Lencloître circular loop

Start from Lencloître Town Hall. Two parking options, on either side of the town hall:
1) As shown on the map, to the south of the building, in the car park just before the bridge (hiking sign, public toilets).
2) Place du Général Pierre, to the north of the building, around the war memorial.

Yellow markings (on one side only, in the direction of this description)

(S/E) Depending on where you have parked:
1) South car park: facing the hiking sign, turn right. Leave the car park and take Rue de l’Ancien Pont opposite, slightly to the right. Turn left onto this street and, at the next junction, go straight on into Rue de la Franchise.
2) North Car Park (no signposting): leave the town hall on your right, cross the main road, head straight ahead into Rue de la Franchise and walk past the post office. At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue de la Franchise and rejoin the main route.

Next, ignore a small alley on the left and, at the next junction, turn right into Rue de l’Église. Shortly afterwards, turn right into Place Doyen Petit and walk past the church.

(1) Continue along the left-hand side of a large building adjoining the church and pass under a porch. As you emerge from it, turn left and cross a small car park (garden on the left). At the far end of the car park, go through a stone-framed gate on the right, cross a stream, come out onto a path (with a sewage treatment plant opposite) and follow it to the right. Cross another stream via a wooden footbridge, join a track and follow it to the left along the stream.

(2) After about 400 m, at a solitary tree, turn right. Cross another stream and, shortly afterwards, turn left then right, staying on the main path. Ignore a path on the left and take a gravel lane alongside a house. At the end, at the sign marking the entrance to Lencloître, follow the D20 to the right for a few metres.

(3) Cross the D20 at the pedestrian crossing and follow the gravel path opposite. Soon turn right with the path and walk alongside fenced-off meadows and gardens. At the junction that appears after about 300 m (marker 73), turn sharply left. At the next junction (houses on the right), continue straight ahead. At the three-way junction that appears shortly afterwards, take the left-hand path. Go straight on between the fields, skirting a young poplar grove on your left, and you will come to a junction.

(4) Then turn right (no arrow or marker here). At the T-junction, turn left and follow a fence on your right. Join another path and follow it to the left, still alongside the fence. Cross a copse and, at the corner, turn right. The path soon gives way to tarmac. Take the^first small road on the right and pass in front of the gate to Château de Picol.

(5) At the “give way” sign, cross the D757 with care (limited visibility to the left). Continue along the path that climbs opposite. Just before the top of the hill (elevation 95), turn right onto a grassy path. At the three-way junction, turn left. Return to the tarmac and pass through the hamlet of Ligueil. Cross a small road and follow a grassy path towards a wood. Enter the wood and descend gently.

(6) Just before leaving the woodland, turn sharply left and head back up into the woodland. On leaving the woodland, the path becomes very overgrown (as of June 2022). Emerge onto a gravel path and follow it to the right. When the path turns right (elevation 97), turn sharply left. Pass under a power line and, shortly afterwards, take the^first path on the right. Continue straight ahead on this grassy path between the fields and note a vineyard plot on the left-hand side.

(7) At the T-junction, follow a track to the right. You will soon come out onto a small road; follow it to the right. After about fifty metres, just past an electricity pole, take the^first path on the left (signposted ‘En vignes et jardins’). The path then turns right and passes between vineyards. Ignore a grassy path on the right (not shown on the map) and turn left onto the main path.

(8) Immediately afterwards, and before the path descends steeply, turn left onto a grassy path and follow the large vineyard plot on your left. Ignore a path on the left (not shown on the map) and head downhill. At the T-junction, turn right and continue downhill (grass-covered path as of June 2022). Turn right onto this path, come out onto a small road and follow it to the right to enter Boussageau.

(9) At the junction, turn left and leave Boussageau via the C8 road (D128 on the map). Note a château on the left, partly obscured by the trees surrounding it. At the ‘give way’ sign, cross the D725 with care (busy road but excellent visibility on both sides). Continue along the path that leads into a wood. Immediately ignore a path (not shown) on the right, blocked by a tree trunk, and at the next fork, turn left. At the next junction, go straight on. At the following junction (elevation 81), turn right and follow a tree-lined hedge on your right.

(10) At the end of the hedge, take a gravel path on the left which immediately turns right along the edge of a field (do not take the faint, overgrown path running parallel to it which appears to go straight on). Then walk alongside a woodland on your right and ignore a path branching off to the left (not shown on the map). At the corner of the woodland, turn right and go straight on until you reach a small road. Follow this road to the left, cross a stream and ignore another road on the right.

(11) At the next junction, cross a road and continue straight ahead on a gravel track. You’ll come back onto tarmac further on (houses). At the end, cross a road running perpendicular to it and follow it to the right. At the crossroads, take a sharp left-hand bend and stay on the left-hand verge of the D725 (caution: the verge is very narrow in places). Cross the D725 in two stages at the pedestrian crossing (but do remain cautious) and follow it to the left until you reach a sign indicating a car park 150 m ahead.

(12) Then climb a wooden staircase on the right. At the top, follow a gravel path to the left, passing a house on your right. Walk down alongside a fence on the right-hand side and ignore all the paths branching off to the left. Cross a small road and continue straight on along Rue du Bois Liaud. At the end, take a sharp left.

(13) Immediately afterwards, at the corner of No. 12, take a path on the right that runs between vegetable gardens. At the T-junction, go left. Turn immediately right onto a footpath and follow a garden fence on your right. Turn left onto the path and, immediately afterwards, take the path on the right between two fences. Continue along a narrow lane until you reach a T-junction. Then turn left onto Rue Charles de Gaulle, which soon becomes Rue de la République. Cross a bridge over a river and you will immediately find the starting car park on your left (S/E).

Hiking boots are recommended. As the route offers little shade, ensure you have suitable sun protection in summer.

No water points identified along the route. Bars and shops in Lencloître, around Place du Général Pierre.

A detailed map is useful (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed by the author on 2 June 2022.

- Notre-Dame Church (1).
- A few beautiful farmhouses.
- A few panoramic views.