Montabon Route

Park in the car park of the Saint-Mard-de-Vaux Town Hall and School.

(S/E) Head down to the church below before leaving the village, taking Rue des Fougères, Chemin des Prés Vallots and Chemin de Pommier in turn to reach a Fork in the road at a cross.

(1) Keep right twice to reach the last houses in the hamlet. Continue along the path until you soon reach a crossroads in the woods.
Turn sharply 160° to the right to cross the D124 and take the forest path almost directly opposite, which climbs through the woods up a fairly steep slope for a few hundred metres. Ignore a path branching off to the right and continue the climb until you reach Montabon.

(2) After the summit, continue along the same path northwards and join a cross-country path at the bottom of the descent.

(3) At the junction, turn right for 100 m then left again heading north, entering the fir forest. Ignore the cross-country paths, then pass a small pond before veering left and reaching a signposted junction: Bois Bataille.

(4) Take a path on the left that gradually heads south-west, eventually reaching a junction near the Ferme de la Forêt.

(5) Turn left, pass the buildings and follow the small road which joins the D124 after two bends.
Take the D124 to the right, then leave it at the next junction to turn left onto the small road towards Châtel-Moron. Stay on this road, ignoring the turn-offs onto other side roads.
Further on, keep left at the Fork in the road, leaving the road that heads right towards Petit Lourdon, and you will soon reach a four-way junction at a place called Bois de Morteuil.

(6) Turn left onto a forest track which gradually heads south. Soon pass a path branching off to the left and, a little further on, reach a tarmac road near the old buildings at La Pierre au Blanc.

(7) Turn sharply left, almost going against the flow of traffic, and follow this track, which will soon veer right into the forest. A little further on, ignore a track on the right and continue south-east until you come to a track on the left.

(8) Turn left towards the north onto this track, which climbs for about 300m to the next junction. Ignore the lane going up to the left and continue straight on along the track, which will soon begin to descend.
Ignore all the overgrown paths branching off to the right and left until you reach, further on at the bottom of the descent, a T-junction near the Ruisseau du Frachet.

(9) Turn right onto a path that crosses the stream. Pass a path branching off to the right shortly afterwards and continue straight on to the end of the path. Turn right to return to the original crossroads at Croix de Pommier.

(1) Follow the route you took on the way there, but in the opposite direction, to reach the car park at the Town Hall and School in Saint-Mard-de-Vaux (S/E).

This route, which is longer than the original route, avoids the private access road in the Bois des Igaux.