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To get to La House from Gradignan via the A10, turn right at the roundabout towards Canéjan Centre. At the next junction, leave Gradignan on your right and turn left. At the next roundabout, leave Cestas on your left, turn right towards Canéjan Bourg and park in the dirt car park on the left-hand side of the road as soon as you cross the bridge over the Eau Bourde. To the west, a large park laid out for walking and picnics. To the east, on the other side of the road, numerous buildings and sports grounds.
(S/E) Cross the road towards the bridge and take the path that starts on the left bank of the river, just before the bridge. Continue along this path, keeping the river on your right. There is also the option of following the river more closely along a winding, rougher path.
To your left, you can make out tennis courts, football pitches and a BMX route, and soon you come to a stone-built canal which you cross.
(1) A little further on, you come to a dirt track that leads off to the left towards the Petit Arcachon housing estate; cross it to find yourself alongside a clearing that runs alongside a high-voltage power line. Continue south-east, still on the left bank of the river, until you cross the high-voltage power line where the river bends to the left.
Shortly afterwards, you come to a footbridge, which you leave to your right, continuing along the river on its left bank, very close to the water. Further on, you find another footbridge, which you leave to your right to take the track coming from it on the left, then turn right to find yourself in a pretty clearing planted with beautiful trees of various species. Ahead of us on the left is the Château du Moulin d’Ornon and on the right a forest of large bamboo plants that hides the mill from view. Further on, you pass between the château and the mill and reach a road.
(2) Turn right to cross the river and immediately after the bridge, turn left onto the path running alongside the bamboo on the left and crossed by a road on the right. You are now on the right bank.
(3) After walking past a housing estate on our right, just after the end of a cul-de-sac, we cross a footbridge and find ourselves on the left bank. We then turn right to walk alongside the river and soon reach the Tanet mill, which we leave on our right as we continue along the left bank.
(4) Ignore the footbridge on the right (which you’ll cross on the way back) and continue with the river on your right. You’ll come to a footbridge, which you’ll leave on your right, and continue along a lovely, comfortable path ideal for leisurely strolls, which takes you a little way from the river; at the end of this path, you’ll reach Cayac Mill. Go round it on the left, then cross the bridge on the right, passing close to the statue of the Pilgrim of Compostela, and head between the buildings of Cayac Priory.
As the priory features an exhibition hall and numerous points of interest, you can spend quite some time here, or even take advantage of the pleasant surroundings for a picnic. You then head south towards Cours du Général de Gaulle.
(5) A few metres before Rue de Chartrèze, turn right and follow it for a while along a parallel path, which veers away from the street at the houses to rejoin the river, which you cross before returning to the track, which you take on the left.
(4) Turn left to cross the footbridge seen on the way out and head along the right bank to follow the river upstream to the Tanet mill, towards which you head by turning right to cross a small branch of the river.
(6) At the mill, turn left to follow the river upstream and soon pass between the river and a pond. You’ll come back to the footbridge you crossed on the way out.
(3) We leave it behind and continue along the right bank, skirting the housing estate on our left, until we reach the road just beyond the bank planted with bamboo. We turn right to cross the river.
(2) Take the path on the left which takes you past the Ornon mill (which is on your right), cross a footbridge over a lock, and follow the river on the right bank. You arrive near a large pond.
(7) We turn left to go round it before coming to a housing estate on our left. We continue straight on, then turn left onto the path that runs along the right bank of the river. We pass under a high-voltage power line and near a sewage treatment plant, and continue to follow the river, which curves to the right, then further on to the left.
We soon come to a lane branching off to the left at a 45° angle towards the housing estate, and a path heading south, running alongside a fence and a small canal on the right and houses on the left as it moves away from the river. Take this route. After walking alongside the houses for quite some time, you’ll reach a crossroads, with a tarmac lane and car parks to the left, and buildings used as a nursery or leisure centre opposite.
(8) Turn right onto a dirt track closed off by a gate, which runs alongside these buildings at the edge of a wood. Continue until you come to the road from La House, which you follow to the right for about fifty metres.
(9) Just before the entrance to the Laroque estate, which you can see on the right amidst its fields, there is a path on the left leading into the woods; take this to reach and cross the Cestas road. Opposite, you’ll find a path beneath a stand of maritime pines, which joins the firebreak and the high-voltage power line. Turn right to immediately find a path beneath the pines, which you follow straight on to reach the river at the Rouillac mill. Walk along the riverbank on the right.
(10) Turn immediately right onto the left bank, passing to the right of a pumping station, and follow this path towards the Canéjan road. You will then reach the car park by the roadside after crossing the landscaped park (S/E).
A very pleasant hike, which can be extended if desired.
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