This week Jeanne Fontaine suggests an easy walk from the Gare de Rambouillet to the Gare du Perray-en-Yvelines, through la forêt de Rambouillet.

For those who did not walk during the summer, it will be a good way to get back in shape !

This hike, about 16km,  will lead us on nice paths and we will see 3 ponds (Etang d'Or,Etang de La tour and Etang du Perray). The latter was dug at the end of the 17th century on Louis XIV’s order to supply water to the fountains of the Château de Versailles park. We will follow the aqueduct of Vieille Eglise which carried water froml’Etang de La Tour to l’Etang du Perray.

We will take lunch at about 12h30 near the Etang de la Tour where we will be lucky to sit down at picnic tables. 

 Bring a picnic lunch, appropriate clothing, and good footwear.

Jeanne Fontaine (06 83 73 66 44)

 Travel information: ticket mobilis for Zone 5.

 -         Gare de Paris Montparnasse TER Train Grandes Lignes 16757,direction Le Mans, leaves at 9:06, to arrive at Rambouillet at 9:41.

-         Or, possibility to take the train at La Défense at 8:43 to arrive at 9:06 at VersaillesChantiers, where Jeanne will join the above train in direction of Le Mans, in the last carriage, at 9:20.

-         Return :  from Gare Le Perray- en -Yvelines :   the train leaves at  3:05 pm to arrive at Rambouillet at 3:12 pm.  We will change trains in  Rambouillet train station to catch the "express" train (stops only at Versailles Chantiers) to Paris Montparnasse  at 3.19 pm to arrive at 3.53 pm.  Worst case scenario, we could take a train at le Perray at 3.27 pm, arriving at Paris Montparnasse at 4.26 pm.

See you on Wednesday!

Hike for August 27

Next Wednesday, Michel Brown will lead us on an almost countryside like walk along the “Gondoire” and “Brosse” streams:

 

A 15 to 16 km walk will lead us from Lagny to Torcy.  From the Lagny-Thorigny train station we’ll cross the Marne river to walk east along the bourgeois mansions of Lagny.  After the harbor will leave the Marne to walk south, up the hill and through the woods of Chigny where Van Dongen resided a few years.  Once we reach the village of Chanteloup en Brie we’ll  take the valley of the Gondoire, a small stream, find a nice picnic spot on the stream and after lunch walk all the way to the village of Gouvernes and the Castle of Guermantès (I think Proust only used the name), we’ll take a quick look a the castle from the gate and walk down to the Brosse valley, another of these small streams that flow into the Marne.  To finish, from the Brosse valley up, we’ll cross the gardens of Rentilly, now a public garden and cultural space to get to the RER A station of Torcy close by.

 

To come, take the 9h30 train from Paris Gare de l’est station, “P” line going to Meaux.  Lagny-Thorigny is the third stop.  I’ll wait for you at the station at 10.  To return to Paris you’ll take the A RER line to where you want, trains every ten minutes and half an hour to Nation of Gare de Lyon.

 

My cell: 06.49.85.25.07

 

Michel

August 20 hike

Dear All (or at least all  who are left and are not off gallivanting somewhere more exotic than the Ile de France !)

This week's walk of 21km will start in Dourdan , although on this occasion we will not be going around the town but heading through the countryside past some pretty lakes towards the charming village of St Mesmes where we will make a short detour to see the outside of a manor house and an interesting fountain and then on to St Martin de Brethencourt where we will have lunch . There are some gentle undulations but no major hills. As this is a longish walk we will have a short pause mid afternoon so bring an extra snack in case you are feeling peckish ! Although the return to Dourdan goes past the station of Dourdan le Foret there will not be an option  to use it as there are no trains from there at present because of maintenance works but it is not far back to the main station of Dourdan . Unfortunately there are no other options for people who prefer a shorter walk.

Bring plenty of water , a picnic lunch , appropriate clothing (sun block and sun hat or rain gear or both ) and good footwear as after the recent rain it will probably be muddy in places .

