Long circular loop east of Sainte-Croix Abbey

Hike around Sainte-Croix Abbey, near Poitiers, on roads, paths and trails, through forests, countryside, fields and meadows, around the Miosson stream. A whole bucolic world to discover alone, with family or friends.
Moderator update on 21/09/2020: The car park at the start of this hike is now closed

Details

934078
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.27 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 64 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 64 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 133 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 81 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(Park in the Sainte-Croix Abbey car park). Moderator update on 21/09/2020: The car park at the start of this hike is now prohibited by the abbey. The hike is still possible provided you find another car park along the route

(S/E). From the car park, return to the entrance to the abbey access road, near the D741.

(1) Turn left as you exit, along the Route de la Cadoullière towards Flée.

(2) At the entrance to the hamlet, at No. 21, turn right towards the south-west. Immediately leave the tarmac road on the left and take the marked path 1-5A on the right. Keep left at the next two junctions and you will come out onto a tarmac road.

(3) Turn left onto this tarmac road which descends, cross the Miosson stream and climb back up.

(4) At the exit of the hamlet of La Minière, turn right onto the path along a field. Ignore a path on the right and continue to a T-junction.

(5) Under the power line, take the path perpendicular to the left, towards the railway line, which you cross.

(6) When you reach the road, cross it and continue along the path opposite.

(7) At the crossroads, leave the "Jean le Bon" path on your right and continue straight ahead on the path marked 1-5A. Continue to La Braudière.

(8) Do not cross the hamlet but turn right. Go straight ahead at the next crossroads, turn right (north) onto the path and reach the hamlet of Mouchedune.

(9) Follow the tarmac road to the left and, at the bend, take the cul-de-sac on the right. Go down to the wooden barrier, then turn left to the Miosson stream.

(10) Cross the small bridge and follow the path on the left, which climbs up alongside a wire fence.

(11) At the three-way junction, take the path on the left along the wire mesh fence, continue for 200 metres, then turn left again onto the forest path that winds its way to the old road (area for travellers). Leave the large stones on your right, turn left, pass between the stones and cross the railway bridge.

(1) Turn left to return to the abbey car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 113 m - Car park - Abbaye Sainte Croix (bénédictines)
  2. 1 : km 0.41 - alt. 119 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 1.29 - alt. 113 m - La Cadoullière, on the right
  4. 3 : km 2.04 - alt. 97 m - Tarmac road, on the left
  5. 4 : km 3.27 - alt. 124 m - La Minière, on the right
  6. 5 : km 4.36 - alt. 128 m - Electric wire, left towards the railway line
  7. 6 : km 5.5 - alt. 132 m - Junction with the road, path opposite
  8. 7 : km 6.2 - alt. 116 m - Crossroads, opposite
  9. 8 : km 6.66 - alt. 117 m - La Braudière, on the right
  10. 9 : km 7.78 - alt. 123 m - Mouchedune, on the left
  11. 10 : km 8.44 - alt. 82 m - Bridge over the Miosson
  12. 11 : km 9.2 - alt. 107 m - Three-way junction - take the path on the left along the fence
  13. S/E : km 10.27 - alt. 113 m - Car park - Abbaye Sainte Croix (bénédictines)

Notes

Shop, toilets and water point at Sainte Croix Abbey
Talitha Koum Meditation Centre
Saint-Benoît Tourist Office

Possible variation that limits the circular to a total of just under 5km.
At La Cadoullière, continue straight ahead. 10m after the railway underpass, take the small path that descends to the left and then climbs back up. After 170m, turn left onto the gravel path that climbs back up (marked route 1-5A) and then, under the electricity pylon, take the farm track on the left that leads to Mouchedune (9). Find the short route: Circular around the Benedictine Abbey of Sainte-Croix

Worth a visit

Information about the commune of Saint-Benoît

Information aboutthe Benedictine Abbey of Sainte-Croix

Every first Sunday of the month between 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., a medieval reliquary said to contain a fragment of the cross of Christ is displayed to the public in the Benedictine church of Sainte-Croix Abbey. See Wikipedia Staurothèque and Wikipedia Abbaye Sainte-Croix de Poitiers

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 15 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
AYRAULT DANIELLE
AYRAULT DANIELLE

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

This is the second time I've made this journey. It's a shame there's nowhere to sit down. Apart from that, everything is perfect

Machine-translated

mariv
mariv

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 06, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We didn't find La Braudière and returned to our car to stay on schedule. Too bad about the cute little bridge in Moisson . Next time!

Machine-translated

jesuisthomas
jesuisthomas

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike, some fairly short sections were very muddy or even flooded due to the recent bad weather, but that's all part of the adventure..
The scenery is beautiful, and the Miosson bridge is really cute.
For my first time using this site, I'm sold!

Machine-translated

nicole.l
nicole.l

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful route, pleasant paths, often wooded.

Machine-translated

Marc Boisson
Marc Boisson

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk in the forest with lovely paths.

Machine-translated

Viv16
Viv16

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Not sure if parking at the abbey is prohibited. There are no signs indicating this.
This is not a circular route of the Jean le Bon route. We take it at one point, but we also leave it for another marked trail, 1-5A (No. 7).
The arrival at the little bridge over the Miosson is a must!
A lovely walk. Thank you, Visorando.

Machine-translated

grandin
grandin ★

Abbaye Sainte-Croix, thank you for this clarification. I have added to the information sheet for this hike that your car park is now off-limits

Machine-translated

Abbaye Sainte-Croix
Abbaye Sainte-Croix

Due to disrespectful behaviour, the Abbey will no longer be used as a car park... Thank you!

Machine-translated

Smarvois
Smarvois

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 30, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant hike, well explained in the written description.

Machine-translated

Nathalie Dion
Nathalie Dion

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

My husband and I are beginners when it comes to hiking.
We followed the directions on our mobile phone. It's very well marked.

Machine-translated

barussaud
barussaud

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

very pleasant hike.
The only slight downside was the significant inaccuracy of our location on the smartphone.

Machine-translated

envento
envento

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

a pleasant hike on beautiful, well-maintained and marked trails. This trail is part of a 16 km route called "Jean le Bon" created by the town of St Benoit, which I would like to congratulate here for the quality of its trails.

Machine-translated

henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to give your opinion.

The only problem is that we got lost on level 7 of the description: we couldn't find La Braudière

Who has never got lost?

Finding your way while hiking is not easy. If you are not familiar with reading maps and terrain, I recommend using the Visorando GPS app in addition to the description and map.

The aim is not to be glued to your smartphone, but to have a tool that allows you to validate waypoints and thus remove any doubts about your direction.

See you soon!

Machine-translated

magnesa
magnesa

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 25, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A beautiful hike with a detailed description.
The only problem was that we got lost at level 7 of the description: we couldn't find La Braudière, but we managed to finish the hike thanks to some people we met.
Thank you for all your hard work in mapping out the route!

Machine-translated

JPBLAT1938
JPBLAT1938

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 26, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Excellent summary of several local routes.
Thank you
Blat

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

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