Route de Saint-Georges (Bellevue)

This route will take you through the Saint-Georges woodland, past a forest picnic shelter, then the ruins of Bellevue, before reaching the village where you can visit the Embroidery Museum, the ‘Vieux Fontenoy’ and the listed church. It then heads back up to the campsite, running alongside the castle ruins.

Details

26581
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.56 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 101 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 102 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 341 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 254 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Start at the municipal campsite in Fontenoy-le-Château.
You can park your car on the grass between the path and the football pitch.
This route is signposted; follow the Blue Crosses and arrows

(S/E) Retrace your steps, continuing along the D40 road towards Fontenoy (watch out for traffic).

(1) After the motocross track which you will see on your left, take the tarmac road on the left, towards La Corée.
Continue along this road until the first sharp bend to the right.
Continue along the path, veering slightly to the left.
Continue along this path until you reach the forest.

(2) Continue along the path through the forest, following the markings (Blue Crosses) on the trees.

(3) Turn right onto the track and continue along it to the Saint-Georges chalet, where you can take a rest.

(4) At the chalet, take the path into the forest on your right.
Continue along this path to the right past the chalet to the ruins of Bellevue. The path overlooks the Volle quarries, where blasting has punctuated village life for nearly a century. Near the ruins, note the magnificent rock-cut basin and well. Continue along this path down towards the village.

(5) Continue to the D20 road, which you will follow to the right until you reach the village centre.
At the end of this road, turn right onto the village’s main cobbled street.

(6) In the village centre, turn left onto Ruelle des Moulins, which passes in front of the Tour des Lombards before reaching the village square.

(7) Take the street opposite, running between the Museum (open in the afternoons) and the Town Hall, to the entrance of the listed Saint-Mansuy Church (the church is open; visits are possible).
Retrace your steps slightly and take the alley on your right to the castle ruins. Take the opportunity to visit these historic sites.

(8) Continue the walk by following the Chemin de la Loge. Follow the tarmac road, then turn right onto the D40 county road.

(1) Continue to the campsite, the starting point of the walk (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 328 m - Municipal campsite
  2. 1 : km 0.84 - alt. 306 m - Crossroads of the circular loop
  3. 2 : km 1.82 - alt. 329 m - Forest path
  4. 3 : km 2.49 - alt. 341 m - Vehicle-accessible track
  5. 4 : km 3.03 - alt. 314 m - Chalet Saint-Georges
  6. 5 : km 4.67 - alt. 255 m - Junction with the D20 - Côney (rivière)
  7. 6 : km 4.91 - alt. 257 m - Between the Museum and the Town Hall
  8. 7 : km 5.1 - alt. 258 m - Chemin de la Loge
  9. 8 : km 5.47 - alt. 288 m - Chemin de la Loge
  10. S/E : km 7.56 - alt. 327 m - Municipal campsite

Notes

Take a water bottle with you in very fine weather, good walking shoes (some difficult sections due to occasional mud and a stream crossing), a pair of binoculars and a camera.
Please keep dogs on a lead (game, etc.).
Part of the route shares the path with a mountain bike trail.

Worth a visit

In the village centre:
Listed church, Museum of Embroidery, Heritage and Metallurgy, castle ruins, Tour des Lombards, marina, Charles Le Téméraire greenway, etc...
Accommodation available (Le Moulin Cotant hotel and restaurant; Fontenoy-le-Château campsite).
Eating: Moulin Cotant, La Scie Goguette farmhouse inn, Arpero, campsite.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.8 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
drouin.monique
drouin.monique

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

Hello,
we had a bit of a struggle at the entrance to the woods; we hadn’t spotted the Blue Crosses at first – there were only two to begin with – so we turned back to retrace our steps, but on closer inspection, the paths were waterlogged but pleasant; we saw three roe deer and plenty of animal tracks,
Best regards,
Monique

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Pierre GUILMIN
Pierre GUILMIN

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 21, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

A walk spoiled by the large number of tree trunks lying across the path (are they there because of recent forestry work, or are they trees felled by a storm?)
A path that is difficult to find in these circumstances, particularly at points 2 and 3 of the route, and even further on. It is possible that the Blue Crosses have disappeared following the removal of the trees on which they had been painted. Re-marking the route would be a good idea.
Please note that the embroidery museum in Fontenoy-le-Château is only open from April to October. As for the church, which is advertised as open to visitors, it was closed!

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Joelle57
Joelle57

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely, wooded walk with a bit of an uphill climb, and a visit to Fontenoy

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Rogestro
Rogestro

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 18, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello, as a novice hiker, I was a bit unsure about which route to take in the first section through the forest following your logging work. Everything else was fine.
Kind regards

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BADIA
BADIA

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very interesting walk; the village of Fontenoy-le-Château has some lovely surprises in store.
You can start the walk before the campsite by driving towards LA COREE. A small pond on the right and a picnic table await you.
However, the signposting is sometimes non-existent, so it’s important to follow your route carefully on the map and know exactly where you are: before the St Georges chalet, at the crossroads where there are lots of logs, take the path that heads down to the right towards the chalet; then, after the chalet, a three-way junction makes it hard to know which way to go (take the right-hand fork). After that, we had trouble finding the path to go round the field, so we used a path full of brambles before finding the ruins.
Apart from all these hiccups, the walk is very interesting. At a brisk pace, it takes 2½ hours.
Well worth doing, taking the time to wander around the village.

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