TRAVEL 

Take RER C train DEBA direction Dourdan from Austerlitz at 8.47 or Bibliotheque at 8.50 as far as Dourdan (zone 5 ) which is the terminus . The arrival time is 9.50 . It is more friendly to travel in the rear carriage with everyone else but of course you may please yourself .

NOTE : IF YOU ARE TRAVELLING TO AUSTERLITZ IN ORDER TO CATCH THE TRAIN RER C IS NOT RUNNING BETWEEN INVALIDES AND AUSTERLITZ

Return trains are half hourly at 8 and 38 minutes past the hour . My best guess is that we would finish in time for the 4.08 but you never know you  may be super speedy or super slow !!

I WILL DRIVE SO WILL SEE YOU AT DOURDAN ON THE PLATFORM

Hope there are still a few of you left in Paris and if so see you Wednesday

Judy 

Landline    01 30 80 01 34

Mobile      06 79 48 38 81-- 

August 13 hike

Bonjour les amis marcheurs,

Cette semaine c'est Krystyna qui va nous guider. Voici ses informations. 

Bonjour à Tous,

Mercredi 13 août 2014 je vous propose un parcours 

mi-nature mi-culture (15 km) à proximité de Fontainebleau.

Au programme: 

forêt, bords de Seine, promenade-visite dans Thomery et 

la visite de Musée de l'atelier de Rosa Bonheur.

On this hike we will walk along the Seine, visit the village of Thomery and the museum and studio of Rosa Bonheur.

Pour mémoire, Rosa Bonheur (Marie-Rosalie Bonheur, 1822-1899) 

est une artiste peintre et sculptrice française de grand renom. 

Elle connut d'ailleurs un succès encore plus important en dehors 

de notre territoire et notamment aux Etats Unis.

Elles est présentée également comme une pionnière du féminisme.

Rosa Bonheur, (Marie-Rosalie Bonheur, 1822-1899) was a well-known painter and sculptress who was better known outside of France, especially in the USA. She is considered a pioneer of feminism. She fled the society life of Paris for

the tranquility of the Chateau of By in Thomery. We can visit the chateau and her studio for 3or 8 euros.

Pour fuir les mondanités parisiennes, elle se réfugie au Château de By (Thomery) 

dans cet atelier et cette demeure que nous pourrons visiter (3€ - 8€) 

et qui sont restés dans "leur jus" de l'époque.

Aller, to go:

A Paris Gare de LYON prendre le train "GAMU" à 09:19

direction MONTARGIS. Meet at the end of the quai to board the last car going out. 

There are two departure halls, 1 and 2. Watch the departure board to know from which one our train departs.

arrivée à THOMERY à 10:01.

Retour, return:

Gare de THOMERY, train "POMU" à 15:56 / 16h56 ... 

arrivée à Paris Gare de Lyon à 16:41 / 17:41 ...

Pour la balade, petit sac à dos pas trop lourd, chaussures adéquates, 

casse-croûte du midi, boisson en quantité suffisante et 

espérons, lunettes de soleil! :)

For this hike you will need good walking shoes, a picnic lunch, plenty of water (or other fluids), sunglasses, and rain protection just in case.

You need personal medical and liability insurance to join our hikes.

Amicalement,

Krystyna

06 03 53 41 66

August 6 hike

Next Wednesday, August 6, Michel Browne will lead our first August hike in what we hope will be lovely summer weather. Here is Michel's information:

Wednesday’s 18 km walk will take us from Lagny-sur-Marne to Esbly on river or canal banks (with no cars).

 

From the Lagny-Thorigny station, we’ll cross the river Marne and walk east along its left bank to reach the pretty lock of Chalifert.  Then, after a short climb to go over the hill we’ll follow the Chalifert to Meaux canal until we reach the Grand morin river.  After lunch we’ll continue on the same canal to an island between the canal and the Marne to get to Esbly and its station.

 

Meeting place: Lagny/Thorigny station, third stop on the P line from Paris-Gare de l’est to Meaux.  Take the 9h30 train from gare de l’est in Paris that arrives 25 minutes later.  I’ll meet you there around 10.  Return is on the same line from the Esbly station, trains every half hour to Paris.

