Saint-Benoît-Des-Ombres: Church and Hiking Route

For a trip to Saint-Benoît-des-Ombres, the Église Saint-Benoît and the “Ponts et gués” hiking trail offer two concrete starting points. When planning your trip, you can decide whether to focus on heritage, hiking, or both.

Church: building history and features

The Église Saint-Benoît has been fully listed as a Monument historique since October 1, 1974. The protection covers the entire building, including its interior and exterior. The Église Saint-Benoist des Ombres was built in the late 11th or early 12th century and remodeled in the 18th century.

The statues can also be distinguished by their location, material, and date: above the portal stands a 17th-century wooden statue of Saint Benedict. To the left of the choir, a niche contains a painted stone statue of Saint Lawrence dating from the 15th century. The listed protected area around the Église includes the portal with the statue of Saint Benedict, the cemetery surrounded by a hedge, and two yew trees.

Pilgrimage in honor of Saint Benedict

Every year on March 21, a pilgrimage in honor of Saint Benedict takes place in Saint-Benoît-des-Ombres. Prayers are offered for the protection of family members and animals. Devotion to the saint is thus reflected both in the statue above the portal and in a recurring religious observance. If your trip is planned around this occasion, you can take March 21 into account as a specific planning date.

Hiking: understanding the route details

A FFRandonnée route document, updated on September 28, 2024, describes the PR “Ponts et gués” as an 11 km trail marked in yellow. In the Saint-Benoît-des-Ombres section, it shares 4.7 km with the GR® de Pays Vièvre et Risle. The two distances refer to different measures: 4.7 km is the shared section, while 11 km is the total length of the PR.

A route description dated September 21, 2023, also lists the 11 km Circuit des Ponts et des Gués loop trail, with Saint-Benoît-des-Ombres as its starting point. This entry explicitly names the starting location; the PR description, by contrast, gives the section shared with the GR® and the yellow trail markings. If you plan to hike either route, it is worth checking the latest route details.

Other historical and natural points of interest

The Domaine de Saint-Benoît in the Vièvre forest was founded in 1070 by Saint-Pierre de Préaux Abbey. This date provides another specific historical reference point alongside the building history of the Église.

Le Bois de la Vallée des Quatre Chênes is designated as a ZNIEFF Type 1. The forest adds a named natural feature with its own classification to the historical themes.

Discover more destinations: Tostes, Le Landin, Asnières, Villiers-en-Désœuvre, Saint-Georges-du-Vièvre, Boulleville, Fresne-Cauverville, Saint-Léger-De-Rôtes.

For the broader travel overview: Eure.