Circular route around Sauveterre-de-Comminges

Park in the small car park by the old weighbridge.

(S/E) Head down to the right as you leave the car park. At the town hall, turn left at the sign for “Parking reserved for the town hall and town hall users”.

The Côte Notre-Dame starts on a tarmac road at the back of the car park on the right, behind the mulberry and plane trees. It is narrow and gives the impression of entering a private property. Follow the^GR® 86 and^PR® markings on the low wall to the right, then the yellow markings on a telephone pole. Once you have passed between the tightly packed houses, the slope becomes a dirt track on the hillside and runs alongside a stone wall. A wooden sign points to the walk towards Barry. Continue and climb the slope.

(1) At the very top, at the end of the path, ignore a sign for “Tour de Barry” and head down to the right towards the church and the hamlet of Barry, following the yellow markings on a gutter. Walk down to the wooden sign marked “Reston” with yellow^PR® markings, and ignore it. From here, follow the red and white markings, which direct you to turn left onto the Chemin de Gaussac. Walk down the path.

(2) Pay attention at a junction where the Chemin du Gaussac continues whilst a path overgrown with vegetation opens up to the left. Take this path, leaving behind a tree behind which a mountain bike sign for “track 8” and a^GR® 86 marker are hidden. A few metres further down, ignore the path to the left and continue straight on, following the FFC 8 mountain bike markings until you reach a junction where, under a tree, there is a bench marked “Peyrègue”, indicating the direction to the left. Continue uphill to the right, then gradually downhill.

You’ll reach another junction; continue straight on, following the direction of the “Lôo” sign. The path is shared with the FFC 8, 10, 16 and 18 mountain bike trails, which are indicated on the same sign. The markings revert to^the yellow^{PR® route}. (Take care if you are doing the route in the opposite direction to avoid a few forks.) The path, lined with vegetation, ends at a ford across the Ruisseau de Lôo.

(3) Cross it, then leave the pastures on your right and head up Rue de la Caoussade (D34), which you take to the left towards the hamlet of Lôo as you leave the path. At the entrance to Lôo, turn left onto the street marked “Chemin d’Aoudette”. Walk down the street, following the yellow^PR® markings. The tarmac gives way to a dirt track. At a fork, ignore the path leading off to the left (signposted “Peyrin”) and stay on the Chemin d’Aoudette, which climbs slightly to the right.

(4) Pass a white wayside shrine dating from 1936 and a picnic table, both made of reinforced concrete, on your right. Continue along the Chemin d’Aoudette, which runs through the fields. At the end of the track, pass a stud farm on your left and turn right, still following the yellow^PR® markings, to climb back up to the Route des Goutillettes.

(5) At the “Give Way” sign as you leave the dirt track, turn left and follow the tarmac road for about a hundred metres, until you reach two red markers on the right where the path marked “Sabanos” begins; the sign is hidden by the leaves of a hedge. The path is also marked VTT FFC 16 on the electricity pole. After about 100 metres, you’ll reach a^PR® Yellow track. Ignore the^PR® Yellow arrow pointing to the right and stay on the Sabanos path, which is also marked^PR® Yellow but points to the left. Further on, don’t be distracted by the junction formed by the intersection with the VTT FFC track marked 10; carry straight on.

(6) Keep an eye out on the left for a yellow^PR® wooden sign marked “Garnère 20 min”. Then leave the Chemin de Sabanos to take a shaded, leafy path that descends towards Garnère through the pastures.

(7) At the bottom of the path, follow the yellow^PR® signposting to the left towards Garnère. Do not be distracted by a mountain bike track on the right a little further on; continue straight ahead, following the shared^GR® 86 white and red and^PR® yellow signposting.

(8) Do the same further on at a junction where a^GR® cross indicates not to turn left. Continue along the path to the right (where you can see the houses of Garnère above). At the road, turn right following the yellow^PR® sign marked “Brucan 20 mins”.

Walk to the war memorial and, just past it, turn right onto Route de Rapanas towards Barbazan. Follow the road down for a few dozen metres.

(9) At the yellow^PR® sign for “Brucan 10 mins”, head down to the left towards the wash house via the path of the same name. Ignore a path leading down to the left just behind the wash house. Pass the wash house and continue along the Chemin du Lavoir, following the white and red^GR® 86 and yellow^PR® markings.

(10) Further on, the path takes a 90° turn to the right: look out for an electricity pole with^GR® and^PR® arrows indicating to turn left. Follow them and head down the narrow, shaded path leading towards Carrousset.

At the end of the path, follow the^GR® 86 markings and turn right. Staying on the right-hand pavement, return to the car park (S/E).

Caution / Warning

• Around km 3, there is a ford across the Lôo stream. Hikers will appreciate their ability to walk over the stones without slipping, or through the mud, or even through the water depending on the season.
• The route follows some FFC mountain bike trails. On these sections, please share the path courteously with cyclists whilst remaining alert to sounds (do not wear closed-back headphones) and keeping your dog on a lead where necessary.

At the point (1), there is the option to climb to the summit of the Côte de Notre-Dame, where you will find Sauveterre Castle, known as the ‘Comte Fibus’ fort or ‘Tour du Barry’, of which the tower and chapel remain.