Discovering the King’s Oak from Château-Voué

The starting point is the small square, now converted into a car park, located in the centre of the village, just in front of the church.

(S/E) With your back to the church, head straight down the small Rue du Château. At the end of this street, after barely 30 metres, you will see the ruins of the village castle. Turn around and take Rue de la Fontaine on the right to leave the village.

(1) At the end of the street, turn right onto the D 28 and follow it for 200 m, ignoring the first path on the left.

(2) Take the second path on the left. Continue along this path for 1 km after entering the forest.

(3) Take the path on your left, at plot 111 (a sign on a tree bears the number). Follow this path straight down for about 450 m. After crossing a small stream (marked by a large concrete pipe), the path climbs very steeply.

(4) Halfway up the slope, after about a hundred metres, at a stone marker on the ground marked 385, take the path on the right.
After 80 m, at the end of this path (at a Fork in the road, keep to your right), you’ll reach the Chêne du Roi, which you can admire.

(5) Retrace your steps and continue along the very steep path to the right for 150 m.

(6) When you reach a large feeding trough (a device designed to feed wild boars), take the path on the left, which is not shown on IGN maps, and follow it for 400 m (very old and unreliable markings in the form of an orange square, which you may have already seen along the route).

(7) Take the path on the right which leads to the Route Forestière de la Haute Charrière, which you follow to the left.

(8) At a fork in the road, opposite a sign indicating a car park, take the stony path on the left, which leads onto a small tarmac road.
On this stretch, walk alongside the Étang de Wuisse. At the end of the small road, you’ll rejoin the D 28 (elevation 223 m), which you follow to the left for 350 m.

(9) At the next junction, take the Route de Château-Voué on the right. At the entrance to the village, take Rue de l'Église on the left and return to the car park (S/E).

- Some sections are not shown on IGN maps but are nevertheless genuine paths; indeed, some still bear old markings (Orange Square).
- At checkpoint (4), the number 385 is on the side of the marker facing the forest.

Fortified house (at the corner of the car park at the start)
This is a fortified house whose site and remains were listed as historic monuments by decree on 24 December 1991. It is a rare example of a fortified house situated at a high elevation and is privately owned.

Castle ruins (40 m from the car park)
Ruins of the 14th-century fortified castle (1342), ruined during the Thirty Years’ War. Partially destroyed from 1795 onwards.

The church (car park at the start)
Saint-Martin Church, Baroque, 1721: pulpit 1745, 18th-century altars and confessionals, alabaster holy water fonts by Robert Pincedé (1775), 18th-century reliquary cabinet, 17th-century painting of Saint Martin.

The King’s Oak
This is a pedunculate oak (a species of deciduous tree native to the temperate regions of Europe. Its fruit is borne on a long stalk. It is also known as the white oak, female oak, gravelin, cluster oak or châgne. Its Latin name, Quercus robur, means ‘robust oak’). It stands 36 metres tall and has a circumference of 546 centimetres. It is thought to be around four centuries old. According to the story, Louis XIV, whilst travelling through the salt-producing region, is said to have rested at its foot on a hot summer’s afternoon.

The Étang de Wuisse
The Étang de Wuisse already existed before 1750 and at its outlet, held back by a dam, stood a mill.