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Start from the car park of the Tarpenet Gymnasium, located behind the fire station, at Les Granges de Plombières.
(S/E) Take the forest path between the school and the Clos des Écureuils retirement home and join the Bray village road. Take the tarmac road on the left and continue to the junction with the D20.
(1) Turn right, then after about a hundred metres turn left onto Rue des Faings. Enjoy your first view of Ruaux, its church and its water tower.
(2) At the junction with a small central island, continue straight on along Rue de la Poste (don’t look for the post office – it hasn’t been there for a very long time...). At the end of the street, you will find a sign pointing to the Chapel of Notre Dame de Consolation. It’s well worth a stop. An information board explains the topography of the area. Then take the dirt track towards the cemetery. The track crosses a meadow.
(3) Follow the path to the left, passing in front of the cemetery, then continue along the tarmac road, Chemin du Fraiteux. Head towards the church in Ruaux
(4) This church is unusual as it was built by the local residents themselves. It has a relatively low ceiling. You can splash some water on your face at the fountain.
Walk past the church on the right and reach a bend to the right as you leave the village.
On the left, you’ll see a magnificent chalot (a small wooden granary), maintained by Claude Cornu’s farm (selling local produce).
(5) After leaving Ruaux, take the small hill on the right, which starts as a tarmac road and then becomes a dirt track. The climb is quite steep and you may need to walk up it, but it is a relatively short distance. Pass the Quatre Vents farm and its bread oven and head towards the Deuille du Sirieux.
(6) The Deuille du Sirieux is a resurgence of a spring located 100 m upstream. It was used as a wash house in the past. The area has been developed to provide a well-shaded spot for a break (with a picnic table and benches).
Continue along the tarmac road and turn right at the second road, towards the hamlet of Herbeaufontaine.
(7) On leaving the hamlet of Sirieux, enjoy the magnificent view of the village of Ruaux. Note the many old houses (renovated old farmhouses).
Pass through Herbaufontaine and then La Guippe to reach a three-way junction with a fire hydrant. Turn left and climb to the top of the small hill.
(8) At the top of the hill, take a break to admire the magnificent view behind you of the Franche-Comté region and, depending on the light and visibility, the peaks of Mont Blanc. Continue on and, at the next three-way junction, turn right onto Route Sybille. Opposite the long farm building, continue to the left and then, at the four-way crossroads, go straight ahead. Walk for about a hundred metres and you will come to two dirt tracks running opposite each other (Chemin de l’Aviateur) with a striking tree (the aviator’s grave).
(9) On Chemin de l’Aviateur, on 7 April 1954, Lieutenant Jeandon crashed in his IMC aircraft whilst on official duty, near the track. His grave is on the edge of the woods.
Continue along the tarmac road. As you enter the woodland, take the first road on the right and head towards the hamlet of Le Petit Saint-Pierre and its cluster of old houses with their outbuildings.
(10) Continue straight ahead, go round a building and take a very accessible grassy path. Follow it until you reach the tarmac road again. Turn right and continue down a lovely little slope for 500 m. Pass in front of the ‘Town Hall’.
This is the former town hall of Les Granges-de-Plombières (which became part of Plombières in 1991).
At the War Memorial, take the road to Ruaux on the left, then take thefirst right and head towards the Hermitage campsite.
(11) Walk past the campsite and up Rue du Boulot, then take the cycle path on the right and cross the woods to the secondary school, reaching the Tarpenet Gymnasium car park (S/E).
