Castles and ironworks

Park on Rue des Châteaux in Malans.

(S/E) Set off due west, pass in front of the castle and take the wide farm track, which is a very pleasant gravel path running through the fields. The route is easy and has very little elevation gain.
Keep turning right to follow a circular route that leads out onto the Malans–Pesmes road.

(1) Turn right; do not take the road. Carry on until you reach the crossroads on the D181.

(2) Turn left onto this road towards Pesmes for a few hundred metres, then turn right onto the slip road towards Vesoul. Just before you reach the D475, turn right onto the farm track that runs alongside it.

(3) Stay on this track, heading straight on, pass the two roundabouts and carry on until you reach the junction at Cote 206.

(4) Turn left onto the farm track and you’ll soon reach the D15.

(5) Turn left and head for the Forges site, going round Pesmes; to do this, take the farm tracks that run alongside the bypass to avoid the tarmac sections. The surface is well-compacted loose gravel, and there is good grip.

(6) Go round the Forges peninsula, following the fitness trail, then cross the footbridge. As you leave the Forges site, turn left and follow the castle’s boundary wall towards the downstream end of the river.
The path runs between the river (the Ognon) and the fields, and can be quite muddy in wet weather.
When you reach the leat crossroads, cross via a stone footbridge and turn left.

(7) Turn right to do a circular route through the Prés de la Motte, then return to this crossroads.

(7) Carry on straight ahead along the edge of the forest, join the D15 and turn right onto it. Cross the leat and return to the crossroads you took on the way there.

(5) Turn left to follow the route you took on the way there until you reach the junction with the Vesoul slip road.

(3) Turn left and continue to the four-way junction. Turn right and, a little further on, you’ll reach the D181. Turn left onto it and, as you enter Malans, take the road on the right to return to the car park (S/E).