La Poulardière and Le Biel

(S/E) As you leave the Château Louis XI car park, head up to the left. Very soon, at the end of the surrounding wall, turn right and then immediately head up to the left (Chemin de Corche Bœuf). It climbs steeply. The small tarmac road quickly turns to a gravel track and reaches a T-junction.

(1) Turn right. Ignore a private track leading uphill to the left. You’ll reach a junction with houses. Correctly, ignore the Chemin de Cornichon, which descends to the right, and continue uphill straight ahead. Ignore a small road coming from the left. Your small road heads back down. Ignore the road coming from the right. You’ll reach a Fork in the road. Take the road at the Stop sign 100 m ahead, on the right. You’ll come out onto the D71. Watch out! Traffic moves fast (for many drivers, 80 is the minimum speed to reach...).

(2) Cross the road and head straight ahead. You are now in the hamlet of Poulardière. There is a lovely spring here with very clear water. Ignore the small road branching off to the left (Chemin du Haut Poulardière) and, almost immediately, turn right down the road at the corner of a house. Your small gravel road turns into a stony track. You’ll reach the bottom of a small valley. On the left, you’ll see a sign: Bièvre – alt. 450m – Poulardière water intake.

(3) Take a grassy path on your right that leads downhill. On your left is an archery range. Even if you’re as quick as an arrow… carry on. Soon, at the^second sign, take another grassy path on your right. This is the Chemin du Biel, a charming little stream that you’ll follow until the end of your walk. You’ll reach the D71.

(4) Cross the road (be careful – it’s a downhill stretch, so you’ll be going even faster!). You’ll find the Biel again; cleverly, it has passed under the road. Continue following it until you return to the castle, and thus to your starting point (S/E).

The walk takes place in La Côte-St-André, a pretty village in the Isère department, situated roughly halfway between Grenoble and Lyon.
The walk starts from the car park at Château Louis XI. It is situated to the north of the village, on the hillside. There is a huge car park available. (Best avoided during the Berlioz Festival (late August/early September).
There are no difficult sections to worry about. Note, however, that there is a fairly steep climb right at the start of the walk.

Be sure to take a stroll through the village and see the medieval market halls (located 5 minutes’ walk away, below the start of the walk), the listed Saint André Church, and the ‘Trines’, a network of very narrow alleyways.
You can also visit the Berlioz Museum, named after the village’s famous son.