Around Montagne de Calon in Saint-Georges

de fr

This slightly hilly route takes you past the beautifully restored Moulins de Calon mills. You will cross vineyards and admire numerous châteaux and several Romanesque churches...
The difference between this route and the Des Moulins au Château des Tours route is that there is less undergrowth and more castles and viewpoints, as well as the Church of Saint-Georges.

Details

n°378773
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.33 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 84 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 88 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 99 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 48 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Montagne (33570)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 44.929901° / W 0.127587°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1636E
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Photos

Romanesque church of Saint Georges
St Martin de Montagne Church
Château des Tours in ruins!
Château Saint-Georges

Description of the walk

Parking on Route de Puisseguin in front of Les Marronniers restaurant.

(S/E) Turn right towards the church, follow the road and turn right onto the D244E1. You will soon see the Calon mills. Continue downhill to the first crossroads.

(1) Turn right onto the road that climbs towards Arriail and turn left at the fork, then left again onto the D122E5 and continue straight ahead. A little further on, turn left then right to reach the mills.

(2) Immediately afterwards, go downhill and follow the path on the right to the road. Turn right for 100 metres, then right again towards Calon: watch out for traffic on the bend.

(3) After the first house, take the path on the left, cross the crossroads straight ahead and stay on the gravel path until you reach Mirande.

(4) Once you reach the hamlet, take the road on the right, cross the D122 (fast traffic) and continue to the first crossroads.

(5) Turn right for 100 metres and, just at the entrance to the hamlet of Guitard, turn left onto the small road towards La Picherie. Pass a few houses and, before the last house, turn right towards the vineyards.
You will need to climb up opposite you towards the gap between two copses.
Once at the top, you should see the trees at the entrance to Château des Tours directly in front of you. Join the D244.

(6) Turn right and position yourself opposite the driveway to cross the fairly busy road and fast straight stretch... Join Château des Tours.

(7) Go around it on the right, walk around it to admire this magnificent building, which is unfortunately abandoned!
Return and follow the park to the right. Walk along it until you reach the road and the hamlet of Labatut.

(8) Turn left onto the road that goes uphill, passing Château Le Roudier. At the next crossroads, turn right, go 50 metres and then turn left.

(9) At the new crossroads, go up to the right towards Pas Saint-Georges. Enter the courtyard on the left, cross it and continue straight on towards the wall of Château Saint-Georges.
When you reach the wall, go around it on the left, stay along the wall and pass in front of the two watchtowers until you reach the end of the wall.

(10) Turn right, passing in front of the entrance to the magnificent castle.
Continue towards Saint-Georges and its church. After the cemetery, turn right onto the white road and head back up towards the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 88 m - Car park on the Puisseguin road
  2. 1 : km 0.6 - alt. 74 m - Turn right towards Calon.
  3. 2 : km 1.71 - alt. 95 m - Path on the right
  4. 3 : km 2.26 - alt. 86 m - Calon, path on the left
  5. 4 : km 3.3 - alt. 75 m - Mirande, road on the right
  6. 5 : km 3.71 - alt. 77 m - Turn right at the crossroads.
  7. 6 : km 4.61 - alt. 81 m - Turn right onto the D244.
  8. 7 : km 5.07 - alt. 73 m - Château des Tours
  9. 8 : km 6.28 - alt. 52 m - Take the road on the left at Labatut.
  10. 9 : km 6.82 - alt. 58 m - Towards Pas Saint-Georges
  11. 10 : km 7.68 - alt. 65 m - Turn right towards the castle entrance.
  12. S/E : km 9.33 - alt. 88 m - Car park on the Puisseguin road

Notes

Important: this route is off the beaten track. All the landmarks mentioned in the description (place names, castle names, but also high-voltage power lines, bridges, etc.) are shown on the corresponding IGN 1/25,000 map, but are not always shown on the reduced map.
We strongly recommend that you either purchase the map or use the app on a smartphone, which will also allow you to be geolocated at all times so you can track your movements accurately.
The route may cross or follow other marked trails. It is tempting to follow the markings! Unless otherwise specified, do not stray from this route...
You will often be crossing private property, so please be discreet and respectful, as this is the only way to ensure that such routes can continue to be used.
The use of walking sticks can be very useful and reassuring. In addition to providing stability, they improve the distribution of effort.

