Route des Deux Washhouses in Tillou and Sompt

Easy parking next to Tillou church.

(S) The starting point is in front of the church porch. Take Rue du Planier northwards and walk round a large farm with its open yard and sheds. The street then ends at the junction with Route de Saint-Génard. Turn right towards the fields, with your back to the village of Tillou.

(1) Turn right onto the farm track, which climbs gently. When the track reaches the top of the hill, it passes between two hedgerows.

(2) Immediately after the hedge ends, take the farm track on the right towards Sompt. At the end of the track, at the entrance to Sompt, turn left and, at the next junction, take the Route de la Pagerie opposite and walk past Sompt school (which will be on the left-hand side of the road).

(3) Shortly after the last houses, take the small path on the right, which lies below the road and slopes gently downwards. It goes round the Bout neighbourhood; ignore a path on the right and head back towards the houses in Sompt.

(4) Take the path down to the left towards the Gué de la Forge (a tarmac road that continues as a footpath). This route also leads to Sompt cemetery and comes out onto Rue des Lavoirs. First turn right then left to take the path along the low stone wall that runs between the wash houses.

(5) Just above the track, you can see the old waterworks. Continue along the track, which joins the riverbank a few hundred metres further on. Once at the riverbank, walk past a wooden communal building

(6) Turn left onto the path that climbs the hillside towards Pied Chétif. Once at the top, you’ll come to a road between houses. It curves to the left and leads to a junction. Head straight on, skirting the houses of Pied Chétif (on your left), and follow the road to the Magnoux crossroads. Turn right. After a few hundred metres, go straight across the road junction.

(7) At the next junction (with a triangular central island), take the farm track straight ahead and continue straight on at the next junction of farm tracks.

(8) Turn right onto the farm track. At the next junction, carry on straight ahead, leaving the farm track that branches off to the right.

When the farm track ends at the road leading from Tillou to Les Vaux, turn right towards Tillou. Shortly afterwards, you’ll pass the recycling centre, then the pumping station. The road descends gently through the valley; a few houses come into view and you’ll reach a crossroads near the Moulin du Royou: turn left towards Tillou.

(9) Just before the bridge over the Somptueuse, turn left onto the path leading to the Tillou wash houses, following the river. Cross the river via the bridge at the first wash house. Shortly afterwards, you’ll join the Route de Chantiau in Tillou. Turn right towards the village centre. At the next junction, follow the road on the left which goes uphill (Route de Fontenille).

Walk uphill to the Grand Rue de Tillou, turn right and, after a few hundred metres, you’ll reach Tillou Church and the car park (S/E).

A easy route for the whole family. Suitable for all seasons (unless the Somptueuse has burst its banks following heavy storms).

Plenty of parking available next to Tillou Church.

In hot weather, a shorter route involves following the Somptueuse along a shaded path that leads directly from (6) to (9)

There are picnic spots between (5) and (6), particularly by the river.

The Somptueuse rises in the commune of Sompt, which is pronounced ‘Son’. The spring that feeds it has its source in the Massif Central. It is one of the most important rivers in the Pays Mellois. After passing through the village of Bataille, situated in the commune of Gournay, it gushes from crevices in the rock to feed the two wash houses and begins its journey through the countryside. Trout come to spawn in its crystal-clear waters.

In the 19th century, women would gather around the wash houses, sometimes travelling from far afield to rinse their laundry there.

The wash houses have been restored by local residents. The garden surrounding the site was landscaped with the help of pupils from Sompt Primary School and volunteers from the local council.

Nearby, the Barbette mill produces walnut oil, and an old tank was once used for retting hemp.

Near the wash houses, the discovery of interesting hydraulic structures ((5)) alongside a landscape plan offers the potential for an attractive tourist development.

Sompt takes its name from the river: La Somptueuse.
Merovingian cemetery (near the fountain): sarcophagi and grave goods unearthed in 1929.
A restored 19th-century house, on the site of the former church.
Old mills.
19th-century church.

Tillou: Gallo-Roman settlement.
Former Carolingian vicariate.
Numerous ancient underground quarries.
A village spread out across the valley, facing the hamlet of Petintin.
Restored 18th-century house.
Former mill.
A 19th-century church.