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Park your car by the buildings next to the restaurant ‘La Maison du Lac Bleu’.
(S/E) A path leads off to the left alongside these buildings and runs along the lake at the top of the embankment (do not attempt to go down there – it is dangerous). Continue on to walk halfway round the lake. When you reach the end, you’ll come to a footpath that runs alongside the track (Chemin du Peych); take it to the left (heading west).
(1) After 400 metres along this track, you’ll come to a crossroads. Take the road on the left (heading south) towards the ‘Petit Hermitage’. Walk past a few buildings, cross a small stream and leave the majestic avenue of plane trees leading to the ‘Petit Hermitage’ estate on your left; you will immediately enter the vineyards of Château Chevallier, with its wine cellars directly in front of you.
A ‘private property’ sign has been erected here. A check of the land registry confirms that this is explicitly a ‘rural track’.
A large, solitary oak tree serves as your landmark. As soon as possible after the oak, turn left into a vineyard lane. This lane runs alongside the Petit Hermitage and continues straight on. When you reach a small tarmac road, turn right.
(2) At the next junction where several roads meet, turn left (but not all the way to the left) onto a very narrow road that curves gradually (Chemin de l’Hermitage). If you take a wrong turn, you’ll find it a bit tricky to get out of the Chevallier vineyards as they’re fenced off. You’ll soon reach the hamlet of Mignoy, crossing the Chemin des Bûcherons before continuing straight on to join the Chemin de Mignoy.
(3) Turn right and follow this small road to the hamlet known as Les Bougès; this will inevitably take you onto Chemin des Bougès. After crossing the river Eau Blanche and then a small wood, this small road opens out onto vast vineyards.
(4) A path on the left, running between a house and the vineyard, is well worth taking. You are now in the vineyards of the Châteaux Fieuzal and de France.
(5) After passing the first driveway on the right, take the second one, also on the right, for about 300 metres, then turn left, heading uphill towards the buildings (wine cellars) of Château Fieuzal, which you will go round on the left. The driveway running alongside the wine cellars descends on the other side of the hill, in the same direction. At the bottom of this lane, turn left onto the stony lane leading to Château de France.
(6) Do not turn off, but carry on in the same direction, this time along a grassy path between two vineyard plots (you are actually walking over a drainage ditch). You’ll come to another stony path, which you can follow to the right for about 250 metres.
(7) At the end of the vineyard plot, at the edge of a wood, turn left. The sandy path (Chemin du Prieur) you are now on will take you straight back to your starting point, crossing the Eau Blanche, a small wood, passing a building materials company, and a few small vineyard plots.
At the junction with the Chemin des Terres Rousses, turn left to return to the car park, which is less than 200 metres away (S/E).
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