La Boucle des Sept-Roches

Welcome to the deep forest: Arduenn Sylva, oak and beech stands in the hollows where the clay has accumulated, sparse coppices on the slopes where the rock is bare. 1/ From the tourist office, take Rue du Docteur Lemaire, Rue André-Compain, then cross the two bridges over the Semoy. Take Rue de Phades on the left, then the forest track on the right. 2/ Take the embankment to the right on a quarrymen's path and climb towards La Vinaigrerie. The path crosses a forest track, joins an old quarry and then the Bayart pass. 3/ Go down to the right, either by the path in the rocks, or by the bypass on the side of the ridge, and reach the plateau and the monument of Quatre-Fils-Aymon. Use the alleys, cross the Meuse and reach Château-Regnault. Go along the Vanelles school on the right and go up Rue Bernisseaux (on the left, door with the inscription "Joseph-Maré" on a section of wall: the only remains of the Grosse Boutique) for 300 m. Take Rue de l'Echelle on the right, with its stepped housing estates, then follow Rue Haute on the right (a path cuts through the bend in the street) which leads to the split rock of the Hermitage (viewpoint). 4/Climb the path to the old restored quarrymen's huts. 5/ Reach the rock at Sept-Villages, by a balcony path (viewpoint of the rock Roma, Braux, Levrézy, Château-Regnault, Deville, Monthermé and the old abbey of Laval-Dieu). 6/ Continue along a ridge path and cross the D 989. After the barrier, go down to the left then to the right, by a succession of paths. 7/ Continue to the Mal-Haté slate quarry extraction gallery. 8/ Use the slate workers' path to reach the shooting range and skirt the pit. Pass the Saint-Anne cross and go down the Chemin de l'Embranchement. Cross the D 1, follow the banks of the Meuse and cross the bridge. 9/ Turn right to return to the tourist office. Route taken from the topoguide Les Ardennes à Pied, June 2017