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Meet at Rue de la Mairie, in the car park of the town hall in Durban-sur-Arize, on the D15.
(S/E) Head west, leaving the town hall on your right and turning immediately left at the crossroads onto Chemin de Francou to reach the hamlet of Francou.
(1) Continue straight ahead on Chemin du Lavoir for a little over 100 metres, ignoring all the paths on your right. Turn left down the winding road, leaving the tarmac road after the last house to reach the wash house.
(2) Just after the wash house, take the stony path on the right, climbing towards Montseron, and follow it for 1.1 km. You will cross several paths branching off to the left or right, but continue climbing straight ahead until you reach a tarmac crossroads. Continue straight ahead, passing the cemetery and church on your left.
(3) Take the path on your right just before the cross, leaving the paved road again and passing the first house on your left. Climb for 500 metres and, when you reach the crossroads at the top of the hill, turn right at a right angle, heading north, and descend gently towards the town hall of Montseron, at Le Pleich.
(4) Return to the paved road and turn right for 20 metres, then immediately left behind the first building (town hall). Follow another dirt road that descends between two buildings.
Continue downhill to the hamlet of Lescalé, following the road on your left until you reach another crossroads.
(5) At this crossroads, leave the main road that comes from the left and turns off to your right. Take the dirt track opposite, which climbs steeply towards an isolated house and, after 20 metres, turn right to pass in front of this house. Continue along the main road, which is now on your right, and overlook it.
The path is clearly defined and you will quickly follow a barbed wire fence through a forest that is as untouched as can be. Less than 1 km further on, you will come to a junction of two small paths that gradually diverge from each other.
(6) Turn right and follow the cliff (no particular danger at this point), keeping to the track for another kilometre. Your route will turn regularly to the left. You will begin to see small meadows and, on the opposite slope above you, an isolated farm (called Baydoux - Baÿdous on the map). When you reach it, you will come to a wider path.
(7) Descend, keeping to the right through the woods, following a small stream below on your left. At the bottom, the stream flows into the Arize river in front of you. Turn left over the stream. Cross the field and walk straight ahead until you reach the road at the bridge over the Arize.
Take this road on the right, over the bridge, as if you were retracing your steps, to reach Camp Bataillé 150 metres further on.
(8) You can leave the road and climb up before the first house on the left on a steep slope which, after two short hairpin bends, leads you to a farm. Cross it and climb up a little 100m to pass the few trees. Once you have passed these, turn slightly right and left to follow the low stone wall, keeping it on your left. This is the most difficult part of the hike to find. Climb up the path through the fields, keeping to the right until the stone walls end and the trail disappears.
(9) The forest is in front of you. Walk straight towards it, crossing the field for no more than 20 metres. Follow the forest, keeping it on your right. A few metres further on, you will see a path ahead of you, marked by a wooden stake. Turn onto it with the cow fence on your left (horizontal wire running along the path) and the forest on your right. You can now follow the track to the next junction, at kilometre 9, 1.4 km after leaving the stone walls
(10) Take a sharp right turn and continue walking up this dirt track, which is heavily marked on both sides by tractor tracks. After 500 metres, you will come to a fork in the track.
(11) Go down to the right and follow the track into the forest. When you reach the bottom, the path climbs up in front of you, slightly to your left.
(12) Pass to the right of a tree with six trunks, marked with a yellow sign for short hikes. Follow the trail, which gradually emerges from the woods to open up to a breathtaking view of the valley and the Pyrenees. You will regularly see the ruined castle on your right.
Descend for more than 1 km, passing the Coi d'Aouac fountain (a tiny old stone structure on your left, at the edge of the path).
(13) At the next intersections, follow the signs for the castle, turning right twice.
Follow the path to the castle, crossing the forest again, which, depending on the season, will be dressed in its most beautiful emerald green (see photo).
(14) Once you reach Château de Saint Barthélémy, which you will not be able to walk around due to its condition, you can retrace your steps and then descend to Durban by taking the other track leading to this place, the one on your right as you descend.
Keep to the right, enter the village and take the bridge over the Arize to reach the junction with the D15. Continue straight ahead to reach the town hall, located slightly to the left (S/E).
Visorando member
Easy 
Association / Club / Walk leader
