouillet en route.

Our return will be from Rambouillet on the 17:05 train which arrives at Montparnasse at 17:34. I advise purchasing your return ticket in advance.

You will need good walking shoes, rain gear “au cas où” and a picnic lunch.

L’Espace Rambouillet is also not far from our itinerary. Check it out too.

http://www.onf.fr/espaceramb/sommaire/preparer_visite/individuels/@@index.html 

If you want additional information about the hike you can email me at the address below. See you on Wednesday!

06 70 88 18 59                                mlfich@yahoo.com

01 47 41 98 20

The étang  d'Or in another season

Wednesday 20 April to Mont Valérien

Mont Valérien in 1556

Hope you all enjoyed the short summer and that we will have some sunshine even next week when I plan to walk with you to Suresnes and around the Mont Valerien.  If you decide to come along, then please meet me at 10 AM at Pont de Neuilly metro station on Line 1.  

I will wait for you from 9.45 on the street level in the middle of the Avenue Charles de Gaulle.

At 10.00 we will start walking, direction Pont de Neuilly and then along the Isle de Puteaux.  The walk will last for about 3 hours and you can take the Tram 2 back to la Defense.

As always, have the right clothes, the best walking shoes, something to eat at a picnic and be open to meet new walking friends.

Greetings,

Martina David-Ault

And please keep in mind:

The 'leaders' guide these walks purely as volunteers, with no commercial interest.  Therefore they assume no responsibility for any injury or inconvenience which may occur during the walk.

If you have a heart condition, difficulty walking, diabetes or any other condition which would make you unable to take a strenuous walk - again - it is on your own responsibility and judgement. You should be able to keep up with the group which will keep a medium speed.

Wednesday 13 April at Cergy

The base de loisirs at Cergy

This week Claude will lead us around the ville nouvelle de Cergy in the department of the Val d'Oise. Here is Claude's information:

Une ville à la campagne ou la campagne en ville ? Ce sera à vous de le découvrir lors de cette randonnée de 15 km qui nous fera voyager entre XIIe et XXe siècle.

Départ: RER A3 direction CERGY-LE-HAUT à 9h31 à Châtelet-les-Halles arrivée à 10h17 à Cergy-le-Haut (zone 5)

Retour: RER A3 de Cergy-St-Christophe ou Cergy-le-Haut pour les plus courageux vers 15h30 (RER toutes les 11 mn)

N'oubliez pas d'amener pique-nique, vêtements appropriés et comme d'habitude votre bonne humeur.

Claude FAURE

01 30 92 04 95

06 84 14 55 35

Those who want to read up on Cergy ville nouvelle can check out these web sites:

http://vexin.fr.pagesperso-orange.fr/oise/cergyvillenouvelle.htm  and

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communaut%C3%A9_d%27agglom%C3%A9ration_de_Cergy-Pontoise

Ile de France Walks at Cergy

Wednesday 6 April at Coulommiers

In the parc des Capucins

On Wednesday April 6th, Daniel will lead a 17 km walk in the Coulommiers area (Seine-et-Marne). CHEESE! Coulommiers is a cheese from this town and a cousin of Brie.

En ville le parc des Capucins et la Commanderie des Templiers retiendront notre attention. Aux alentours c'est dans les champs et les bois que nous promenerons nos guêtres. Loaf about/lounge around?

Le parcours sera de 17 kilomètres.

We will go, by train, from Gare-de-l'Est, in Paris, to the station of Coulommiers (zone 6).Departure: Gare-de-l'Est 9:15.  − Arrival: Coulommiers (terminus): 10:16.

Return: Coulommiers 15:35. − Paris-Est: 16:41, or more likely, 16:35, arriving 17:41.

Bring water, some lunch and hiking equipment.

See U on Wednesday.

If you wish to be informed of eventual changes or cancellations, please give Daniel your cell phone if you have one (home phone if not).

09 50 56 65 26 - 01 45 90 65 26.
Mobile  (only the day of the walk) : 06 99 20 70 79.
Email:  daniel.perot@free.fr

The gatehouse of the Templars commanderie

Wednesday 30 March in the Forest of Marly

In Marly Forest

This week Judy and Cecilia will lead us on  a lovely 16-17 km walk, (hilly in parts, 5 to 5 1/2 hours), around St. Nom-la-Bretèche, through fields, the Forest of Marly and pretty little villages.  We had to do some juggling of dates, and as a result, the Essonne walk planned for next week has been moved to April 27.

Take the 9h33 train, Sils, at the Gare Saint Lazare,  direction St. Nom la Breteche, Foret de Marly, which will arrive at St. Nom la Bretèche at 10h12. This train passes through La Defense at 9:42 so it would be possible to take the RER A or Metro line 1 to meet the SNCF train at La Defense. An RER A leaves Chatelet les Halles at 9:22 and arrives at La Defense at 9:32 which is plenty of time to get upstairs to the SNCF banlieue lines.

 

Return trains from St. Nom are every half hour: 16.37, 17.07, etc...

Cecilia's mobile phone number:  06 45 68 88 05.

See you on Wednesday!!

photo by Christophe Morvant

Wednesday 23 March at Bagatelle

Hello walkers,

Spring will have officially arrived next Wednesday, March 23. If you would like to come on a walk and admire the first flowers, then meet me at 10 AM at Pont de Neuilly metro station on Line 1. I will wait for you from 9.45 on the street level in the middle of the Avenue Charles de Gaulle.

At 10.00 we will start walking, direction Pont de Neuilly and then along the Isle de Puteaux to the Parc de Bagatelle.

From there we will continue through the Bois de Boulogne to a metro station at around 14.00.

As always: have the right clothes and shoes, water and food (enough for lunch).

Greetings,

Martina

Wednesday 9 March on the Marne to Boissy St Léger

The Marne at Joinville le Pont

The hike, some 14km or 8-9 miles, will be led by Bob Levy  

First along the 'GR des BORDS de MARNE', the walk will take us from Joinville le Pont some 4 km along the river to Chennevières.  Here, remaining with the GR, we leave the Marne for a mix of trail and small lanes, through Le Moulin Chennevières and Ormesson to the GR14 and the Parc du Morbras.

A lovely stone bridge, then a 2 km walk along a running stream will bring us to a perfect spot for lunch.  Then onward along the GR14, through wooded rolling hills to the Foret de Gros Bois and its Allées Royale and Elizabeth, and finally the town of Boissy Saint Leger.

CONDITIONS

1. For the first 4 km. there a few places for 'technical stops'.  There are cafes at approximately 3 km.

2. This hike has been selected in part because of its relative lack of mud.  Many trails are partially paved.  There are, however, some 2-3 kms where mud might be a minor issue.  The right shoes are, as always, essential.

3. With the exception of a flight or two of stairs, the hike is quite level.

MEETING

GARE RER 'A'; JOINVILLE LE PONT.  10:00 A.M.  Use SORTIE 1, Avenue Jaurès.  We will meet immediately in front of the Gare under an overhang.  From Paris trains (Direction BOISSY or La VARENNE) run to Joinville le Pont every 6-10 minutes.

AT THE END OF THE WALK

RER 'A' from BOISSY SAINT LEGER: To Paris trains every 6-10 minutes.

SHORTER WALKS

For those desiring a shorter day, there is the option of leaving the walk at La Varenne (4 miles) or Sucy (6 miles). Maps will be provided from the trail to the RER 'A' in those villages.

In the parc de Morbras