Countryside around Saint-Sulpice-sur-Lèze

Walk in the hills of the historic village of Saint-Sulpice-sur-Lèze from its centre.
In good weather, there are beautiful views of the Lèze valley and, on a clear day, a view of the Pyrenees mountain range where you can see Mont Valier (Ariège) and the Pic du Midi de Bigorre (Hautes-Pyrénées, 150 km away).

Details

3252983
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Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.97 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 72 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 74 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 269 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 192 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park at Place de l'Hôtel de Ville.

(S/E) With the town hall on your left, take the road towards Auterive, following Avenue Marcel Vidal (formerly Route de la Méditerranée) and cross the Lèze bridge.

(1) Take the road on the left (Chemin des Rives) after thefirst house on the left.

(2) Turn left into the cul-de-sac to see the Moulin des Bures, which is still used today to grind the owner's grain. Retrace your steps.

(2) Take the road on the left and join the small cross road to Beaumont-sur-Lèze (D74). Turn left and continue for a few dozen metres.

(3) Turn right onto the road that climbs the hillside towards the Moulin de Pesquiès (signposted). Continue along this road, which turns into a path at the top. Halfway up the slope, the path on the right leads to Moulin de Pesquiès (windmill): don't hesitate to visit it; it is usually open thanks to the volunteers who run it and contains models showing how it works.

(4) Turn back and resume the circuit. Arrive at the vineyard.

(5) Continue along the path which descends slightly, then climbs again to another path on the left which you will leave (elevation 261). The path descends slightly again and arrives at a crossroads with several paths where there is a beautiful oak tree (elevation 262).

(6) Turn left onto the path that descends. After about 150 m, the path ends at a bush: go around it to the right or left along the edge of the fields for 100 m to reach a passage above the ditch on the left. Cross the ditch (passage) and immediately turn right onto the path that runs alongside it and descends to a road, which you follow in the same direction. Join the D74 at the Labat farm.

(7) Turn left and follow the road with caution as it can be dangerous for children: some motorists drive fast and visibility is reduced when crops are ripe (wheat, corn, etc.).

(3) Continue straight ahead, then turn right onto Chemin des Rives and follow it to Avenue Marcel Vidal (D622).

(1) Turn right to return to Place de l'Hôtel de Ville and the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 197 m - Town Hall Square
  2. 1 : km 0.4 - alt. 196 m - Avenue Marcel Vidal / Chemin des Rives crossroads
  3. 2 : km 0.75 - alt. 195 m - Moulin des Bures junction
  4. 3 : km 1.14 - alt. 196 m - Route du Moulin de Pesquiès
  5. 4 : km 1.91 - alt. 248 m - Pesquiès Mill
  6. 5 : km 2.31 - alt. 269 m - Vineyard
  7. 6 : km 3.12 - alt. 261 m - Multi-path junction (oak tree)
  8. 7 : km 4.44 - alt. 194 m - D74, Labat farm
  9. S/E : km 6.97 - alt. 197 m - Town Hall Square

Notes

Alternative route:

At (7), one option is to continue straight ahead to the Lèze and follow it along the farm track that runs alongside the Lèze river to a stream near Moulin des Bures. Continue left on the grassy path (4 m wide) that runs alongside the stream to rejoin the road (D24) between (3) and (4), then turn right to reach (3) and continue straight ahead in the opposite direction to the start point (S/E).

Worth a visit

The climb up to the vineyard, from (3) to (5), may seem tough, but it is the only difficult part of the hike.

In the morning and evening, you may spot deer and wild boar in the nearby woods.

Along the Lèze (alternative route) as summer approaches, the grass can be tall, so take care with young children as the riverbank on the right can be steep and difficult to see. Between points (7) and (3), it is always possible to reach the small Lèze road if necessary via paths on the left.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
maltes3109
maltes3109

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

the hike is as described

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halexandre
halexandre
• Edited:

Thanks to bardoumagniez for pointing out this section, which did not exist when the circuit was first created.
I redid the circuit and modified the route and its description to include this passage, which is much more interesting than going around the field and breaks up the rhythm of the circuit a little at the end.
Photos of the passage have also been added

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bardoumagniez
bardoumagniez

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 04, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Interesting stop at the PESQUIES Mill (open by the association this Sunday). Pleasant loop.
No signposting but reliable description.

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jean paul portal
jean paul portal

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 30, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike, with one small regret: the Pesquies mill is only open on Sundays and public holidays.
At number 7, you can avoid walking along the cultivated field by turning right along the banks of the River Lèze. A small bridge has been built to cross the ditch, but it can be slippery in wet weather.
Best regards, Jean Paul.

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halexandre
halexandre

Hello,

Thank you for your feedback. The farmer does indeed tend to plough right up to the edge of the ditch. I have added a comment in the practical information section about the path along the field after point 7.

I will contact the farmer to see if he would be willing to leave a little more space for hikers. When his field is cultivated, production is not very active for almost 1 metre.

Thank you for doing this hike

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Vejj
Vejj

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 26, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

On the heights, great view of the Pyrenees. One small downside at the end of the walk: you have to walk along a field that has just been ploughed, which isn't very easy to walk on. But it's a lovely walk for the family to get some fresh air!

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Meijouille
Meijouille

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 04, 2020
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Route taken this morning on the trail. The GPX track is perfect. The paths are very well maintained and passable despite the current heavy rain. Ideal circuit for a Sunday stroll. Peaceful atmosphere. At point number 7, there is currently no room to walk along the edge of the field, as it has been ploughed right up to the edge, which is not ideal in this gloomy weather.
A route I would most likely do again.

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halexandre
halexandre

Hello, Thank you for doing this hike.
Some people enjoy tall grass, others less so (see previous comments).
I invite you to try the "Around the Farms of Garrayré, Chioulet and Mounet" hike, which takes the same path to point 4, then allows you to discover other landscapes of the hillsides of this medieval village, passing by the mill on the way back.
I have other routes in the pipeline from this village and the surrounding municipalities, so feel free to follow my account to discover new local landscapes in other areas and leave me your opinion.

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Nofal
Nofal

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike: the paths have been cleared...
As a result, we couldn't reach point no. 3 because there was still tall grass at elevation 261!
But we found a parallel path and ended up completing the same route in the same amount of time
Not to be done in the middle of summer: there is no shade.
The walk itself is not particularly interesting, except for the opportunity to discover another area....

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NOUVENE
NOUVENE

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello. Good turnout this Sunday on the circuit. Visit to the mill then hike through the fields. Far too much tall grass from No. 4 onwards. It is very difficult to follow the path, forcing us to walk along the edge of the cornfield. What a shame...

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pit31
pit31
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I did this hike early in the morning. There was no one else there when I did it. But when I arrived, there were two hikers just starting out

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Shrando31410
Shrando31410

It's always difficult to keep the path clear. The tall grass adds to the feeling of hiking in the wilderness. For me, that's great.
A pleasant hike, the section near the Lèze river rounds off this circuit nicely.

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halexandre
halexandre

To Shrando
Indeed, at this time of year, in late spring, the tall grass makes some passages difficult. I need to see an elected representative from the new municipality to see if he can intervene with the farmers concerned. These passages are not part of the municipality of Saint Sulpice sur Lèze.
Thank you for your feedback

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Shrando31410
Shrando31410

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 29, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Some parts of the route between 3, 4, and part of 5 upstream are invisible and difficult to walk on due to the height of the grass.
The walk is still enjoyable.

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