Creil is an industrial town on the Oise, about fifty kilometres north of Paris, and it would be easy to pass it by. Yet within a few kilometres lie some of the finest forests and châteaux in northern France, and the high ground around the town gives you a good sense of how the river has carved its way through the chalk and limestone plateaux of the Île-de-France.
Creil has its own heritage, too. In the nineteenth century it was famous for its faience, fine earthenware decorated with printed designs, and examples can be seen in the local museum. The town grew with the railway and with industry, and it still has a working, unpretentious feel.
Just to the south-west lies Chantilly, with its château, its great stables and its famous racecourse. The Musée Condé in the château holds one of the finest collections of old master paintings in France, and the Grandes Écuries, built for the Prince de Condé's horses, are almost as grand as the château itself. The forests of Chantilly and Halatte surround the area, with oak and beech woods, ponds and long, straight rides cut for hunting.
The riding around Creil is pleasant once you escape the town. Roads climb from the river onto the plateaux, then run through the forests in long, straight lines or gentle curves. Surfaces are generally good, and traffic is light on the forest roads, though busy around the towns. As a high point, the edge of the plateau above the Oise offers wide views over the valley.