Caignac to Marquein circular loop

A circular route through the Lauragais hillside allowing you to discover the pretty villages of Caignac and Marquein, mainly on tarmac roads, best done when the sun isn’t too strong or after a spell of rain.

Details

17980189
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.13 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 188 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 181 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 323 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 208 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Caignac (31560)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 43.321143° / E 1.711662°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2145E
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park below the church, on Rue des Meuniers.

(S/E) Walk up the street and, at the town hall, continue left onto the Grand Rue.

(1) Continue straight on along the Grand Rue, passing under the castle and leaving the village by the side of the cemetery. Continue along the road (D43g) for over a kilometre.

(2) At the right-hand bend, leave the road and turn left onto the stony path that climbs, following it for about 700 m to the crossroads.

(3) Take the D7 by turning sharply right, heading downhill: view of Marqueim Castle (16th century) on the left. Pass through the village of the same name, heading down Rue Saint-Michel and passing through a lovely square in the heart of the village. Continue on the D7, which joins the D15. Follow it to the left with care for about a hundred metres, then rejoin the D7 to the right, heading towards Mazères. Cross the bridge over the Ruisseau du Château and continue for another hundred metres.

(4) Turn right again, towards Gibel on the D16d. Cross the other branch of the stream and continue uphill (Route de Marquein). Stay on this road, ignoring the access roads to properties on either side. Reach the highest point, shortly after the houses of Plaisance.

(5) Turn sharply right onto the path leading down towards Jean Rey. Pass the small airfield on your right and arrive at the wind turbines.

(6) Just before the houses at Pérail, leave the tarmac road and continue straight ahead along the wide grassy path that descends towards the Ruisseau du Gardijol and crosses it to join the D91b.

(7) Join it on the left and follow the stream on your left until you reach another bridge.

(8) Leave the stream on your left and turn right onto the road that climbs for 100 m towards the village of Caignac (Chemin Perruque). At the bend, take the grassy path on the right: signposted Caignac 0.5 km. This leads out onto Grand Rue.

(1) Turn left, then left again onto Rue de l'École. Walk around the town hall and rejoin Rue des Meuniers and the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 256 m - Car park on Rue des Meuniers
  2. 1 : km 0.23 - alt. 261 m - Junction of the circular loop
  3. 2 : km 1.82 - alt. 281 m - Gravel path on the right
  4. 3 : km 2.6 - alt. 288 m - D7 junction
  5. 4 : km 4.12 - alt. 217 m - Junction D7 - D16d
  6. 5 : km 6.94 - alt. 317 m - High point, on the right
  7. 6 : km 7.93 - alt. 282 m - Wind turbines
  8. 7 : km 9.09 - alt. 216 m - D15 - D91b
  9. 8 : km 10.24 - alt. 208 m - Chemin Perruque
  10. S/E : km 11.13 - alt. 257 m - Car park on Rue des Meuniers

Notes

Water point in Marquein.
Very little shade along the route.

Worth a visit

View of Marquein Castle.
The village of Marquein.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
3.2 / 5
piebar09
piebar09

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A very large part of this route is on tarmac roads with fairly heavy traffic!

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Marc Despierres
Marc Despierres

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A rather pleasant walk, completed at a brisk pace in 2 hours and 15 minutes on a lovely sunny and windy December afternoon. There was a bit too much road and not enough footpath, but we’d chosen this walk knowing full well that we’d be avoiding the muddy paths after the rain. The village of Marquein has a lot of charm

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Saturnino
Saturnino

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route at this time of year, with beautiful views of the Pyrenees and the Montagne Noire. Although much of the route is on roads, we saw very few cars.
When we passed through Marquein, there was no water at the indicated spot.

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Chapel.1956
Chapel.1956

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Lots of tarmac. Despite that, the sky is clear.

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Bernard CONDAMINES
Bernard CONDAMINES

Overall rating : 3.5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A pleasant ride with plenty of tarmac, on quiet country lanes. This can be an advantage in wet weather. The villages of Caignac and Marquein are well worth a visit. Beautiful views of the Pyrenees.

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