Circular loop of the Château de Mauriac

Park in the car park at Douzillac Town Hall.

(S/E) From the signpost in front of the town hall, go down the steps, then take Rue du Chapdal opposite, running alongside the car park towards the valley. At the junction, keep left.

(1) You can visit the Fontaine du Cerveau on the left in the one-way Rue de l’Alambic (150 m away). Otherwise, continue along the road and join the D3 at the ‘Give Way’ sign. Cross carefully towards the stadium and follow Rue Grimoard. Continue straight on along the grassy path until you reach the railway line.

(2) Turn left onto the path and continue along the railway line.

(3) At the end of the path, head straight on along Rue des Bernardoux, leaving the level crossing on your right. Walk through the pretty little hamlet of Les Bernardoux, with its Genoese-style roofs. At the junction, turn right and follow the tarmac road.

(4) Turn right onto Rue des Chauvaux, which takes its name from the castle of the same name.

(5) At the end of the street, turn right, follow this road, cross the small bridge and cross the stream. There is a lovely landscaped pond (private) on the left by the stream. Continue straight on along Rue Rémy et Maurice Dumoncel.
You will arrive at Mauriac Castle (private). Walk straight up the street, leaving Rue de Mauriac on your left. At the end of the street, at the Stop sign, turn left onto the D3 and walk 150 m, keeping well to the side of the road (take care).

(6) Cross over and turn right onto the DFCI path, a shaded, limestone path that climbs. At the edge of the forest, there is a viewpoint over the valley. Continue straight ahead on the path, leaving the path on your left. Continue through the pine and oak trees. Leave the next path on your right. Continue straight on along the DFCI, which continues to climb and requires a bit of stamina.
At the junction, continue straight ahead, leaving the DFCI on your right. Further on, ignore the two dirt tracks, first on the left then on the right.

(7) At the crossroads, take the DFCI to the left, a path lined with pine trees. Along the path, there is a hunting post on the right. At the junction, turn left past the green hunters’ hut.

(8) End of the DFCI: rejoin the tarmac road on the left, Route des Rieux, and follow it straight on. A little further on, there is a beautiful oak tree several hundred years old on the right. Continue straight on until you pass the Manoir des Rieux (private) on the right,

(9) Then turn onto the path on the right after the hedge bordering the property. At the end of the path, follow the tarmac road straight on to head back down into the village. Follow Rue du Seyrat. Take a look at the buildings just before reaching the bottom of the street: ridge cocks on the roofs of the stone buildings. Turn left and you’ll find yourself behind the town hall. Turn right to go round it, walk down the street and you’ll reach the car park (S/E).

Corporal Louis Philippe Maine
In the cemetery, a stele erected by the Foreign Legion commemorates the heroic deeds of a local man, Louis Philippe Maine, who took part in the siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) and was one of the few survivors of the terrible Battle of Camerone during the Mexican War (1862–1867). He died in Douzillac in 1893.

The fortified house in the village
Dating from the 14th–15th centuries, it is now home to two municipal lodges. It features gun ports and arrow slits. The stone-built windows with mullions were originally closed using bolt holes and latches (a medieval locking system). Three old fireplaces, one of which has a faded coat of arms; the floor is paved with Beauronne tiles. The house is flanked by a corner turret.

Mauriac Castle
Built in the 15th and 16th centuries on the site of an 11th-century medieval stronghold—which itself replaced an ancient Gallo-Roman dwelling—this building was originally flanked by a square tower, a curtain wall with eight round towers, a keep and a chapel. This castle belonged to the Viscounts of Grimoard.
Several branches stemmed from this family, including the squires of Grignols and their descendants, the Taillefers and later the Talleyrand-Périgords, who owned the castle until the Revolution, when it was sold as national property.
The castle has seen many illustrious figures pass through its doors: Montaigne spent a night there on his return journey from Italy on 29 November 1581. The Chevalier de Lagrange-Chancel, a poet and tragedian born at the Château d’Antoniac in Razac-sur-l’Isle, described Mauriac in his ‘Carnet de voyages’ in 1730. More recently, famous authors including François Mauriac visited this château.
During the Second World War, the castle’s owner, Mr Rémy Dumoncel, took in numerous refugees from Alsace and Lorraine in the houses he owned. He also welcomed the family of Jacques Royal, Ségolène’s father, to the castle.

The Manoir des Rieux
This is a late 18th-century country house whose name may derive from its proximity to a stream. Its main building is flanked by two square pavilions, the roofs of which are adorned with three pretty dormer windows. The property is privately owned.

The church of Douzillac and its presbytery, with its Mansard roof, have recently been renovated. The first church dates from the 12th century and consists of a nave, a chancel with a pointed arch, and a semi-circular apse. The nave is reinforced by buttresses. The current bell tower has a Romanesque base, a tower partly from the 15th century and partly from the 17th century, and a modern spire. The portal opening to the west of the north nave was completely rebuilt, along with the entire roof structure, in 1898.