BOUCLE DE LA GROTTE (N°2)

Start from the salle polyvalente, 5, Place Georges Morin (WC, picnic table and plenty of parking). Take rue du Roc, then the path that runs alongside the industrial estate and its buildings as far as the crossroads, then take the path opposite. Shortly after the village of Chevrigny, on the edge of the road, stands an oak tree, estimated to be around 1810. You then meander along a stream bordered by a low wall to the very old and well-preserved Galeux fountain. Continue as far as La Dreurie, turn left and follow the GR® de Pays to the D242 near the Blin mill. Turn right onto the D242, follow it for about 200m and then turn left towards Malherbière. Leave the GR® de Pays in the direction of the Grotto, cross the river Aisne on the footbridge that leads to this replica of the Grotto at Lourdes. This replica of the Grotto of Lourdes was built in response to a vow of protection by the local people, who were grateful that the Second World War claimed no victims among them.
The route continues uphill to the village of Les Chapelles and its beautiful 19th-century church, remarkable for its crypt and stained glass windows. Turn left onto the D518, which offers lovely views as far as the village of Les Molières. Turn right just after the calvary. You will reach the village of La Poulerie. Take a narrow track to La Savrière and continue along the road to the D218. Turn left and then right as far as the village of Petit Saint-Jean, where a statuette is set into the wall of a house. After 500m, turn left. Once you reach the former campsite, horse-riders and hikers rejoin the D218, which they follow along the berm to reach Rue du Lac and the entrance to Beauregard Park.
For walkers and mountain bikers, take the footbridge and tunnel, and the loop will take you around the wetland (a former artificial lake that has been filled in). After crossing the dam lined with railings, turn left towards the entrance to the Parc de Beauregard, marked by a brick porch.
At the first fork in the road, turn left towards the river, where you will come across the Constantian oak, a reference to the hermit Saint-Constant who settled in Javron in the 6th century, in the middle of a rugged wood, on the top of a gullied hillside overlooking the Aisne... On leaving the park, turn right into rue du Roc to get back to the starting point.
Please note: as a conservation measure, some paths are closed to motorised traffic all year round or periodically: from 1 October to 31 March and on Sundays, all year round from 1pm to midnight.

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