Worth a visit

The Church of Saint-Martin de Montagne was built in the 12th century. The history of the building is not very well known and the archives are very fragmentary.
The church has a Latin cross plan, typical of the 12th century. The single nave, which was only covered with a vault in the 19th century, continues to the east with a large, very prominent transept, which was vaulted in the Romanesque period. The north arm of the transept was added at a later date: it covers the buttresses that originally supported the central bell tower; the bases of the columns, which are flatter and have claws, date from a later period than the square bases. The two apsidioles and the apse grafted onto the transept form the chevet.

The Church of Saint-Georges was built in the 11th century on Gallo-Roman ruins. It has changed little since its construction and is one of the best-preserved examples of the early Romanesque period in the Gironde department.

Château des Tours:
Does not date back further than the 14th century. At that time, it had three towers, one of which, polygonal and interior, was the keep, and the others, circular, flanked an oblong building at the east and west corners of its south face; then, at the same corners of the north face, there were sentry boxes, of which the corbels remain. This oldest part of the current castle, located to the south, is also slightly higher, with the keep, its machicolations and its dome-covered sentry box dominating the entire manor.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 7 reviews
Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
User 25798913

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Luckily there's a map. It's a shame there are so many sections on roads, as I found it dangerous with my 8-year-old daughter. Very pretty scenery and heritage.

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Bruno33500
Bruno33500
• Edited:

Thank you for your comments and for the change that has just been brought to my attention by friends who did this hike last Thursday.
I will modify the route accordingly.
Yes, it's a real shame to see the slow deterioration of such a magnificent building over the years.
But that's the history of the owners for you...
Bruno 33500

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Piedsaterre
Piedsaterre

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike through rolling countryside with stunning views of Saint-Emilion.
However, the route has to be changed because you can no longer cross the Château des Tours estate. To do this, turn right in front of the gate to the end of the boundary wall, then turn left down into the vineyard, following the hedge that borders the château grounds.
It is tragic to see the condition of this château deteriorating over the years.

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Bruno33500
Bruno33500

Thank you for these comments. Time passes and nature never stops...
What's more, maintenance is becoming less and less common everywhere,
But monitoring via smartphone remains the best system.
Bruno 33500

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PATRICK GRADE
PATRICK GRADE

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 16, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We set off in foggy conditions, which lifted just enough for us to catch a glimpse of the Calon windmills. With the route mapped out on our smartphones, we had no real trouble following the trail, except for the section between points 5 and 6, where we had to find a gap between two copses (not easy). In fact, you have to climb up a grassy area (where no one seems to have been recently) just above the newly planted vineyard. Apart from this minor inconvenience, this hike allows us to discover this very hilly landscape, dotted with wine châteaux, some of which are surprising, such as the one in Tours, where you wouldn't expect this type of architecture in this setting, and others which are very imposing, such as the one in Saint Georges. Also worth noting are the beautiful Romanesque churches of Saint Georges and Montagne. A beautiful morning in the sunshine.

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martinet-galopins
martinet-galopins

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route through vineyards, lovely wine châteaux and beautiful Romanesque churches. It's very interesting to combine cultural discoveries with hiking. In autumn, the landscapes must be superb, especially with the 360° view from the windmills.
A fine example of the riches of this region.
Thank you very much for sharing.

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Bruno33500
Bruno33500

Thank you for your comments.
Bruno 33500

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guy9999
guy9999

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

very pleasant route

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Bruno33500
Bruno33500

Thank you for these comments.
May I ask what details could be improved in terms of the reliability of the map?
Which card did you use?
Thank you in advance.
Bruno 33500

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isèrevercors
isèrevercors

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello everyone, We had these two hikes under the blazing sun, despite leaving at 8am. They were very beautiful and varied hikes... but what a shame about the Château des Tours, yet another piece of heritage in danger...
We finished at noon, just in time... We'll have to do it again in autumn, when it will be even more pleasant with all the colours...

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Bruno33500
Bruno33500

Thank you for your comments.
You do need to turn right first, and then you pass the castle on the left...
Bruno 33500

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gazok54
gazok54 ★

Thank you, mbost.
At wpt10, it seems to me that you should turn right, as the author indicates.

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mbost
mbost
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 28, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A minor issue before Château des Tours: it is not very clear to "go up towards the gap between two groves"
and 10- Turn right at Château St Georges - it's actually more to the left to pass in front of the entrance.
Other than that, a superb walk with the mills and the "poor Château des Tours".

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