Urcerey Circular Route

Park in the car park at Urcerey Town Hall, 2 Rue Fernand Anthony.

Red Disc markings.

(S/E) On leaving the car park, turn right onto Rue Fernand Anthony; 100m further on, turn right onto Rue de la Carrière to leave Urcerey. 100m after the ‘Village Exit’ sign, turn left onto a dirt track. Follow it to Argésians. On the way, you’ll pass by the Trou Gavaillot. Join Rue Charles de Gaulle, which is also the D83.

(1) Turn right onto it until you reach the junction with Rue du Fahy. At the traffic lights, turn left onto Rue du Fahy, cross Rue du Tramway and go under the railway line. Before the N1019 bridge, turn left onto the stony track. You’ll reach a large junction where a bridge spans the N1019 to the right.

(2) Take the forest track on the left and continue straight on until you reach the Haute-Saône canal.

(3) Turn left onto the path along the canal bank. Cross the D10a and then the D83 (pedestrian crossing protected by traffic lights). Continue along the same bank until you reach the footbridge.

(4) Turn left onto Rue des Champs De La Belle. Turn left onto Rue des Vignes. Cross the River La Douce and, immediately afterwards, turn right for a 20-metre detour to see “Le Trou la Dame”. Follow this street to the shopping centre, go round it on the left, cross the D47 and take the steps to reach Rue des Chênes. Walk up this street and, at the end, turn right and go down Rue des Champs Grenier.

(5) At the junction with Rue des Violettes and Rue du Fort, turn left and head up into the forest. Continue to the Fort de l'Ouvrage de la Côte.

(6) Turn left and take the path on the right, then immediately turn left. The path leads onto a forest track at a place called La Chaufour.

(7) Turn left. This road continues as Rue de la 5ème Division Blindée at the entrance to Buc.

(8) At the junction with the D17, turn right, then 100 metres further on, turn left into Rue du Paquis. Ignore the path on the right leading to the water tower. Continue straight on and follow the path to the entrance to Urcerey, Rue les Vignattes. At the junction with the D30, turn left and head for the car park (S/E).

The path is marked with Red Discs.
Visorando was provided with information by Mr Chevalley, a volunteer member of balisage90, based on the leaflets published by the Territoire de Belfort department.

An unfinished canal
Following the loss of Alsace and part of Lorraine in 1870, it became necessary to establish a link between the industrial region of Montbéliard and that of French Lorraine. A project for a canal from Montbéliard to the Haute-Saône was therefore launched. The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France in 1918 made the project for a direct link between the Doubs and the Saône less relevant, and it was soon abandoned. Only the Belfort section (12.5 km), linking the Rhône-Rhine Canal to the Port of Botans, was completed and filled with water in 1926. Today, the Canal’s Green Corridor allows walkers and cyclists to travel from the lock at Essert to Montbéliard.

The Côte Fortification
Situated between the Vosges and the Jura, the Belfort Gap is the only plain linking the Rhine and Danube valleys with that of the Rhône: it therefore had to be protected. Various fortified systems were thus built in succession, culminating in the famous Séré de Rivières fortified belt (1874). The Côte d’Essert fort, built in 1890, is part of a new generation of modern forts entirely dug out of the rock, where concrete was first used. The facilities, entirely underground, were designed to accommodate more than 250 men.

The Gavoillot chasm
In Argiésans there is a chasm filled with water from a stream originating downstream from Buc. It is a resurgence that has the peculiarity of never running dry, even in years of drought. According to legend, it is said to have swallowed a carriage, and then the unfortunate Gavoillot, who had bet that he would bathe in it.

Trou-la-Dame
In the valley, amidst a copse, you will discover a funnel where part of the Douce disappears, before reappearing 150 metres further down. This phenomenon, known as a resurgence, is directly linked to the limestone nature of the soil: the karstic landscape visible on the surface is even more impressive underground, giving rise to rivers and underground caves.