Circular route via Cambes, Saint-Caprais-de-Bordeaux and Baurech

Park in the car park at Cambes Church.

(S/E) Walk round the church and head left up Impasse de Bremontier, situated above the village. Then take the path that winds through the woods.

(1) As you emerge from the woods, turn left and walk alongside the vineyards, then turn right onto Rue de la Taste.

(2) At the three-way junction, turn right towards Girard, then continue straight on.

(3) At the end of the road, cross over and continue along the path opposite through the vineyards. Turn left at the trees, then head into the woods.

(4) At the road, turn left, then take the first right a little further up (Impasse Cabireau). Go straight on through the woods. At the end of the first section, stay on the path on the left. Directly opposite the Haut Peyrat wine estate, turn right onto the path through the woods.

(5) At the edge of the woods, turn left onto the road, then head up the Chemin de Couder on the right towards Saint-Caprais. Continue to the junction with the Route de Gourgues.

(6) Turn left, then right onto Chemin de Pontac. Come out onto Route du Stade.

(7) Turn right. At the three-way junction, keep to the right. Take care on this dangerous stretch of road with a bend and limited space: cross further up the road to have better visibility.

(8) Take the first left, then follow the path straight on through woods and vineyards. At the hamlets of Les Augustins and Passaduc, continue straight on until you reach the D121.

(9) Turn left, then immediately take the grassy path on the right. Pass through woods and vineyards again until you reach the junction with the D115.

(10) Turn right and carry straight on at the various junctions.

(11) At the hamlet of Montastruc, turn right into the cul-de-sac, then follow the path on the left which leads onto the D115. Continue to the right. At the sharp left-hand bend, cross the road carefully, then take the Côte Saint-James to walk alongside the cemetery and Saint-Saturnin Church.

(12) Continue along the main road, which climbs slightly to the right, and stay on it until you reach the hamlet of Saint-James.

(13) Turn left twice in succession to follow Route de Cambes, which further on becomes Chemin de la Roque.

(14) Turn left, then cross Bellevue Park on the left, passing between the small cemetery and the care home. At the dead end, head straight ahead, then go down Rue de la Palanque on the left to join the D10.

(15) Cross at the pedestrian crossing, set back to the right, turn left for about thirty metres, then turn right towards the Garonne. Cross the footbridge on the right, go straight on, following the riverbank, then rejoin the D10.

(16) Turn right to reach Cambes church and the car park (S/E).

In the centre of the village, Saint-Martin’s Church (listed in the supplementary inventory of Historic Monuments) bears witness to a very ancient settlement. Indeed, a Gallo-Roman villa, situated on the site of the village, is the origin of the settlement.

The lords of Cambes donated the church in 1165 to the Benedictines of the Abbey of Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux, to which it remained attached until the Revolution. The monks brought new activities to the parish through the construction of mills and a tile works (around 1240) and by developing viticulture, cooperage and river transport.

A fragment of a^3rd-century wall is visible at the start of Chemin Brémontier, near the chevet of the church. The church, which was remodelled in^{the 19th} century, was built in^{the 11th} century and features a^12th-century portal surmounted by a beautiful carved cornice with 15 modillions, the work of the Master of Sainte-Croix.

Inside, there is a burial niche with a^14th-century baptismal font and alabaster, a monumental^18th-century altarpiece in the chancel, a Louis XV-style stucco pulpit, three polychrome stone statues, stained-glass windows and numerous paintings.

Source: Cambes Town Hall website