Forests, moors and white lands in Brossacais

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The route passes through moorland with pine woods and several white clay quarries.
The route starts at the Vallier pond estate and crosses the communes of Passirac, Guizengeard and Boisbreteau.
The landscape of the Motte valley is remarkable.

Details

n°78058
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 28.73 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 9h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 412 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 414 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 155 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 70 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Brossac (16480)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 45.329112° / W 0.057844°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1634E
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Description of the walk

Departure from the Étang Vallier car park (Brossac).

(S) Take the tarmaced communal road towards La Côte-Les Sablons.

(1) At Les Sablons, turn right.

(2) Atthe second signpost marked "Le Barriou", turn left. The path runs along the dyke of the Châtelar pond and then close to Châtelar.

(3) After Châtelar, turn right towards the village of Passirac, then takethe first left and after 200 metres turn left. Follow the small tarmac road (passing near the villages of Chez Sadoux and Colardeau) to the D68.

(4) Turn left onto the D68, cross the crossroads (D68 x D2) and stay on the D68 for 500 metres.

(5) Take the path on the right (before Les Loges) and continue to the village of Chez Rambeau. Turn left onto the D127 and after 200 metres.

(6) Turn right towards Chez Lambert. Follow the Motte valley path which leads to the D133.

(7) Cross it and take the tarmac road opposite towards Chez Giraud, Chez Boudeau until you reach the D100. Turn right, then after 200 m, take thefirst left towards Venet for 1 km.

(8) At the crossroads, turn left and follow the signs for Venet until you reach the D133. Turn left towards Boisbreteau.

(9) On leaving the village, leave the D133 towards Oriolles-Brossac 300 m from the village exit (ignore the signs for Oriolles-Brossac) and turn right onto the tarmac road, following it for 500 m.

(10) Turn right towards Les Grands Cousinauds and follow the forest road for 2 km.

(11) Turn right onto the road until you reach the tarmac road, then turn left for 500 metres (2nd road).

(12) Follow the path on the right, which crosses the Carrières de Terres Blanches (1.5 km) to the D68.

(13) Turn right onto the D68 for 200 m. Then turn left onto the path that crosses the Ruisseau du Palais stream and then crosses a forest.

(14) In the village of Fongaillard, turn left. In Monac, cross the road and take the path opposite (towards Chez Ferret) to Moulin Noir, 2 km away.

(15) Continue along the short-distance hiking trail (PR®) marked on the right-hand side of the house until you reach the tarmac road.

(16) Turn left at Lespoure and follow the path through the hamlet of Labatut to the D 2.

(17) Follow it to the right along the Étang Vallier lake towards the arrival car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 114 m - Étang Vallier car park
  2. 1 : km 0.44 - alt. 141 m - Les Sablons crossroads
  3. 2 : km 0.92 - alt. 155 m - Le Barriou crossroads
  4. 3 : km 2.5 - alt. 149 m - Le Châtelar
  5. 4 : km 5.41 - alt. 150 m - D 68
  6. 5 : km 6.33 - alt. 120 m - Path on the right
  7. 6 : km 7.47 - alt. 86 m - Small road on the right
  8. 7 : km 10.3 - alt. 143 m - D 133
  9. 8 : km 12.68 - alt. 138 m - At the crossroads, turn left towards Venet.
  10. 9 : km 16.13 - alt. 136 m - Leave the D133, road on the right
  11. 10 : km 17.01 - alt. 148 m - Fork in the road, turn right towards Grands Cousinauds.
  12. 11 : km 18.8 - alt. 94 m - Crossroads, path on the right
  13. 12 : km 19.42 - alt. 82 m - Path on the right
  14. 13 : km 20.89 - alt. 77 m - D 68
  15. 14 : km 22.36 - alt. 137 m - Village of Fongaillard
  16. 15 : km 26.18 - alt. 94 m - Moulin Noir
  17. 16 : km 27.23 - alt. 107 m - Lespoure
  18. 17 : km 28.1 - alt. 104 m - D 2. Étang Vallier
  19. S/E : km 28.73 - alt. 114 m - Étang Vallier car park

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 10 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
Chadaure
Chadaure

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pretty route through the woods and not too much traffic.
There is an error at point 12 on the map; the path no longer appears, probably due to deforestation. You have to go to the gate to enter the site of the old white clay quarries. The lakes are magnificent.

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sara7nk
sara7nk

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great route, very quiet at weekends, but not very shaded, so bring water (you can fill up your bottles in Boisbreteau).
Perfect description, just a small error on the horizontal path on the map between points 10 and 11; you have to follow the written directions and not the map.
Other than that, everything was great, beautiful views and a bit of everything in terms of landscapes, it was a very nice hike.

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PatGem
PatGem

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Part of the route follows the Guizengeard quarry discovery trail, then Brossac, Passirac Castle and back to Guizengeard via the quarries near a place called Bégot. Total distance: 20 km, approx. 7 hours including stops.
A very beautiful hike, with some elevation changes, woods, lovely paths, beautiful ponds and old quarries.

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caddaric
caddaric

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very good, mostly hilly ride on roads. I did it flat out to test myself, finishing in 5 hours and 10 minutes with a 10-minute stop.

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mimi16
mimi16

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 04, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

No particular comments. Pleasant route.

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La Licorne
La Licorne

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 17, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful walk, but difficult to find despite living just a few kilometres away. Still, it's worth the effort!

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gazok54
gazok54 ★

Thank you, Gilles33, and well spotted.
I reset all the waypoints.

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JeanMyke16
JeanMyke16

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 25, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike, which we found quite challenging towards the end (as novice hikers). Magnificent scenery, with the stages following on from each other relatively quickly. However, we did get lost at point 14.
Thanks to Brossac 1 =)

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beaudoin christiane
beaudoin christiane

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 11, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely walk, a bit long, but you can cut it short at any time, no worries.

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randoslefouilloux
randoslefouilloux

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 13, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Thank you, Brossac 1, for this great hiking route. I did it on a mountain bike and it was great, with a mix of long climbs and descents, varied landscapes, beautiful forests and even a wild boar that crossed 20 metres in front of me because it had hunting dogs chasing it.
There are lots of nice local circulars along the route, which I also did.
Only at point 11 in the quarries has the path on the right been covered with debris and is no longer visible. You have to go across it following the map, but be careful not to go too far as there are cliffs with a risk of serious falls.
A really beautiful hike that I will do again with friends.

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The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.