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When you arrive in Cruzy:
- from Narbonne, turn left just after the bridge and follow the sign for "Lotissement du Pain de Sucre",
- from Béziers, just before the bridge, park on Boulevard du 4 Septembre, which follows the old "circulade" (ring road) of this medieval village.
(S/E) From the car park, take Rue de Sainte-Foi and follow it through the housing estate of the same name. At the end of the estate, you will see vegetable gardens on your left and vineyards on your right along the road. You are now in the Saint-Chinian appellation area.
Continue along this small road and you will see a first rocky barrier pierced by the La Nazoure river. This is the Défilé Sainte-Foi. You will come out onto a small plain, opening up after the gorge, and at a crossroads.
(1) Leave the road on your right for the return journey and continue straight ahead. You will then see the ruins of the Sainte-Foi Chapel (possibly of Visigothic origin, but little remains of this building as the nave was destroyed).
(2) As you approach the remains of this thousand-year-old building, you will find a path on your right that will lead you to these ruins next to an olive grove.
To return to the route, continue along the path that passes near the remains of a dwelling, where you can admire the remains of a covered well.
Take the road on the right until you reach a ford, where the Défilé de Marie Close begins on a partially concrete road. Continue until you reach a crossroads.
(3) Then take the track on your right that climbs between the vineyards (if you turn left, you will join the other route called Montplo, which is suggested on this website). The climb is steady until you reach a flat area covered with vineyards on your right, which is the Estagnol. You will then return to the tarmac by continuing straight ahead, and you will find a road (still tarmac) that climbs immediately to your right.
(4) Climb a few metres to the right and you will find a track suitable for vehicles in front of you. Do not take the track that branches off to the left, but continue straight ahead on the track that runs through the heath. At the first bend to the right, turn around to see a superb dry stone "cazot" occupying an old pastoral enclosure where olive trees have just been planted. Continue on this track until you reach a junction.
Take the track on your left (look out for the no entry sign, see photo) which will take you back down to the Sainte-Foi cirque. Be careful, as the rock is sandstone and some areas are slippery.
(5) At the next intersection, continue downhill following the track on the left, then take a hairpin bend, followed by another bend leading to a stony section, which will bring you to a flat area where you will find a pond populated with gorse on your right.
(6) Just after this pond, turn left at the intersection and follow the track through the pine forest. At the next crossroads, turn right next to an old vineyard and you will come to a crossroads where you will find a small tarmac road on your right. Follow it through a ford and you will reach the entrance to the Sainte Foi gorge.
(1) All you have to do now is turn left onto the road you took at the start of the walk to return to Cruzy (S/E).
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