From the Moulins de Calon to the Château des Tours

A stone’s throw from Saint-Emilion, a hilly and varied route: the windmills of Calon, scenic viewpoints, woodland and a magnificent château.

Details

402213
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.78 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 82 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 83 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 99 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 43 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Montagne (33570)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 44.92985° / W 0.127493°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1636E
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Start at the car park in the centre of Montagne village, on Route de Puisseguin, near the restaurant "Les Marronniers".

(S/E) To begin, head towards Saint-Martin Church (12th century), walk past the church and turn right onto the D244E1.

(1) Turn right and follow the signs for “Moulins de Calon”. Turn left at the next fork, and do the same once you reach the D122E5. Let a road branch off to the right, turn left just before Calon and then right shortly afterwards to reach the mills.

(2) After admiring the mills, continue a little further down the hill then turn right onto a path that will take you to a small road. Turn right and, about 100m further on, turn right again to head back up towards the hamlet of Calon.

(3) Turn left and continue straight along the path to Mirande, about 1 km away.

(4) At the T-junction, turn right and, after a good hundred metres, you’ll reach the D122, which you’ll cross (be careful of traffic). Continue downhill, go straight on at the first junction and cross the hamlet of Gardat.

(5) At the right-hand bend just past this hamlet, continue straight on along the path that descends and leads into some woodland. Head back up to a road.

(6) Follow this road to the right, go straight on at the junction with the D244. Pass the hamlet of Bayard and continue straight on to Arvouet.

(7) At the stop sign, turn right and head uphill.

(8) At the first junction, you will see the Château des Tours. Turn left and walk past this magnificent heritage site, which is unfortunately in a sorry state. Continue straight on towards Montagne and turn right at a place called Le Petit Moulin.

(9) About 100 metres further on, turn right onto the road leading uphill, then turn left at the junction to return to the car park (S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 88 m - Town centre car park
  2. 1 : km 0.59 - alt. 73 m - Turn right towards the mills
  3. 2 : km 1.67 - alt. 96 m - Les Moulins de Calon
  4. 3 : km 2.22 - alt. 86 m - Salon, on the left as you go up the hill
  5. 4 : km 3.24 - alt. 75 m - Mirande, on the right
  6. 5 : km 4.33 - alt. 56 m - Straight ahead on the path
  7. 6 : km 5.54 - alt. 66 m - Turn right onto the road
  8. 7 : km 6.93 - alt. 47 m - Arvouet, at the stop sign, on the right
  9. 8 : km 7.33 - alt. 71 m - On the left: Château des Tours
  10. 9 : km 8.37 - alt. 74 m - To the right as you climb
  11. S/E : km 8.78 - alt. 88 m - Town centre car park

Notes

Important:
This hike takes you off the beaten track. All the landmarks mentioned in the description (local place names, castle names, as well as high-voltage power lines, bridges, etc.) are shown on the corresponding IGN 1:25,000 map. However, they are not always included on the scaled-down map.
It is strongly recommended that you either obtain the aforementioned map or use the app on a smartphone, which will also allow you to be geolocated at all times, enabling you to track your movements accurately.

Worth a visit

St Martin’s Church: this church has a Latin cross plan typical of the 12th century. The single nave, vaulted in the 19th century, extends eastwards into a large, deeply projecting transept, which was itself vaulted as early as the Romanesque period. This part of the church is notable for having three types of vault: a dome over the north arm, a ribbed dome over the transept square, and a broken barrel vault over the south arm. The three apses attached to the transept form the chevet. All three apses are vaulted with a semi-cylindrical vault. At the crossing of the transept stands a large square bell tower, which was crenellated during the Wars of Religion. The present church has two entrances: one to the south at the end of the transept arm, and the other to the west, which is the original entrance. The south entrance, in its present form, has only existed since the 19th century.

Nearby, the Church of Saint-Georges, another magnificent Romanesque building, is a small structure with a single nave featuring a monumental entrance on its southern side. The nave opens onto a transept to which two oriented apsidioles were once attached. The southern apsidiole disappeared at an unknown date. The existence of this apse is clearly evidenced by the presence of its triumphal arch, which is particularly visible from the outside. A large, somewhat atypical bell tower stands on the north arm of the transept. The nave ends in a semicircular apse, crowned by a cornice supported by carved modillions. The masonry of the nave, transept and northern apse consists of irregular rubble stones laid in courses, amidst which numerous reused ancient stones can be discerned; the main apse is constructed of very carefully laid regular medium-sized stones, as are the three upper storeys of the bell tower and the front section incorporating the southern portal.

Reviews and comments

4 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
3.5 / 5
User 23635173

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 23, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route, combining accessible paths and quiet roads.

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Thierry Blondeau
Thierry Blondeau

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

Hello everyone,
Completed the circular walk this afternoon; very cold, but walking warms you up...
Although rather uninteresting due to the lack of paths and the abundance of tarmac, this walk could still have been pleasant thanks to the wooded area between sectors 5 and 6.
Unfortunately, this part of the route feels more like walking through an open-air rubbish tip than a bucolic stroll!
We noticed rubbish dumps (mattresses, broken furniture, rubble, etc.) roughly every 100 metres!
We won’t be going back and won’t encourage anyone else to go there either...

