The Bernadettes Route

Monthou-sur-Bièvre, a village nestled amongst the vineyards of the Touraine appellation, boasts an abundance of gently rolling wooded areas that are a delight for nature lovers.

Details

2978309
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.21 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 40 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 42 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 106 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 72 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park in front of the cemetery at Monthou-sur-Bièvre

Signposting: yellow horizontal bar ‘Les Bernadettes’.

(S/E) Opposite the cemetery, turn left onto Rue de la Paix, then carefully head left again along the verge of the D764 road until, after 150 metres, you reach Rue Creuse, which you take to the left.

(1) At the crossroads, Rue Creuse continues as a path. Keep left at the fork to run alongside a vineyard. The path crosses two small roads then follows the edge of a wood on the right.

(2) At the crossroads, turn right. The path enters the forest and leads to a cross-path, which you take to the left. The Chemin des Bernadettes, overlooking the Beuvron, runs alongside part of the old electric tramway network (opened in 1910, operations ceased in 1933).

(3) Leave the path just before crossing the Ruisseau de Valaire by veering left, then keeping to the right at the fork. Continue straight on at the crossroads and return to the crossroads you passed on the way out.

(2) Turn right to walk along the edge of the forest, thus completing the circular section of the route. Reach the next crossroads.

(4) Continue along the edge of the wooded strip running alongside the Ruisseau de Valaire, which you are now overlooking, on the path marked ‘les Bernadettes’.

(5) Turn left onto a small road, then right along a fence onto the cross-country path running alongside the vineyards. Ignore the various turn-offs. The path is followed by a hard-surfaced track which joins Rue du Châtelet.

(6) At the crossroads, continue straight on towards “le Chêne Vert”. Stay on Rue du Châtelet, which bends to the right, then follow the “le Chêne Vert” signs again at the next junction. Once past “le Châtelet”, leave the road as it begins to bend to the right to cross the Ruisseau de Valaire, turning onto a path on the left. This path joins Route de Culy.

(7) At the junction with a cross-road, take this path to the left towards the water tower, then turn right at the next junction. Pass the "La Guilbardière" farm. The path becomes tarmac, bends to the left before running alongside a pond.

(8) Turn right immediately after the pond, as if entering the farmyard, and continue straight on along the grassy, communal path, ignoring the path on the left-hand side running alongside the barn, which is also communal. Turn right at the edge of the forest

(9) Keep to the right at the fork. The path is overgrown with vegetation at the edge of the forest.

(10) At the crossroads topped by a hunting lookout, take the sharp left turn onto the straight, east-facing lane. At the crossroads, continue towards “Les Massotières”, keeping slightly to the left.

(11) First turn left then right as you cross the D764, then turn left after 150 m to head north, in the same direction as the D764.

(12) At the crossroads, continue straight on towards the “Route des Vignobles en Val de Loire”, then turn left at the fork to cross the D764 again before reaching the cemetery and its car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 87 m - Car park in front of the cemetery at Monthou-sur-Bièvre
  2. 1 : km 0.68 - alt. 91 m - Rue Creuse, continuing from the path
  3. 2 : km 1.65 - alt. 90 m - Turn right into the forest – View of the > - Beuvron (rivière)
  4. 3 : km 2.5 - alt. 73 m - Turn left, then right at the fork
  5. 4 : km 3.73 - alt. 88 m - "Des Bernadettes" on the edge of the wooded area
  6. 5 : km 4.6 - alt. 81 m - Turn left onto a small road
  7. 6 : km 5.94 - alt. 92 m - Straight ahead: “Le Chêne Vert”
  8. 7 : km 7.38 - alt. 100 m - On the left, a grassy path towards the water tower
  9. 8 : km 8.8 - alt. 95 m - Turn right immediately after the pond towards the farmyard
  10. 9 : km 9.63 - alt. 102 m - Turn right at the fork
  11. 10 : km 10.2 - alt. 105 m - A sharp left onto a straight path
  12. 11 : km 11.79 - alt. 97 m - Turn left then right when crossing the D764. Near the - Bievre (rivière) - Loir-et-Cher
  13. 12 : km 13.16 - alt. 87 m - "Loire Valley Wine Route"
  14. S/E : km 14.21 - alt. 87 m - Car park in front of the cemetery at Monthou-sur-Bièvre

Notes

Good walking shoes are recommended as some forest paths can become overgrown between mowings.

Signposting is visible along much of the route.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
GOGO
GOGO

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with no particular difficulties. Much of the route takes you through woodland, which is sometimes quite dense, but nature is beautiful in all its forms.

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Rémy41
Rémy41

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Our group, "The Wednesday Walkers", had a lovely time on this varied route through woods and open countryside, with clear signposting,

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Dimb41
Dimb41

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A really lovely walk.

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Jean-Louis Pinault
Jean-Louis Pinault

Thank you, MagDalle, for these comments, which will be helpful to future hikers,
Have a good day,
Jean-Louis

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MagDalie
MagDalie

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Mostly through woodland, but very pleasant (apart from the insects, though that depends on the weather! ) and therefore a very ‘green’ route!
At times you feel a bit “trapped” between hedgerows and woodland, so it can be slightly monotonous if you fancy gazing at the horizon; you really need to set off knowing that this is essentially a woodland walk.
Thanks for this walk!

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Jean-Louis Pinault
Jean-Louis Pinault

Many thanks for your comments and your recommendation. I have amended the route accordingly.
Jean-Louis

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tortissier
tortissier

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, long route with excellent descriptions, well signposted and well-maintained (paths).
A very wooded and undulating route, with a few flat sections made very pleasant by the variety of landscapes encountered
If I had one small comment to make:
perhaps we could avoid, at the start, crossing the D764 twice to reach Rue Creuse, when we could stay on the left-hand verge of the road to reach it without crossing this busy road

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