Route from Chapelle d'Ax to Boudou

Boudou, a small, welcoming village, has always been on the Way of St James. With your back to the river, you will walk through the hills, navigating both the ridges and the valley floors. In the heart of this fruit-growing region, orchards and vineyards form vast geometric patterns. You will also discover small irrigation lakes, dovecotes and, above all, the Romanesque chapel of Saint-Pierre d'Ax (12th and 15th centuries). (Excerpt from Les sentiers d'Émilie dans le 82 by JP Siréjol).

Details

21792768
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Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.35 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 191 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 200 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 176 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 90 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Boudou (82200)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 44.096665° / E 1.013284°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1940E, 1941E
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park behind the church.

(S/E) From the car park, head towards the war memorial, turn left onto Route du Quercy and walk past the cemetery. Continue until you reach the fork in the road, which you will come to very quickly.

(1) Turn left at the chestnut tree onto Chemin Marianne and go around the farm. After the orchard, go down a path that is quite steep and sometimes muddy when it rains towards the Ruisseau de Sérène.

(2) Go back up the opposite side to rejoin the tarmac road. Follow the road to the left for 150 metres until you reach the Chaloupy crossroads.

(3) Turn right. You will be rewarded with a beautiful view. Pass the Bonnet farm. At the end of the tarmac road, continue left on the dirt track.

(4) Before the oak grove, turn right down towards the Chapelle d'Ax (private road on the left). At the bottom, you will see the Romanesque chapel of Ax.

(5) Explore the chapel by walking around it (as it is only open on Sundays from Easter to All Saints' Day, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.).
Retrace your steps and continue to the right for a long way. Pass Lalbenque and continue.

(6) Before the road climbs again, take the grassy path on the left, at the edge of the grove. Continue straight ahead after a small pond and you will reach a fork in the road.

(7) Turn right between the meadows. After the orchard and the dovecote (on the left), rejoin the dovecote road and follow it to the left for about 160 metres.

(8) At the end of a park on the left (known as Château Brûlé), go down the grassy path on the right. At the bottom of the valley, continue left along a small stream (you are now on the Way of St James).

(9) After 150 metres, take the small bridge on the right and follow the path up to the village of Boudou to reach the church car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 174 m - Parking lot - Église Saint-Pierre (Boudou)
  2. 1 : km 0.7 - alt. 164 m - Fork in the road on Chemin de Marianne
  3. 2 : km 1.47 - alt. 107 m - Sérène stream
  4. 3 : km 2.17 - alt. 175 m - Chaloupy crossroads
  5. 4 : km 3.44 - alt. 141 m - Path to the Chapel of Ax
  6. 5 : km 3.68 - alt. 98 m - Road junction
  7. 6 : km 5.15 - alt. 90 m - Grassy path
  8. 7 : km 6.08 - alt. 114 m - Turn right at the fork.
  9. 8 : km 6.95 - alt. 156 m - End of the park at Château Brûlé
  10. 9 : km 7.61 - alt. 92 m - Small bridge
  11. S/E : km 8.35 - alt. 174 m - Parking lot - Église Saint-Pierre (Boudou)

Notes

Hike accessible without any particular difficulty.
There are public toilets near the church car park.
Walking shoes are recommended. Trainers are fine if it hasn't rained, as there are some steep descents!

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 7 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
User 7465953

Very nice hike, but the signposting is not very clear, for example at the start and after the Ax chapel.

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Kriss82
Kriss82

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

The description of the hike is very well explained, fortunately, because the PR signs are rather rare. Nice walk.

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Mag81
Mag81
• Edited:

Nice hike, but some sections could do with a bit more signposting.

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Vendinielle
Vendinielle

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant route through beautifully maintained orchards. The course is quite hilly, and the finish line is earned with a steep climb in the sun. There are some beautiful views, so be sure to walk the 100 metres past the war memorial to see where the Tarn and Garonne rivers meet.

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LE JANNOU LOUIS
LE JANNOU LOUIS

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very good, especially the ridge paths.

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RosaDel
RosaDel

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

This hike is described as easy, but beginners should be aware that there are a few descents and climbs (though perfectly manageable for the average hiker). There are few markers along the route, but this is not a problem thanks to the app (great map, but somewhat sparse descriptions).
There is a bit of tarmac, but always on very quiet roads and with pretty scenery and lush greenery in the middle of nature, which I really enjoyed.
The hike took 2 hours and 20 minutes (without breaks), taking time to admire the scenery and let the dogs play.
I did the hike with my dog... and with a dog that had escaped from a house (a cattle dog type) who walked the last 6 kilometres with us. This dog was clingy (since he followed us the whole way) but very, very friendly. I spoke to a gentleman who told me he knew this dog and that he was in the habit of following walkers and then returning home afterwards. Just a word of caution to those walking the Way of St James: don't take him too far from home.

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machachris
machachris

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello
The route is very well marked on the Visorando documents but less well marked on the ground.
It is marked as "easy", which could be misleading for some people, as there are quite significant elevation changes and
with a steep hill on the last kilometre!
It's a shame that the viewpoint over the confluence of the Tarn and Garonne rivers is not on the route. Don't hesitate to take a short detour at the start of the route!
As keen walkers, it took us 50 minutes less than the time indicated.

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gedejcd
gedejcd

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

As described, easy to follow, shame we couldn't enter the chapel by picking up the key in the village.

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Thierry de Montillou
Thierry de Montillou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Well-marked route, fairly technical and physically demanding (hills and descents), but still easy. Excellent for getting back into shape. In the end, we finished 30 minutes ahead of schedule, even though we took the time to see the Ax chapel from the outside.

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