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Park in the church car park along the D73.
(S/E) Head towards the traffic lights (south-west) on Rue Carnot – on your left as you leave the car park – where you turn left. Walk up Rue du Château until you reach a complex junction (halfway along, you’ll pass a very pretty old market hall). Turn right (sign for ‘Les Tournelles’ and, below that, ‘Maison de retraite’).
At the first junction, go straight ahead. Then follow the signposting which directs you down to the right towards the D73.
(1) At the D73, turn left, then turn left again 40 metres further on (Chemin de Prévarel).
Please note! Although we’ll be passing the Croix du Moine Mort, you must ignore the successive signs directing you to turn left there. We’ll do that when we reach Pupetière Castle.
Walk along the hillside on a small tarmac road. When the tarmac ends, in front of a house, look straight ahead and take the grassy path (it merges somewhat with the field on the right). Continue along this path to the very pretty hamlet of Mallein (Malin on the IGN map; water point).
(2) Carry on straight ahead (sign for “Château de Pupetières”). You’ll suddenly emerge into a clearing with the remarkable Château de Pupetière below. Destroyed during the Revolution, it was rebuilt
(3) Take a short round trip to the château. Then retrace your steps and follow the track that climbs to the right towards the “Croix du Moine Mort” (sign – yellow markings).
(4) Climb up the track alongside the Combe Férouillat. Stay on this track for a good while, following the yellow markings. When you come to another, slightly wider track (at a 45° angle), turn right and then take a path on the left.
(5) This path leads to the Croix du Moine Mort. When you reach the cross, take the first path on the left (signposted “Virieu 7.4km”).
(6) Continue along this path for a good while, then emerge halfway out of the woods. You’ll see fields on your left. The path turns into a tarmac road.
(7) You’ll come to a junction and follow the Chemin de Longet to the right. A little further on, leave the yellow markings you’ve been following so far by going straight ahead, instead of following them to the right
(8). You’ll come to a cluster of houses; at the Fork in the road, head slightly to the left. Further on, you’ll see a sign in front of you stating “No vehicles over 3.5 tonnes”.
(9) Turn right, then very quickly left, and rejoin the yellow markings. Enter the hamlet of Layat. At the corner of a house, take a dirt track on the left and pass the fountain. At the end of the track, the imposing Château de Virieu lies directly opposite, slightly below.
Head towards the château. Shortly before you reach it, look out for signs on the right indicating the footpath leading to the village of Virieu.
(10) Walk as far as the château, then turn back to take the footpath.
(11) It is very steep. The clay soil is covered in fallen leaves, so please take care. You’ll arrive at the bottom of the valley. At the end of the path, you’ll come out onto a road; take the alleyway on the left (no entry).
(12) To walk through the village of Virieu, turn right at the first junction onto Ruelle de la Petite Charrière.
At the end of this lane, turn left into Rue du Champ de Mars and you’ll rejoin the D73; turn left onto it until you reach the church car park (S/E).
To avoid the steep section after the château de Virieu, we went down to the left alongside the château and joined the small road.
Visorando Member
Easy 
