From the Pont de la Reine Blanche to the Donjon de Curçay-sur-Dive

Departure from the Pont de la Reine Blanche car park, accessible from the D39, on the right-hand side of the road and just after the bridge over the Canal de la Dive when coming from the village of Curçay.

Yellow signposts
Signs on dedicated wooden signs at major intersections (no signs outside intersections). One-way signage, in the direction of this description.

(S/E) The sign for the start of the walk (marked on site as Sentier de la Reine Blanche) is located near the toilets. Follow the direction of the sign, leaving the toilets on your right and taking a wide grassy path. Come out onto the towpath of the Canal de la Dive, turn right and follow the canal on your left. Cross the canal via the D39 bridge, then cross the road (with caution), go back down to the towpath and follow the canal on your right. Pass an old lock and continue along the towpath.

(1) At the footbridge, turn left and take a farm track. Walk alongside a building in a place called Celles and you will come to a crossroads.

(2) Then turn left onto a small road. After about 100 metres, turn right onto a farm track and climb gently.

(3) At the three-way junction, turn left onto a flat path (view of Saint-Pierre Church on the left). You will come to a small road; follow it downhill to the left. At the next crossroads, turn right, walk past the cemetery, leave the road when it turns left and cross the forecourt of the disused church.

(4) Turn right at the corner of the church and walk along it on your right. When you reach the end, find a grassy path below on the left and follow it as it continues slightly uphill. Join a small road and follow it to the left. At the fork that appears shortly afterwards, take the right-hand path. Walk up the street past beautiful stone houses. At the top, at a crossroads, turn left onto Rue des Forges (signposted further on) until you reach the town hall (church opposite).

(5) Then turn right onto the main street and climb again. At the T-junction (Place d'Aumetz; castle keep opposite), turn right. Ignore a small lane on the right and climb up to Place Laurent Pellaumail (vineyard-conservatory on the left, extensive viewpoint on the right).

(6) Leave the signposted route for a moment and enter the freely accessible vineyard. Opposite the central path, turn right towards a vineyard lodge. Go around the lodge on the right, then a kiosk housing a wine press. You will come out onto a small road; follow it to the left (this will take you back to the signposted route). After walking alongside a vineyard plot on the left, take the^first small road on the right. Leave the agricultural sheds on the left and go downhill. At the T-junction, turn left and walk alongside a vineyard plot on the right.

(7) When you reach a troglodyte cellar on the left and directly below a power line, leave the road and turn left onto a grassy path. You will come to a small road. Follow it to the left for a few metres and immediately take the^first road on the right, between the fields.

(8) When the road turns left, continue straight ahead on a stony path. At the three-way junction (elevation 109), turn left and descend a small valley at the edge of the woods. Enter the woods and continue straight ahead on flat ground. Ignore a path on the right and then a path overgrown with vegetation on the left. When you leave the woods, walk along a grassy area on the left for about 50 metres.

(9) Then turn right onto a path at the edge of the field on the left. Stay on this wide path, winding between fields, meadows, wasteland and small woods. Turn left with this path at two beautiful walnut trees, then turn left again.

(10) At the crossroads just before a road, turn right at the edge of the woods and continue straight ahead. At the end of a hedge on the left, ignore a path on the left (elevation 113). Continue straight ahead and descend along the path, which has become a hollow. At the bottom, continue between the fields, ignore a turn-off on the right and join the D19 (old wash house opposite).

(11) There are two options here for returning to the Pont de la Reine Blanche, both marked by a sign and tried by the author:
- Turn right and follow the Lourdines circular route to the point (3) (yellow signposts; purple line on the 1:25,000 map; description in the practical information section).
- As shown on the map, continue straight ahead towards Ranton along the Sentier de la Reine Blanche (Queen White's Path) (yellow signposting here too).

As shown on the map, pass the wash house on your right, then a vegetable garden with a small stone hut. After about 200 m, turn left onto the path and climb, staying parallel to a power line some distance to your right.

(12) At the^first intersection, after about 150 m, there are again two options:
- Continue straight ahead following the yellow signs for the Sentier de la Reine Blanche (Queen Blanche Trail) on a path not shown on the IGN map. With this option (not tested by the author), the hike covers a total distance of around 18 km. See a summary description in the practical information section.
- As shown on the map, turn right and leave the signposted route.

Without markings

Following the route on the map, pass under the power line and follow a grassy path between the fields to the south-west. You will come to a small road; follow it to the right. Descend gently, walk along the Bois de Crotelle and you will come to a T-junction with another road.

(13) Then turn right. Pass the access roads to Veillard and Le Petit Moulin on your left. You will reach a junction that you took on the way there.

Yellow signposts

(2) Turn left and join the Canal de la Dive.

(1) Cross the canal via the footbridge and immediately turn right to follow the towpath and walk along the canal on your right. Pass the old lock you saw on the way there. You will come out onto the D39 at the bridge and follow it to the left for a few dozen metres. Cross the road (with caution) to return to the Pont de la Reine Blanche and the car park where you started (S/E).

Hiking boots are recommended.

Water fountain, toilets and picnic tables at the starting point car park (S/E). Water fountain in the cemetery next to Saint-Pierre Church (4), immediately on the right after the entrance gate. Picnic table at the wash house (11).

Useful 1:25,000 map (at least the one accompanying this description).

Variants:

Lourdines circular route - Yellow signposts - At the point (11), follow the D19 to the right. After about 100 metres, turn right towards Lourdines. After another 100 metres or so, turn right onto a path and go uphill. At the top, rejoin the tarmac road and turn left. Ignore a turn-off on the right and turn left along the lane. At the crossroads immediately ahead, turn right. At the fork shortly after, keep left. Then take the^first left and descend. Cross a road (elevation 78) and follow a tarmac road reserved for agricultural vehicles. After about 700 m (elevation 73), turn left onto a field path. At the three-way junction, turn right. At the T-junction (elevation 65), turn right again to quickly rejoin the three-way junction (3) taken on the way out. Then turn left and descend. Come out onto a small road and follow it to the left. Rejoin the main route at the intersection (2).

Full route of the Sentier de la Reine Blanche - Yellow signposts - At the point (12), continue straight ahead on a path not shown on the IGN map. Cross a small road, pass west of the hamlet of Charzais, then turn left to reach elevation 81. Then turn right (south). You will come to a road (Chapelle Saint-Martin on the right) and follow it to the left. Turn at the three-way junction (cross) and go uphill. At the top (cross), turn left and cross Ranton until you reach the intersection beyond elevation 100. Then turn sharply to the right. Pass close to the castle and continue to a crossroads. Take the^{second road} on the right (south-east). At the crossroads (cross), follow the path south, which further on runs alongside the Bois de Saint-Laon. You will come to a road at elevation 51; follow it to the right. Take the first path on the left and join the Canal de la Dive. Turn right and follow the canal. Cross the canal using the footbridge at Veillard. Continue along the canal until you reach the footbridge you used on the way there (1).

Hike completed by the author on 18 October 2021.

- Gallo-Roman bridge of La Reine Blanche (S/E), in good condition.
- Pleasant walk along the Canal de la Dive.
- Saint-Pierre Church (4), disused and partly in ruins.
- Beautiful houses in Curçay-sur-Dive.
- Church of Curçay-sur-Dive (5).
- Keep of the old castle of Curçay-sur-Dive, between (5) and (6).
- Panorama and vineyard conservatory (6).
- Cave dwellings, including (7).
- Wash house (11).