Park in the car park in the village of Blanot, near Le Coing (formerly L’Étape),
(S/E) Leave the car park on the right, passing the book exchange, the wash house and the fountain.
Head towards the Grozellier cheese dairy on the right. Turn left immediately after its car park. Follow the tarmac path, which soon becomes stony, and join the GR®76A (red and white markings) at the ‘Péluzot’ junction.
(1) Continue to the right along the GR® towards the Col des 4 Vents.
Walk past a large shed and carry on straight ahead until you reach the D146 (signposted ‘Le Poirier du Prêtre’).
Without crossing the road, leave the GR® by turning left onto the esplanade.
Cross it diagonally to the left, heading towards the mast.
(2) Go to the left of the portable building and follow the path down to the D15.
Carefully cross the D15 to head down the path directly opposite (you’ll need to cross the road to see it).
At the track, turn left.
(3) Continue until you reach a path on the right leading to an abandoned building; turn right again to walk past it. Take the path that climbs until it ends, ignoring all the side paths branching off to the right and left.
(4) At the tarmac road, turn right until you reach the junction, then follow the sign for ‘Accès D15 5 t’ to the left. Ignore the path leading uphill to the right.
At the ‘Les Brosses’ signpost, take the narrow grassy path opposite.
At the crossroads, at elevation 461, head back up to the road, passing between a green transformer and
(5) the ‘Le Devant’ marker. Take the road on the right, towards Les Quatre Vents.
(6) After a steep climb, a short flat section and a gentle ascent, pass an electricity pole bearing a brown__/__ symbol and turn left onto a stony track. Pass the B1 observation post.
Follow this track, passing observation posts 18 and 17, to join the GR®76A at the Bois de Donzy marker. Turn left towards La Croix Montmain.
(7) Leave the GR® at the signpost in Charmoy and head left towards Azé.
Pass the tree marked with a Red Cross and a White Cross and a yellow line, then follow the path marked with a Red Cross, which will be signposted in yellow all the way to Vaux.
At the wash house, take the road leading uphill and walk through the village. Leave the yellow markings at Rue de la Liberté and continue straight on.
(8) View of the (private) château of Vaux-sur-Aine, built in the 16th century, featuring an open courtyard with a circular tower at one corner. The château itself is adorned with four towers of varying sizes. Continue to the next junction.
(9) At the Mont Pelé signpost, turn left onto the path marked in yellow, heading towards En Fourgeot.
About 850 metres further on, on the left, you’ll see a building with a wooden gallery and a rather unusual tower. This is La Bouzolle. Sacha Guitry is said to have stayed there on several occasions.
Join a small tarmac road at En Fourgeot. Follow it down to the left towards Moulin Fourgeot. When you reach a main road, turn left again.
Pass the picnic area, with its wayside cross and ‘Verger à croquer’, as you head down to the left.
Before reaching the junction with the D15, turn right at the Moulin Fourgeot signpost onto the Sentier du Buis and join the D15.
(10) Cross it carefully and follow the Chemin de l’Étang, opposite, towards La Goulouze.
There is an information board about the wetlands at the side of the path.
Carry on and you will soon pass the two ponds. At the ‘La Goulouze’ signpost, continue straight on until you reach the road. Follow it to the right for 150 m.
(11) Before the junction with another road, take the Chemin de Pratys on the left.
Follow it straight on until you reach a three-way fork in the road.
(12) Take the middle path, which forms a slight rise and is used by cyclists. You’ll see a __/__ signpost a little further on.
(13) Then take the path on the right, also marked by a __/__ signpost, to avoid having to climb over the fallen tree and rejoin the path a little further on.
Pass a tree on the right marked with the number 22, then shortly afterwards pass under three tree trunks in a bend to the right.
(14) Join a perpendicular path marked __/__ and follow it to the right.
(15) Ignore the start of the path and continue to the left, heading uphill.
Step over a fallen tree trunk and walk past a tree marked with a 12.
The path soon splits into several branches. Take the grassiest path on the left, marked by a cairn.
(16) Follow it to the crossroads, then take the path on the right uphill.
For your information, on the left, the second path leads to the old Crue farm, which provided shelter for the Blanot resistance group during the Second World War.
At the next junction, stay on this path, which slopes slightly to the right.
(17) At the ‘Bois des Brosses’ signpost, continue to the right towards Fougnières.
Join the GR®76A at a large crossroads. Follow it down to the left, then leave it almost immediately when it branches off to the left towards Mâcon. Continue straight on to Blanot Bourg.
Take the opportunity to admire the Merovingian tombs, the Priory and the Romanesque Church of St-Marin before returning to the starting point of this walk (S/E).