 

My cell number:  06.49.85.25.07

Michel Browne

 If you have questions about this hike please call Michel at the above number. Please do not respond to idfwalks. Thanks to many positive responsesour calendar is complete for August and September 10. Happy trails to you.

July 30 hike

Dear Walkers,

Our hike for July 30 will be led by Dominique Raveau. Here is her information. I hope you appreciate the poem at the end. It would seem that Longfellow appreciated the Chevreuse Valley as much as we do today.

For next Wednesday I propose a 15 km walk in south of Paris, along the river Yvette and through Aigrefoin Wood. We will walk from Orsay-Ville University campus to Courcelle. In Gif-sur-Yvette we will pass by the tombstone of the artist Fernand Léger, one of the founders of Cubist painting.There's possibility to bail out in Gif before climbing the wood and having our picnic there. The walk along the river is on flat ground but we'll have short and rather steep climbing and descent.

To get there take RER B train PUKE from CHATELET LES HALLES at 9:02

Direction ST REMY LES CHEVREUSE, arrives in ORSAY-VILLE AT 9:51, zone 5.

I will get on the first car of the same train at Bourg la Reine.

Return will be from COURCELLE SUR YVETTE, zone 5, a train to Paris every 20 min on the same line.

Bring some snacks, bananas, picnic lunches and lots of water and don't forget your walking sticks.

See you on Wednesday

Dominique 

06 33 23 07 31

In the meantime I hope you will enjoy these 19th century verses:

To The River Yvette
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

O lovely river of Yvette!
O darling river! like a bride,
Some dimpled, bashful, fair Lisette,
Thou goest to wed the Orge's tide.

The valley of Chevreuse in vain
Would hold thee in its fond embrace;
Thou glidest from its arms again,
And hurriest on with swifter pace.

Thou wilt not stay; with restless feet,
Pursuing still thine onward flight,
Thou goest as one in haste to meet
Her sole desire, her heart's delight.

O lovely river of Yvette!
O darling stream! on balanced wings
The wood-birds sang the chansonnette
That here a wandering poet sings.

http://www.litscape.com/author/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow/To_The_River_Yvette.html

July 23 hike

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Judy Choat will lead our hike next Wednesday, July 23.  Here is her information:

Dear Fellow Walkers , 

On we go ! This week's walk of 19 km  is mainly along the very pretty River Yerres (which we will cross several times sometimes on very old bridges ) passing through the Parc Caillebotte  where the Impressionist painter lived and painted some of his most well known pictures . We will also pass the Villa Falbala where we can peek through the fence and see the work of sculptor and visual artist Jean Dubuffet which you may or may not like but I am sure you will have an opinion! 

The walk is almost all completely flat but towards the end there are a couple of hills, one of which involves a fairly long flight of steps.

Don't forget it is supposed to be summer so if necessary bring sun block and a hat and plenty of water to drink . On the other hand if the water is forecast to come from the sky rather than your water bottle bring a waterproof jacket . Wear sturdy shoes or boots and bring a picnic lunch too

There are two options to leave the hike early :

1) After 8km (approx) at Brunoy which will be before lunch we will pass within 0.5km of the station - a map will be provided

2) After 12km ( approx ) at Boussy St Antoine after lunch we will pass within 0.75km of the station - a map will be provided

TRAVEL

Take RER D train ZACO direction Melun from Gare du Nord at 9.27 or Chatelet les Halles at 9.31 or Gare de Lyon 9.35 as far as Montgeron Crosne ( zone 4) arriving at 9.55 I will  join the train at Gare de Lyon . If you feel like good conversation and company you could travel in the rear carriage with everyone else. If you are feeling antisocial sit elsewhere!

Return trains run every 15 minutes or so from Combs La Ville Quincy (zone 5) . I imagine we will finish around 3.30 - 4.00 pm

See you Wednesday.

Judy

Landline    01 30 80 01 34

Mobile      06 79 48 38 81

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