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montagne
montagne

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

Far too much tarmac... unbearable on the feet, legs and head – a shame, because I think that if more than half of the route were on a dirt track, it would be well worth a look.

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montagne
montagne

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

Far too much tarmac. It’s unbearable on the feet and legs.

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Bruno33500
Bruno33500

Thank you for your comments.
Welcome back to this beautiful region, where I also have many memories from my 18 months under a big pie...
Bruno 33500

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isèrevercors
isèrevercors

Hello, The problem isn’t necessarily with your description, but the landmarks you mention might be obvious
to you, if you’re from the area; finding your way along roads that aren’t always clearly marked by signs or road markers on the ground... Having spent a long time hiking in the Vercors mountains, I’m lucky enough to have a good sense of direction, and getting a bit lost in this region isn’t such a big deal;;;; The good old compass and maps never let you down
, whereas I’m a bit sceptical about GPS.

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Bruno33500
Bruno33500

Two hikes on the same sweltering day?
Well done!.
Same question regarding improvements to the description, which has been described as average.
Any suggestions for improvement?
Thank you for your reply.
Bruno 33500

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isèrevercors
isèrevercors

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A hike on the same day, from Mont Calon to St Georges – a bit of a struggle on the last few kilometres in that blazing sun
One to do again in the autumn........

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grandin
grandin ★

We are very sorry, hans.zeuer, for this unpleasant experience. I, too, have sometimes had problems with dog owners who are just as aggressive as their dogs. I think, unfortunately, you can find people like that anywhere. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again.

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hans.zeuer
hans.zeuer

Thank you for your reply,
Actually, now that I’ve had a chance to calm down a bit, I think the worst part wasn’t the dog attack but the fact that the woman physically stopped us from continuing our route, telling us that it was her private property and that we couldn’t go there and had to leave, but as you say, the route is definitely a public one.
This is just to ensure that other tourists can enjoy the Moulins de Calon route, as we were unable to do so and had to return to the campsite...

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Bruno33500
Bruno33500

I too am sorry to hear about the problems you encountered during your hike in MIRANDE.
What happened to you, as you describe it, is unacceptable and not normal, both because of the unrestrained animal and the reaction of its owner.
During the hikes I have undertaken over many years in this area, encounters with dogs are quite common and have so far been without incident, but we do not walk with dogs.
The various routes posted online for several years have been used by a large number of hikers without any incidents occurring.
You are the first person to report such an incident.
This is an exception that I hope will not happen again.
Having had the opportunity to visit many countries around the world, we meet all sorts of people; the hospitable are the most numerous, and the others, fortunately very rare, but they do exist...
You say that “the people here are hostile”. I hope that during your stay in our beautiful region you had other, very different encounters, and that this is what you will tell your friends.
I will forward your email to the Mayor of Montagne for his information.
He will not be able to contact you, as he has no record of you.
Please excuse the translation of my text by Google; my English is not at your level...
Kind regards.
Bruno 33500
For your information: the crossing in MIRANDE is entirely on public roads.

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hans.zeuer
hans.zeuer

I am very sorry to inform you of an incident that occurred today involving my partner and me near the village of Montagne, at a place called Miranda. Exact GPS coordinates: 44.939863, -0.123304
On Saturday evening, we had decided to go for a walk called “From the Moulins de Calon to the Château des Tours”, and we took our dog with us, on a lead, of course. Everything was going fine, but at the location described above, a very large white dog suddenly appeared, unaccompanied and off the lead. Without any hesitation, this large dog attacked our dog. We started shouting for the dog’s owner and tried to stop the large dog from attacking. After a few minutes, a woman appeared with a cleaning stick in her hand; she started screaming and swearing at us, asking what we were doing to her dog, and told us that this was her property and we had to leave. My partner started crying and I tried to explain to this woman that her dog had attacked ours and that she should put it on a lead; I also explained that we were tourists, that this was a tourist route and that we wanted to continue our route. She started swearing at us and tried to attack us with her stick; her dog (which she had left off the lead the whole time) also attacked our dog a second time. With no mobile phone and no knowledge of French, we backed off.
This incident completely ruined our evening outing and made us feel that people here are hostile.
So I urge you to intervene, as this could happen to other people too. I have to tell all my friends to avoid this tourist route and find better places than MIRANDA - MONTAGNE to spend the evening.
Yours sincerely,
Hans Zeuer

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yvounet
yvounet

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 21, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely walk away from the crowds in St-Émilion, starting from a charming village (Montagne)
Moulins de Calon is a magnificent site, as is the route onwards through the vineyards and past the châteaux.

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scorpion33500
scorpion33500

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 26, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We set off today in glorious sunshine, on an easy, well-signposted route through stunning countryside, with beautiful views of the countryside and the vineyards of the Saint-Émilion region, and a most pleasant walk through the woods, which we completed in two hours without any trouble. I highly recommend it.

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Bruno33500
Bruno33500

Yes, it’s sad to see them abandoned...
but are the vineyards being properly managed...

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