Woods and meadows from Larny Chapel

(S/E) Leave the small car park next to the chapel and head down towards the D-road. Cross it carefully. Opposite you, slightly to the left, follow a path that descends through gardens and meadows and runs alongside the little Ruisseau de Larny. Depending on the season, it may overflow its banks and the path becomes quite wet, but the setting is idyllic. After just over 500 m, the path leads you to a track.

(1) Do not cross the stream to the right but take the path to the left which climbs gradually: woodland on your right, meadows sometimes grazed by cattle or horses on your left. The path becomes less passable and descends towards the Ruisseau du Poirier.

(2) A few dozen metres after crossing this stream, take a narrow path that climbs up to your left. It leads you to the Château du Poirier and a tarmac road.

(3) Turn left. The road gradually turns into a path that becomes increasingly difficult to drive on and climbs into the forest. Pass under a power line, and after more than a kilometre you will reach a road.

(4) Cross it and take the Chemin des Landes (tarmac) opposite. Ignore the two roads branching off to the right and you’ll reach a crossroads.

(5) On your left, there are three paths. Take the middle one, Chemin de Mercruy, which winds between hedges. Once again, the path becomes less passable and climbs through the forest. You’ll reach a crossroads at elevation 501.

(6) Take the path directly in front of you, leaving the house and the bins on your left. The path is passable and runs alongside a house overlooking the area on your right.

(7) At the crossroads, follow the path leading off to your right. After a kilometre, you’ll reach a major crossroads at the edge of the forest at elevation 535.

(8) Take the path that branches off at a right angle to your left. Stay on the main, signposted path, which climbs gradually through the forest. Ignore the paths branching off to the right uphill or to the left downhill. After about a kilometre, the path is blocked.

(9) Turn right onto a recent path that goes round this relatively recent obstruction and heads down the steep slope. Initially descending, it gradually takes you back up to the main road at the Col de la Croix du Ban.

(10) Follow the road for about ten metres to the left before taking the track on the left, between the sign for the Col de la Croix du Ban and the snowplough turning area. Follow this track, which first takes you past a farm on your right before continuing into the forest along a path popular with hikers and mountain bikers. After ignoring the first two tracks branching off to the right, you’ll come to a third.

(11) Take this one to the right and, after a 300-metre descent, you’ll reach a junction with a signposted path.

(12) Take the steep path down to your right towards the Ruisseau de Larny.

(13) Before crossing this small stream, turn onto the path on the left. Ignore the signposted path that descends steeply to your right and continue along this lovely path which leads straight to the Chapel of Larny (S/E).

(S/E) Start from the small car park next to Larny Chapel.

You can also get there by bus on route 98, which drops you off at the Poirier stop, at the junction of the D7 and the road leading to Château du Poirier (3).

(S/E) Saint-André de Larny: 13th-century Romanesque chapel,restored in the 17th century.

(3) Château du Poirier (not open to visitors). Built between 1884 and 1890. Extended in 1905 with the addition of the square pavilion, the balcony and the terrace.