Through the forest of Ciny

The region between Neufchâteau and Florenville is characterized by vast forests and straight roads with a crossroads here and there. Cycle tourists love it, because here you can really do speed. But this walk is also narrow and winding roads between meadows and through tiny villages with some surprising discoveries.

We go to the church of Bulles, on the place of Curé Laurent (V). With the church and the war memorial on your right, start with Rue de Suxy, direction Suxy. Skip all the side streets and pass the cemetery with the nineteenth-century chapel of Our Lady of La Salette and another smaller chapel, and further through the open meadow landscape. Just before the edge of the forest is a spacious villa on the left. From here you go into the forest of Chiny. When you step out of the forest, you will see a beautiful white villa on the left and you will cycle between the meadows again. Ignore all secondary roads and continue to the intersection with the White Chapel on the N894 at Suxy. Cross the busy road, direction Neufchâteau. Ignore the street leading to the church on the right and walk along the square with the beautiful wash house of the public laundry room.

Then turn right into rue de Neufchâteau, direction Neufchâteau. At the fork you keep left and go up to the crossroads with the Saint-Loup chapel which seems to be a little higher in a garden. Follow the old sign on the left, direction Neufchâteau. Continue on the sloping and winding road for 5 kilometers through the Bois de la Fosse. On the way out, you have a beautiful view with the church of Montplainchamps. Then take the road on the right towards Hosse. You pass in front of the Hosossese agglomeration sign, ignore a road on the left and leave the hamlet along the end of the agglomeration sign. Turn left at Tsplitsing, on the narrow winding paved road. You pass in front of the Nolinfaing agglomeration sign and take the Route de la Bou vière on the left, direction Grap fontaine. At the corner is a stone cross. Along old slate quarries Go up to a crossroads with a chapel to the right and an unpaved road to the left. Follow Le Sclapé straight. On the right you have a nice panorama. You drive between the cemetery and the church of Montplainchamps to the N85. Cross it towards Grapfontaine. After the agglomeration sign of Grapfontaine you ignore a secondary road on the left and also the Chemin de la Source with a calvary at the corner. This happened after World War II because the villages of Grapfontaine and Montplainchamps were spared the violence of war.

Continue cycling to the T-junction. You pass the end of the Grapfontaine agglomeration sign and turn left with the paved road. Straight ahead, it is not paved. You will pass in front of the Warmifontaine agglomeration sign and some football fields. Ignore the secondary roads and at the junction leave the road to Neufchâteau on the right.

Go left almost straight, towards Martilly. Exit another street on the right and pedal between the retaining walls of the old slate quarries of Warmifontaine. In the left wall you can see the remains of an old forge, on the right those of a wash house. Then you drive under the footbridge that connects the old slate quarries. At the T-junction, turn left towards Martilly. Go up the rue Sainte-Barbe passing in front of the church of Warmifontaine at the exit of the village. Leave the Route des Evêts and pass the cemetery and a spruce forest. Skip a diagonal road to the right and enjoy the 360° panorama. A little further on, you come to another road: you follow it on the left, almost straight. At the junction immediately after, choose the left. You pass in front of the Harfontaine agglomeration sign and ignore a secondary road in front of a field cross on the right. Right after, you pass a restored washhouse, in which the attributes of slate extraction are now exposed. Next to the old laundry room is a cart with slate and there is a patch of grass with a bridge and a picnic area.

Past the sign of the agglomeration Harfontaine, at the junction on the left, direction Martilly and Menugoutte. In the center of Menu, ignore a street on the right and pedal further to the Y-junction, where only trucks with a maximum length of 7 meters are allowed to pass on the left. Choose here on the right and head further into the forest. You start descending and a sign warns you of a dangerous turn. Pay attention to your speed, as the turn lasts seemingly endless and the descent progresses well.

After the forest you rush between the meadows and cross the stream of Neufchâteau. Then ignore the Straimont road on the left and cross the Vierre. Next to the river is a lookout. At the junction of a field crossing, leave the roads of Saint-Médard and Gribômont on the right and pedal left, towards the church of Martilly. Turn right before the church into Rue de la Pierrée and exit the village. On the right you have a beautiful view of the slopes and meadows of the valley. At the end, at the T-junction, follow a wider road to the left, parallel to the railway. You pass in front of the nameplate of Straimont-Gare and return to the forest. At the Carrefour des Foulouses you cross the N85 and continue by bike, towards Jamoigne.

You continue pedaling through the forest, ignore the Straimont road on the left and continue to the Carrefour des Cinq Chemins with the impressive Chapelle Notre-Dame d'Orval with columns. Cross the N894 and continue to Jamoigne. It now continues to undulate on a straight road. After more than 3 kilometers, you arrive at a crossroads with a road on the left until the jump of the Vierre. It is worth following this 300-meter gravel road through the forest. You will then be rewarded with a beautiful view of the weir and the lake of the Vierre.

Then return to the paved road and follow it on the left, towards Jamoigne. When you leave the Chiny Forest, you enjoy a beautiful view. At the crossroads, where the road turns left towards Jamoigne, continue straight, direction Izel. You pass in front of a large riding school and pass in front of the sign of agglomeration of Moyen then arrive at an intersection with a triangular square. Keep the square on your right and continue straight on the rue des Fourneaux. At the end turn left, direction Jamoigne. Ignore a road diagonally to the left, then turn the first road to the right. You can drive a maximum of 25 kilometers per hour, also by bike!

At the T-junction, turn left until you leave the road you just left. Follow it to the right. On your right, you have a beautiful view of the Château du Faing. It lies behind the Semois and was built in 1880, according to the plans of the original castle of 1624. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead and follow the N891, direction Les Bulles. Cross the Vierre, which flows a little further into the Semois, and walk along the agglomeration sign of Les Bulles. Turn left with the road and you will see the Church of the Bulls in front of you. Continue straight until you start your point.