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Car park at the entrance to Cléron, coming from Besançon, on the right after the bridge. Yellow-blue markings.
(Out and back) Cross the bridge for a view of the castle and the Tacot Bridge spanning the Loue, then head back towards the village. On the right, a beautiful old house with a slate roof. At the fountain, turn left into the Grande Rue, towards Castel Saint-Denis. Soon after, turn left (Espace Courbet) to reach the Tacot Bridge for a view to the left of the castle and its church and to the right of the rocks carved out by the river. Return to the Grande Rue and continue to the left. At the fork, continue uphill to the right along the Grande Rue, then along the Rue de l’Oratoire to the fountain. On the right, leaning against an old house, is the oratory where a beautiful Christ awaits his crucifixion.
(1) At the fountain, turn left into Rue de la Traverse, to rejoin the Grande Rue, which you will continue up to the right. At the next fork, continue left along Rue du Mont until you reach the village exit. At the last houses, by a no-entry sign, continue up to the right. Turn around for a view of the castle and the rocks overlooking the Loue, and to the left, the castle ruins.
(2) Immediately upon entering the forest, leave the road and take the path leading left into the woods. Further on, you’ll reach a small tarmac road, which you’ll continue to climb on the left. When the road levels out, it becomes a stony track and you’ll soon come to a junction with three paths. Take the middle one, which passes a large hunting lodge and soon becomes a lovely forest path, sparsely signposted but clearly marked, winding through a beautiful, cool forest alternating between fir and deciduous trees. At a signpost, you’ll join a wider path at a right angle; turn left here, following a beautiful stone pile of stone gathered from fields covered in moss.
(3) Shortly after the high-voltage power line, look out for the signpost marking a path that winds to the right through a gap in the pile of stone gathered from fields, leading you to the Rocher du Moine viewpoint (take care, there are no safety barriers), offering a magnificent view of the Norvaux valley. Return to point (3) and head off to the right towards Amancey.
(4) At the foot of a marker post, at a 90° bend in the path, look out for a new path leading off to the right towards a second viewpoint— unsecured, so take care—overlooking the Norvaux valley. Return to point (4) and head straight on. You’ll soon reach a crossroads; continue straight on. Follow the signposting, which is now clearly visible. You’ll reach a stony path which you’ll take to the right. You’ll soon arrive at a stony clearing; continue straight on towards Chassagne (a little further on).
(5) The path becomes tarmac and shortly afterwards, at a small chalet by the signpost, head up into the woods via the path on the left (towards Chassagne Saint-Denis). When the path reaches a plateau, at a metal forest sign no. 4 and a fork, take the path on the left downhill.
(6) Just before the signpost indicating a right turn, the path meets another path at a right angle. You can turn right immediately or take a detour to the left (staying carefully on this path, of course) to overlook the small gorge of the Valbois stream where the valley begins, then retrace your steps.
(6) Continue straight on. You finally emerge from the woods with a view of Chassagne and begin the sunnier part of the walk.
(7) At the first houses in the village, head up to the left towards the church (towards Château Saint-Denis). Walk past the church, the old weighbridge and the wayside cross. At the junction of Grande Rue and Rue du Castel, turn left (towards Château Saint-Denis). At the last house, the road becomes a gravel track and runs through sunny pastures for quite some time.
(8) You enter the woods and immediately leave the discovery trail path to your left, continuing along the stony track; however, 200 metres further on, look out for a no-parking sign next to the ‘Entre ciel et calcaire’ signpost. Shortly afterwards, carefully take the path on the left which leads you onto the unprotected ledges, offering superb views over the Ravin de Valbois Nature Reserve and Château Saint-Denis. Leave the viewpoint via the path that runs along the cliffs. You’ll rejoin the stony track and see signposting. Directly in front of you, on a tree, are signs. Head towards Château Saint-Denis on the left. The path soon forks; take the uphill path on the right, which is blocked by a wooden barrier.
(9) You will soon reach the ruins of Castel Saint-Denis, offering fresh views over the entire ravine, the Val de Cléron and Mont Poupet. Pass in front of the Porte aux Ânes and continue to the foot of the keep, which is currently under renovation and therefore off-limits. Descend via the steps on the right. At the bottom of the stairs, take a short detour to the left to see the view below the keep, without going any further than the recently concreted steps. Return to the bottom of the previous staircase.
(9) Continue straight on, along the walls. You’ll pass the Porte aux Ânes and head down along the walls, taking the VTT28 route and following the very clear signposting along a lovely path, skirting beautiful tall trees that create a magnificent play of light and shade on this hillside. You cross a stony path, continuing down the path opposite, towards CléronGR®®590.
(10) Emerging onto a small tarmac road above the beautiful Pater manor house, turn left. At the farm shed, head down to the left. During the descent, there are stunning views of the Rocher de Colonne, the cliffs and the surrounding hills.
(11) At the ruins of the old Grillet mill, currently being renovated and soon to be a superb house, head down immediately after the parapet of the small bridge, taking the path on the right, to cool off by the banks of the Loue as you carefully follow the small gorge carved out by the Valbois stream to join its larger counterpart. A little further on, before the bend, another path leads down to the river, where a lovely lawn invites you to take a little nap after this long walk. You re-enter Cléron via Rue du Pater, which will take you to the main road; follow this down to the right to reach the car park (S/E).
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Easy 
