From stones to mills through the hamlets starting from La Versanne

A fairly easy hike on the southern slope of the Pilat Regional Nature Park, with balcony passages offering beautiful views and pleasant woodland sections in summer. There is plenty of heritage to discover, with numerous ancient crosses, picturesque farms, mysterious stones and old mills.

Details

3373955
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.51 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 437 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 443 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 977 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 678 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at the picnic area below the village of La Versanne.

(S/E) Head east on the road towards Thélis-la-Combe and continue on this gently uphill road. You will come to a crossroads.

(1) Continue straight ahead, passing Sagneronde, Combeoursière, Côte du Chier and then Côte, until you reach theGR®42crossroads.

(2) Descend to the right onto theGR® 42 and continue straight ahead. At the hamlet of Thélis-le-Bas, turn left, cross the D 29 at the hamlet of Les Girauds and continue downhill on theGR® 42. You will reach the crossroads of the path leading to Les Bernes.

(3) Note: Here you can make a round trip to the Croix de la Pauze.
Then take the uphill path to reach the hamlet of Les Bernes. Turn left and continue until you reach the D 29 at the Croix de L'Aye crossroads.
Alternative route to the hamlet of Les Girauds: To avoid the descent followed by an ascent, you can also stay on the D 29 between Les Girauds and Les Bernes.

(4) Cross the D 1082 and continue opposite along the small road that descends to the hamlet of Dame Chalay. Climb up the opposite slope and take the path on the right into the undergrowth. Continue to the first houses of the hamlet of Fogère. Take the road on the right and turn left a little further on. Continue south on the uphill road until you reach a perpendicular road.

(5) Turn right. Just before the first houses of L'Adroit de la Roche, go up to the right along the fairly wide path. Join the road connecting Chazeau to Fogère.

(6) Turn right and then immediately left onto the path through the forest. Continue north-west on a gentle downhill slope to reach the Moulin du Pêcher. Go back up to the crossroads marked by a cross.

(7) Turn sharply right onto the mill path and continue along the left bank of the Ruisseau de l'Argental. When you emerge from the undergrowth, join a road in the hamlet of Brenade.

(8) Go up to the left, cross the D 1082, continue straight ahead and turn right to reach the picnic area car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 888 m - Car park and picnic area.
  2. 1 : km 0.49 - alt. 906 m - Crossroads
  3. 2 : km 1.99 - alt. 944 m - Junction with the GR 42 perpendicular
  4. 3 : km 3.81 - alt. 682 m - Junction with poor GR42 signposting.
  5. 4 : km 5.04 - alt. 781 m - Crossroads of the Croix de L'Aye
  6. 5 : km 7.31 - alt. 901 m - Crossroads
  7. 6 : km 7.99 - alt. 937 m - Two successive junctions
  8. 7 : km 9.94 - alt. 967 m - Junction with the mill trail.
  9. 8 : km 11.74 - alt. 845 m - Arrival on the road at the hamlet of Brenade.
  10. S/E : km 12.51 - alt. 888 m - Car park and picnic area.

Notes

The fairly steep descent along theGR® 42 may be slippery in wet or rainy weather.

Worth a visit

Several ancient crosses at the exit of the village of La Versanne.
Croix de la Pauze: a beautiful old cross, where the clergy of Bourg-Argental came to collect the deceased before the church of La Versanne was built.
Numerous megalithic stones between La Roche, L'Adroit de la Roche, and Cote 907.
Moulin du Pêcher, a very picturesque, well-restored building. Cross with niche and statue of Saint-François-Régis.
Higher up at the fork, cross decorated with a cockerel (information panel).

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 11 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.9 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
jrf
jrf

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk around La Versanne, discovering small hamlets and old mills along the Argental valley. Best done in dry weather (some sections are on old stone-paved paths which can be slippery).

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lynelapuce
lynelapuce

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb tour with lots to see and magnificent views.

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hiker38
hiker38

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We followed the route using GPS.
A pleasant route, mostly through forest with a beautiful bridle path at the end.
Thanks to the author.

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A.SEUX
A.SEUX

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I use Visorando a lot and I really appreciate it.

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irene  marie
irene marie

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello,
It would be useful to specify that from the cross, you have to cross the hamlet to see the mill and THEN GO BACK DOWN, crossing the hamlet again to return to the circular.

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pallandre chantal
pallandre chantal

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

It's a very pleasant hike, fairly easy, but lacking in detail in its description. Thank goodness for GPS! In particular, why not mention the sawmill that you have to walk past with the lorries cutting wood? After wondering whether to turn back and go straight to number 7, as some people did, we continued on the GPS's instructions. It's a shame, but thanks anyway to the author!

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jydasilva
jydasilva

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It's best to have some hiking experience as the explanations are rather vague, but otherwise the hike is really enjoyable. Worth doing again when it's not so hot.

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Patberpilat
Patberpilat

It is a path that connects points 5 and 6, which are located on paved roads. The important thing is that you made it to point 7, but I don't know how. If you ended up at Pommeaux Blancs, then you must have missed the marked path, which descends to the right, and you went straight ahead. You're not the first, it's happened to me too! This hike is an extended version of the "mill route". Normally, everything is marked from Le Pêcher onwards, unless the markings have disappeared, which is unfortunately possible. Some municipalities create marked routes without providing the means to maintain them.

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chatron jacqueline
chatron jacqueline

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We did this hike this morning, up to Fogère, which was fine; points 5 and 6 were nowhere to be found, but we ended up at point 7, Le Pecher, where we ran into another problem: we found ourselves on the main road, Les Pommeaux Blancs and the cemetery!!!!!!
We made it back safely though.
Thank you.

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Michel Blanchard 38
Michel Blanchard 38

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Thank you for this beautiful and fairly easy route. There are five of us at the start: Christine, Monique, Lilette, Didier and me. The temperature is relatively high at 26°C at 895m. The route covers a distance of 12.5km and has an elevation gain of 445m according to my altimeter, which is accurate to within a metre. See you soon on our beautiful trails. Michel B

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gilbert.agnes@orange.fr
gilbert.agnes@orange.fr

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

pleasant hike without any particular difficulties

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Nemo4284
Nemo4284

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 28, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Do this with either a map or, like us, a GPS, otherwise you will get lost. No particular difficulty.

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