L'Essart du Loup

Parking in front of the Salle de Convivialité in Vorges-les-Pins, opposite the church (or in the Town Hall car park). Take a look at the church, the castle opposite (large fortified house) and the lintel above a glass door on the side of the Salle de Convivialité.

(S/E) Opposite the church, turn left up Grande Rue towards Busy.

(1) Turn right onto Rue de la Fontaine (mountain bike route 57). You will pass a fountain. There are beautiful views of the Côte de Planoise on your left. The path becomes stony and then joins a small tarmac road at a right angle, which you follow to the right for about 50 metres.

(2) Turn left onto the stony path that climbs the hillside. As you enter the woods, you will pass a water tower and then under high-voltage power lines. On the left, there is a viewpoint overlooking the Château de Montferrand. You will come out onto the ridge, opposite a marker post. Turn right and continue for about 50 metres.

(3) Opposite the pylon, take the grassy path on the left for about 20 metres to enjoy a view of the Loue valley and the ruins of the feudal castle of Chenecey. Then continue along the ridge path.

(4) You will reach a viewpoint over the Busy valley and the Doubs valley with a picnic table. Follow the ridge along a well-marked stony path. Obviously, ignore any paths leading down the hillside, as these are marked with crosses to indicate that they are prohibited.

(5) Halfway along, a small path a few metres to the right leads to an unsecured viewpoint. Take care!

(6) You will arrive at a junction of four paths. Descend the hillside via the path on the right. You will leave the woods. Opposite a large wooden agricultural shed, you will reach a gravel road, which you will take to the left. Viewpoint over Planoise and the Besançon mountains. Continue along this beautiful gravel road. Between the trees on the right, you will still be able to see the ruins of the castle.

(7) You arrive at the Vorges Monument, erected in memory of the poor boys who fell during the war of seventy. Continue for a hundred metres or so and, at the nearby junction marked by a VTT 21 sign, turn right onto the dirt track, which quickly becomes a beautiful tree-lined gravel path, an ancient Roman road that descends the Essart du Loup, its name evocative of a bygone era. Take the time to admire the view of the mountains.

(8) As you leave the woods, arriving from the main road, in the pasture on the right, you will see the village's old gypsum factory, currently undergoing renovation, a plaster mill that was in operation in the mid-19th century. Access to the pasture (not part of the hike) through a metal gate offers a view of an old stone bridge opposite the gypsum factory. The land is certainly private and may contain livestock, so if you enter, it is at your own risk. Be sure to close the gate behind you each time you pass through. The ruins are not secured and falling rocks are possible.

Then walk down the road on the left for 200 metres, taking care to watch out for cars travelling at excessive speeds, until you reach Moulin Caillet.

(9) Cross the road carefully and turn right onto the pretty stone path (mountain bike route 21), walking through this charming little valley accompanied by the murmur of the stream.

(10) Just before the end of the valley (marker post, Trail 11), at a place called "Pierre de Vorges", cross the stream to the right via the wooden footbridge to climb up the meadow, where you will find the yellow-blue markings again. The path becomes stony as it enters the woods, turns right uphill and becomes tarmac at the first houses of the village.

(11) At No. 13, take the path that is half stone, half grass on the right, with a beautiful view of the keep and the Doubs valley. This path leads to a plateau, joining another forest path at right angles. Turn right, with your back to the houses. You will once again reach a gravel path at right angles, which you follow down to the left to join a small tarmac road that will take you left to the car park. (S/E)

The route includes cliff paths and unsecured viewpoints. Rocky and slippery paths in places. Sturdy footwear is essential and walking sticks are recommended.

Markings only on the first third of the route (yellow-blue).

(7) A barbed wire gate was open when I passed through. It may be closed. Open it without fear (and don't forget to close it again), as this is an authorised and marked communal path.

(D/a) The Church of Saint Peter and Paul dates from 1843. It is listed as a historic monument due to the distinctive shape of its bell tower with sharp edges (lantern) topped by a cockerel that turns in the wind. The castle: opposite the church. A large, elongated building, constructed at an unknown date. Before the church was built, its owners gave the villagers permission to install a chapel in the part above the porch.
(5) The ruins of the keep of Montferrand Castle: these imposing ruins, which you will see throughout your walk, stand above the Doubs valley at an altitude of 354 metres. A dozen families, subjects of the local lord, took shelter there, as the lords of Montferrand did not reside on site but in Besançon. They only came there from time to time to hunt, find out what was happening, collect their revenues or, in times of war, to organise the defence.
(7) The monument at Vorges au Montgardot commemorates the battles of 24, 25 and 26 January 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It is rare enough to warrant a moment's pause to spare a thought for those poor boys who fell during the war of seventy.
(7) An old cart track, a path wide enough for a cart to pass, often lined with trees on either side.
(8) The Vorges plaster mill: in operation in the mid-19th century, currently undergoing renovation. It was a steam-powered plaster mill, but faced competition from Beure plaster and was too far from the Besançon-Quingey axis, so it only operated for about ten years. The plaster produced was of very good quality, but the cost of transport led to its closure in 1863 and it fell into oblivion. In 1923, a fire accelerated its deterioration. The inhabitants, as is often the case with abandoned buildings, took stones from it, further reducing what remained.
(10) The Pierre de Vorges did not stand the test of time. It was a beautiful large flat stone that crossed the stream, replaced by a mundane wooden footbridge!