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Departure from Assay church (car park at the foot of the church).
Blue markings
(S/E) Facing the church, turn right towards the sign with a map of the town and follow Rue des Forges. At the three-way junction, turn right. At the fork at the corner of the cemetery, turn right. After passing the sign for "Béllian", the road gives way to a path that soon turns right. Pass between the fields, walk along the left-hand side of an old crib (a device for drying corn cobs in the open air) and come out onto a small road (cross).
(1) Follow the road to the left. After about 150 metres, turn right onto a grassy path. Walk along a grove of poplar trees on your left and cross a stream. After a few metres, at a fork (marker post), turn right and climb towards a hamlet.
(2) At the top of the hill, turn left (west) onto a small road. Pass through the hamlets of Le Puy d'Assay, La Hurtaudière and La Chapelière (signposted).
(3) Shortly after a signpost indicating Marçay 5km away, when the road turns right, take the grassy path that descends to the left. Pass under a power line and then walk along a wood on your right. Immediately after, at a fork, turn left. Pass between two copses and, at the T-junction that follows, turn right. Head south between the fields, ignore a path on the left and cross a stream. You will arrive near a beautiful farmhouse in a place called La Pinalière.
(4) At the crossroads, go straight ahead onto a small road. When this road bends to the right, leave it and continue straight ahead on a grassy path, walking alongside a horse pasture on your left. Stay on this path, heading south-west. At the T-junction (signposted "Refuge"), turn left and cross a stream (ignore a yellow arrow pointing to the right). At the next junction, at La Judelière, follow the small road to the right. Turn left onto the road lined with plane trees and you will reach the entrance to the Château de Basché.
(5) Continue along the road, heading south-east, and ignore a road branching off to the right shortly after the château. At the first junction (signposted "Chézac"), continue along the road (east).
(6) At the second crossroads (also signposted "Chézac"), turn left onto the wide grassy verge of a stream on the right-hand side (signposted "No entry for all vehicles") and enter a wood. When you reach a second "No vehicles" sign (which you can only see from behind), turn right and pass between two plots of poplar trees. Then continue through the woods. At a T-junction, turn right. At the next junction, turn left and follow a wide path that leads out of the woods.
(7) At the next junction (no signpost), continue straight ahead and walk along a plot of poplar trees on your left. At the T-junction, turn left and walk parallel to the power line on your right. After passing another plot of poplar trees on your left, turn right at a junction (marker post). Walk north-east with a stream bordered by a hedge on your right. Note behind the hedge, first some small fish ponds, then the Etang d'Assay, which unfortunately can only be glimpsed.
No markings
(8) At the road, ignore the blue arrow indicating a left turn and go right. Follow the road (with caution) to the observatory on the right-hand side (sign), which offers a beautiful view of the pond.
(9) Retrace your steps.
(8) Continue up the road. At the top of the small hill, ignore the blue arrow indicating a left turn onto a path and stay on the road. At Moulin Neuf (sign on the right), cross a stream and immediately turn left onto a grassy path with gardens and hedges on the left and a field on the right.
(10) When you reach a small pond on the left and before a shed behind a gate, turn right onto a grassy path. Pass between two ponds and you will come out onto a small road. Follow this road to the left, with Assay Church clearly visible on the right. At the three-way junction, turn right onto Rue des Forges and you will soon reach the starting point (S/E).
Visorando member
Easy 
