Castles, wooden bridge and viaduct at Pont-Chrétien

A lovely walk along the Bouzanne with views of Château de Chabenet, crossing the Pont de Bois, returning through the countryside alongside the Bois de Chabenet.
Yellow markings.

Details

5095346
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.87 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

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

  • ▲
    Highest point: 176 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 99 m

Photos

Description of the walk

The route starts from the square along Rue Nationale (D927) at the foot of Château du Broutet (Le Pont-Chrétien town hall).

(S/E) Take the D927 on the left and cross the Bouzanne. Take the first road on the right which runs alongside the river towards the church.

(1) Continue straight on between the church and the old mill. You are on a quiet tourist road between the river and the hillside. Viewpoint over Château de Chabenet, mills, and the railway viaduct which you pass under.

(2) At the first junction after this, turn right onto the road, cross the Bouzanne and take the first path on the left, which turns left and joins the river; cross the river via the covered bridge (Pont de Bois).

(3) Go straight on along the path that climbs. At the road, keep right. Climb towards Les Roches. Continue straight on along this road and pass the two farms (Les Roches and Les Grandes Roches).

(4) At the end of the road, take the unpaved track on the left. Pass the two tracks that lead back down into the woods.

(5) At the junction, continue straight ahead and pass the first track on the right. The track crosses the farm buildings at Les Prins before rejoining the D1 road. The track may be muddy between Les Prins and the road.

(6) Turn left onto the road leading down towards Le Pont Chrétien.

(7) Turn left onto Rue Nationale, cross the river to return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 104 m - Place de Verdun. Cross the - Bouzanne (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.22 - alt. 103 m - Église Saint-Étienne (Pont-Chrétien-Chabenet)
  3. 2 : km 3.25 - alt. 113 m - Viaduc des Petites Roches
  4. 3 : km 4.23 - alt. 109 m - Pont de Bois
  5. 4 : km 5.4 - alt. 174 m - White path
  6. 5 : km 6.41 - alt. 159 m - Chasseneuil junction
  7. 6 : km 7.85 - alt. 149 m - D1 road
  8. 7 : km 8.64 - alt. 104 m - Rue Nationale
  9. S/E : km 8.87 - alt. 104 m - Place de Verdun

Notes

Grocery shop and bread outlet on the square.

Worth a visit

Views of Château du Broutet, Château de Chabenet, mills and the railway viaduct.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

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

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 27, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route without any major difficulties. However, the path at the end of the route remains slippery, even very slippery, in heavy rain.

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sweetsmoke
sweetsmoke
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A good route with two nice climbs. Pleasant with beautiful scenery and impressive engineering structures. Be careful, it can be tricky if the ground is wet, especially for runners.

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Willy36
Willy36

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little route to get some fresh air and help with digestion. Half the route is along a quiet road, the other half along a path. The mystery is this: on the way there, you go under the railway line – a pretty viaduct – but it’s gone on the way back. You really had to study the map to figure it out

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Johnjohn36
Johnjohn36
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 16, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We had a lovely time on this well-signposted route. It’s true that about half of it is on roads, but over the whole route we must have seen only two cars! The route is very pretty and easy to follow (even in winter), with just one fairly steep climb after the covered bridge. Incidentally, the second part, which focuses more on the surrounding countryside, is perhaps less interesting from a tourist perspective. Thanks to the route planners.

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caroline36
caroline36

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk. It’s a shame there’s so much tarmac, but there’s little or no traffic. A magnificent castle, a pretty wooden bridge

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