The Briailles Hill

de fr

A family hike that passes through the vineyards of Saint-Pourçain.

Details

n°2007457
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.43 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 105 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 105 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 305 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 238 m
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Photos

The vineyards below the chapel
Briailles
Saint Pourçain
The Chapel of Notre Dame de Briailles

Description of the walk

Park at the start of Route de Briailles, in the car park of a housing estate, Allée Maurice Ravel (on the left at the start of the driveway).

/A:: Turn right onto Route de Briailles towards the hill, leaving a dead-end road on your left that leads to Le Temple.

(1) Turn left onto Rue des Paltrats and follow it for a few hundred metres, then turn right onto Chemin des Percières. This road narrows after a few metres and then climbs up the hill. At the top, you will reach a tarmac road, next to a vineyard on the left.

(2) Follow Chemin de Chantegrelet, then continue straight on Chemin du Petit Bois. You will reach the Chemin des Prunes crossroads.

(3) Take this road on the left, also known as Chemin de La Villefranche. You will reach the crossroads with Chemin du Chêne Frit. Turn right onto this road and follow the Briailles pond, which borders a small oak wood.

(4) Turn left. Continue to a crossroads where you will take Chemin du Château on the right towards a farm. You will reach the farm and then Château de Briailles.

(5) Turn right onto Chemin du Château (tarmac road) and follow it to Route de Briailles.

(6) Follow it to the left and climb up to the Chapelle Notre Dame de Briailles.
Return to Route de Briailles and continue to the water tower crossroads.
Turn right onto Chemin de l'Enclos de Briailles, which runs alongside a market gardener's greenhouses. Follow this road, which ends in a tarmac section (leaving Chemin de l'Enclos de Briailles on your right), to reach Chemin de la Villefranche. Follow it to the right to rejoin Route de Briailles.

(7) Turn left onto this street. At the next crossroads, turn left onto Chemin des Perelles. Follow it to a place called Les Perelles and turn left onto Chemin du Coudray, which runs alongside the vineyards. Reach a place called Plein Ciel and continue straight ahead along the path. Reach a new fork in the woods.

(8) Turn right at the foot of the hill to reach Route de Briailles, following the power line. Take it on the left to rejoin the route taken on the way there.

(1) Continue along the same route as on the way out to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 238 m - Car park on Route de Briailles (Allée M Ravel)
  2. 1 : km 0.39 - alt. 241 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 1.44 - alt. 287 m - Chemin de Chantegrelet
  4. 3 : km 2.1 - alt. 276 m - Chemin des Prunes
  5. 4 : km 2.62 - alt. 269 m - Briailles Pond
  6. 5 : km 3.12 - alt. 276 m - Briailles Castle
  7. 6 : km 3.51 - alt. 282 m - Route de Briailles
  8. 7 : km 4.37 - alt. 276 m - Route de Briailles
  9. 8 : km 5.81 - alt. 303 m - Crossroads at the bottom of the hill
  10. S/E : km 7.43 - alt. 238 m - Car park on Route de Briailles (Allée M Ravel)

Worth a visit

(5) Château de Briailles: an18th-century residence located in the heart of an 18-hole golf course.
Between (6) and (7) On the left, you will see the small restored11th-century Romanesque chapel with12th-century paintings adorning the walls of the nave (unfortunately, it is usually closed). An orientation table at the back of the chapel will help you find your way around.

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 11 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
3.9 / 5
cyclo03
cyclo03

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

too much tar

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Christophe 47
Christophe 47
• Edited:

Uninteresting hike: lots of tarmac roads, little shade along the route, and a few sections through natural areas that are completely unmaintained.
Impossible to take a break anywhere except at the side of the road...

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AurelSell
AurelSell

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk through vineyards and woods.
There is little road travel and, when there is, there is not much traffic.
Estimated duration of the hike: 2½ hours to complete the circular with 2 or 3 stops
Signposted directions (yellow route) along the trail meant we didn't have to keep looking at our phones to find our way.

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Filcharp
Filcharp

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

As a family, we were quite disappointed with this route. 80% of it was on tarmac roads, systematically running alongside houses.
The last 15 minutes in the forest were more enjoyable, although we noticed the same thing as other reviewers: there was a slight discrepancy between the route and the path, but it didn't matter.
In short, there are other, much more enjoyable walks in the area!

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Kiki00
Kiki00

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 07, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Not bad

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bernarddemaretz
bernarddemaretz

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk to do on a clear day, but be careful on the descent: it can be very slippery. Don't miss the renovated chapel.

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jeannette vallet
jeannette vallet

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 29, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little walk through the countryside and vineyards. Pretty stone houses line our route. In the forest, at point 8, follow the path and not the route on the map.

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Johvax
Johvax

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 18, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route with a magnificent view of the chapel on a clear day.

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Yannick_Josset
Yannick_Josset

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 18, 2020
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Correction:
the trail is further south than the map indicates.
Yannick

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Yannick_Josset
Yannick_Josset

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 18, 2020
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
A pleasant walk in the heart of the Saint Pourçain vineyards.
It's not very important, but there's an error in the route at the end of the walk, when you go back down into the woods. The route doesn't correspond to any path. In reality, you follow the IGN map route, a little further east.
Thank you for this enjoyable experience.
Yannick

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Johvax
Johvax

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I think it's best to do this route in autumn, but otherwise it's a pleasant, hilly route with lovely views.

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randonneurs ARA
randonneurs ARA

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 08, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Nice route

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