Abandoned dwellings from Cestres to Ru Blanc, passing by wash houses.

Head to Val Suzon Haut and, from the D 971, turn left onto the D 7. Follow it for about four kilometres to a car park (the only one on either side of the road) with a picnic area.

(S/E) From the car park, join the D 7. After a bridge, turn left onto the^GR®®2. Climb steeply through woodland to a crossroads of tracks leading onto a wide stony path. Take this old railway line on the right, which overlooks the D 7; keep to the right. There are ravines and masonry structures on either side. Much further on, just before a bridge, turn left. Leave the^GR®®2.

(1) Descend a few metres before turning left onto an ascending path. The slope eventually levels out. Ignore the more or less visible side paths and keep heading in the same direction. At the Combe d’Été, pass beneath the fir trees on the right.

(2) Turn onto the first path on the left that follows (route 1x – Saint Martin du Mont). The climb through the woodland is quite steep for over 100 m. You’ll reach a five-way junction.

(3) Take the second path on the left, turning at a right angle. Continue straight ahead until you come to a cross-path (line 14). Turn right and pass two hunting lookouts. At the third, a green metal structure, turn right onto an unmarked path leading to the archaeological site of Les Bordes in the Cestres woods.

(4) Take a look at the replica of the charcoal burner’s hut and read the information boards nearby, before exploring the ruins of these abandoned dwellings. Continue along the extension of the approach path until you reach the junction with a cross-path (Conseil Général sign). Keep to the right. Further on, at the boundary between a former logging area and the woodland, head far to the left and straight through the woods, following no marked path. You will reach Puits Gaillard, situated at the edge of the woodland (a large excavation), visible from a distance with the barriers surrounding it and a stone trough in front.

(5) Set off again along the path to the right of the well towards a dirt track (signposted ‘Puits Gaillard’). Then turn right and, at the next crossroads, veer left. Leave the woodland and continue across the fields. You will come to a dead end at a cross-country path, next to a hedge.

(6) Turn left to follow the field path, which then veers right before running alongside a small wood on the left. You will reach a four-way crossroads.

(7) Turn right and continue along the gravel track to the next crossroads, near quarries and rubble dumps. Turn left and walk straight up a long slope before reaching Cestres via Rue des Herbues. You’ll arrive at the village wash house, dating from 1834.

(8) Turn left and follow the^GR®®2(Rue du Moulin à Vent), which climbs and passes beneath a mobile phone mast. It descends before joining a white dirt track running across. Keep right twice, leaving the^GR®®2, to enter Froideville via Rue de la Fontaine (hamlet of Saint-Martin du Mont). You’ll reach the wash house dating from 1833 with its pool.

(9) Turn left immediately afterwards. Follow the D 103 for a few metres before turning left at a bend onto a stony track. Continue along this route and take the first track branching off to the right

(10) Further on, turn right again to reach the first houses of the hamlet of Les Bordes Bricard. Join the D 103 (Rue des Roches) and head left to the junction with the D 16. Cross this road carefully and walk down Rue du Lavoir (200 m). You will reach the wash house and fountain dating from 1829, next to a wayside cross dating from 1831.

(11) Retrace your steps for 100 m, then turn sharply right after No. 3 Rue du Lavoir. Follow this grassy path which runs between the properties and joins the D 16 in the village centre. Carefully turn right onto the pavement towards the southern exit.

(12) Turn left onto Route de la Casquette, leave the village and continue to a fork.

(13) Keep to the right and continue straight ahead for a long stretch until you cross a marked white track. Carry on through woodland and fields. Shortly after entering a second wood, turn sharply left onto a path leading out of it. This takes you to a crossroads of tracks, on the edge of fields and woodland.

(14) Turn right and keep to the right, following the edge of the woodland, until you enter the undergrowth. You will reach a straight path leading off to the right (line 7/8).

(15) Turn right onto this path with tall grass, which runs parallel to the^GR®®2from a distance (visible, on the left).

(16) Turn left onto a visible track to join the^GR®®2, where this path eventually becomes impassable. At this point, the^GR®® follows the route of the old railway line (VF). Follow it continuously even after leaving the VF, veering slightly downhill to the right. It then joins the Ru Blanc resurgence, which you must fords, before finally returning to the car park along the D 7 (S/E).

During the hunting season (September to March), check before setting off on this route.
Shelter is available in the charcoal burners’ hut at the Cestres archaeological site, as well as in the wash houses at Cestres, Froideville and Les Bordes Bricard.

Picnic areas at the starting point along the D7; at the Cestres archaeological site; at the Froideville wash house; at the Bordes Bricard wash house and fountain.

Water sources at the Ru Blanc site, in certain places.

Bring walking poles in wet weather; they are also useful on the sometimes steep ascents and descents.

Alternatives at (7)
- heading straight ahead to reach Champ Toyon and the Froideville wash house (9).
- Turn left to head straight ahead to (13), before Les Bordes Bricard.

Between (S) and (1) On the old railway line, there are ravines and masonry structures (wall, hut, bridge).

(4) Archaeological site of Les Bordes in the Cestres woods: ruins of abandoned dwellings dating from the 14th century (around 1323). An estate belonging to Saint-Seine Abbey, specialising in wool production to supply the drapery industry. The hamlet consists of two farmhouses and four enclosed gardens, a bread oven and two isolated farm buildings. 350 m to the north-west, the Puits Gaillard (5) was carved out of a fault in the rocky plateau (still in use in the 20th century). Abandoned after only a century of existence, around 1421, due to the scourges of the Hundred Years’ War and the Black Death.

From (7), there are possible shortcuts:
1/ Go straight ahead to reach Champ Toyon and the Froideville wash house (9).
2/ Turn left to reach the WP (13), a crossroads of tracks before Les Bordes Bricard.__

Visit the wash houses at Cestres (8), Froideville (9) and Les Bordes Bricard (11), all dating from the early 19th century.

Between (16) and (E) lies the Ru Blanc site with its resurgence and a ford, which must be crossed to follow the^GR®®2.