Circular country loop around Souvigny

When you arrive in Souvigny via the D945, Route de Moulins, continue straight ahead until you pass a large park on your right. Shortly afterwards, you will find a car park on the left where you can park.

(S/E) Take the Route de Moulins eastwards, then turn right onto the first road, the D34 towards Besson. Follow it to a hamlet (Picoiseau). Just after the bridge over a stream (the Ris Malnoce), turn left onto a path between a house and a mechanic's workshop (marked^GR®® Red and White). Further on, notice a beautiful sculpture of pilgrims on the left side of the path (Chemin de Saint-Jacques oblige). Just after that, you will arrive at an intersection with a small road.

(1) Follow it to the right and, after about a hundred metres, turn right for a short detour to a pretty manor house. Return to the crossroads and continue along the small road to the right. Leave the houses of Chéry behind, negotiate a wide left-hand bend at a pond on the right, then arrive at an intersection at an iron cross on a stone base.

(2) Take the carriage road on the left. Note the ruins of a castle on the right, a tower, then a beautiful residence with a dovecote. Also note the beautiful oak trees lining the road. You will arrive at a small road.

(3) Follow it to the left, cross a railway line and arrive at the D945. Follow it to the left for about a hundred metres.

(4) Just after passing under the high-voltage line, turn onto the small road on the right (^GR®® markings). Pass a very long shed on the left, then walk alongside a beautiful farmhouse, almost a manor house, on the right.

(5) Immediately afterwards, at the corner of this property, turn right onto the dirt track. Take the left-hand bend, ignoring the track that goes straight ahead (dead end), pass under a high-voltage power line crossing and note the beautiful pollarded willow tree at the edge of the track, a rare sight in these wide open agricultural spaces.

(6) At the crossroads, at a hedge of trees, turn left, then left again at the next intersection. About 150 m after passing under a high-voltage power line, you will come to an intersection with a path and a road.

(7) Follow the small road on the right and continue to the D138.

(8) Follow it to the left. At the corner of the Souvigny cemetery, turn right, then right again onto the path that goes around the cemetery and then turns left. Continue straight ahead, ignoring a path on the left, negotiate a left-hand bend and you will arrive at the D253.

(9) Cross over to follow the small road opposite. The countryside becomes more beautiful, with hedgerows and herds of cattle. Continue along the path when the tarmac disappears. Join a small road and follow it to the right. Further on, note the beautiful Embourg farmhouse on the left.

(10) Just after this, turn left onto a path, join the D104 and follow it to the right. Note the Old Priory of Saint-Maurice on the right.

(11) At the junction near a small housing estate, turn left at an acute angle onto a small road. In a left-hand bend in the road, ignore the path straight ahead. Continue for about 900 metres until you reach a junction with two paths on either side of the road.

(12) Leave the road and take the path on the left (you can continue straight ahead on the road for a few hundred metres to get a small view of the Château d'Issards). There is a beautiful oak tree by the side of the path. Then take the second path on the left and, at a fork in the road, go right to join a small road immediately.

(13) Follow it to the left, then pass a path on the left. At the intersection with a path on the right and a small road on the left, turn onto the latter.

(14) At the Bouquetterie sign, turn onto the path on the right (^GR®® markings). Just after this, you will see a sculpture of a pilgrim by the side of the path. You will come to the D34 and follow it to the right.

(15) At the crossroads of four roads, with an iron cross on a stone base and a bench, keep left and enter Souvigny. Notice a beautiful hedge of pollarded willows in the field on the right, then a stately farmhouse. Continue straight ahead until you reach Place Saint-Éloy (cross, tourist sign, car park on the left), but do not go all the way to the end, as the street on the right towards the village is a no-entry road.

(16) Turn right onto Rue des Juifs, just before the inn with red shutters. Continue straight ahead until you reach the T-junction, opposite a square, and turn left. At the stop sign, turn left onto Rue de la République to reach the beautiful priory square. Continue to the fountain.

(17) Pass to the left of the fountain, then turn left onto Ruelle du Chapeau Rouge (it is best to dismount) to visit the Ateliers du Chapeau Rouge (free admission, but no bicycles allowed).

(18) Return to the priory. A must-see!

(17) Continue along the street that passes in front of the church entrance and runs alongside it on the right-hand side. At the corner of the beautiful house just behind the church, turn right onto Rue de Richevielle. When you reach the D945, turn right to return to the car park (S/E).

Mountain biking is the default option, but hybrid bikes are also very feasible as the route is exclusively on small roads and paths that are often passable by vehicle.
The car park is close enough to the town centre that you can take your bikes back to your car and walk to visit the priory (and the Jardin du Chapeau Rouge).
Visit to the priory and its gardens: practical information here.

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here

Some photos here

This countryside is best explored in the warmer months.
Beautiful, opulent farms, manor houses, stunning residences in the village of Souvigny and, of course, the Priory of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul (a Cluniac site). More information and a video can be found by following this link.
The priory was frequented by pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela, hence the presence of a few works of art along the way.