A leisurely stroll starting from Pontailler-sur-Saône

Head to Pontailler-sur-Saône, crossing the town via Rue du 8 Mai 1945 (D959). The starting point is on Rue Saint-Éloi or near the Place du Marché. Parking is available along the waterway leading to the port at Vieille Saône.

(S/E) Start the walk towards the church. Go behind the market square and the church to go round it on the right. Join Rue du 8 Mai 1945. Take the right-hand pavement and carefully cross the bridge over the Vieille Saône. Continue to the next roundabout.

(1) After a slight bend to the right, head up Place Saint-Jean on the left. At the first right-hand bend, leave the street and climb steeply opposite between the houses along a grassy path that ends in a stony track. Continue to the wayside shrine, a crossroads of four streets. Turn right into Rue aux Moines.
After 100 m, you can head up to the right towards the relay mast and the statue of the Virgin further on (beautiful view). Retrace your steps back towards Rue aux Moines. Walk gently down to the right until you reach the railway line.

(2) Turn left until you reach a crossing point where you must cross the tracks, just after some bushes. Continue along the path beside the railway line, keeping to the right until you reach the D959.

(3) Cross this road opposite the industrial estate. Follow Rue des Métiers until you reach the edge of the woods, straight ahead. Turn left until you reach a cross-cutting dirt track, near an electricity pole. Turn left and continue to the next crossroads.

(4) Head up Rue du Tillet on the right. The route runs between cultivated fields on the left and the edge of the Bois des Hies on the right. Continue to the three-way track junction.

(5) Turn right onto the main, well-marked track. At the next fork, keep to the right and continue straight ahead until you reach a small road. Follow the road to the left, cross Rue de l’Église on the left-hand side and walk alongside the church on your left.

(6) Turn right into Rue Saint Sauveur and, shortly afterwards, turn left into Rue de l'École. You will come out onto the D976 and follow it to the left (stick to the left-hand pavement after the traffic lights). After about fifty metres, cross the road carefully and follow a small road towards Heuilley-sur-Saône. Head down the steep slope on the left which leads to the canal bank (do not take the bridge).

(7) Turn right, go under the bridge and follow the canal on your left. Go under a railway bridge and then a road bridge. This will take you to the Saône diversion canal.

(8) Turn right to pass the lock and the Maison du Tremblant. Then follow the Saône on your left along the old towpath to the harbour master’s office at the entrance to Pontailler (do not go under the road bridge).

(9) Just after passing a tributary and before the road bridge over the river, turn right and follow the stretch of water until you reach the car park on Rue Saint-Éloi (S/E).

Picnic spots:
1) Mont-Ardoux, table and benches behind the statue of the Virgin Mary.
2) At Maxilly-sur-Saône, a picnic area under the trees, with a remarkable oak tree on the left.

Outside wooded areas, in bright sunshine, bring a hat or cap. It can get hot on the dirt tracks.
In winter or in wet weather, wear walking boots for the grassy sections, which can be damp and therefore muddy.

Keep an eye on the banks of the Saône to spot numerous birds.
Lovely views of the canal and the two dams.

Pontailler-sur-Saône.

The statue of Mont-Ardoux and the overflow wash house.