Lantenay via the Cave aux Loups from Fleurey-sur-Ouche

Head to Fleurey-sur-Ouche. Enter the old town by going down the main street, cross the canal bridge and then, immediately after the bridge over the Ouche, take the first right onto Rue de l'Église. Park in the square with the plane trees.

(S/E) From the car park, turn back and walk up Rue de l'Église (which is closed to traffic) to the bridge over the Ouche.

(1) Cross Rue du Château and read the information about "the unruly river" as you pass. Turn right and walk up Rue du Château. Shortly afterwards, on the left, you will see an 18th-century castle.
You can turn right onto Rue du Clos de la Cure for a round trip to the Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste (between the 7th and 12th centuries).

Continue towards the cemetery. Walk alongside it towards Lantenay on the D104 until you reach the end.

(2) Leave the road and turn left onto a white path. Follow it all the way to the end, ignoring any side paths, until you reach a T-junction.

(3) Turn right. This field path passes under a high-voltage power line before joining the Paris-Dijon railway line.

(4) Turn left without crossing the railway bridge. Walk along the hill, keeping to the right, until you reach a tarmac farm track. Turn right to cross the bridge over the railway line. When you reach the D 104c, Route d'Ancey, turn right and walk 60 m to a grassy path on the left.

(5) Follow this path uphill towards the woods. At the start, it runs alongside a low-voltage power line on the left. Then pass under three power lines (one medium-voltage and two high-voltage). Shortly after entering the woods, go straight ahead through a barrier (green and white) while following the signs for "Route de Lantenay".

Pass under another high-voltage power line. When you reach a flat area, keep to the right (yellow markings). Shortly afterwards, you will see a woodland area on your right, then the path descends briefly.

(6) Shortly before a right-hand bend, turn right onto a narrow path between two large trees. Follow it to the ridge, then turn left and continue along the ridge. This new path winds its way along. At one point, there is a clear view of a plateau below and the Flavignerot radio tower. Shortly afterwards, you will reach the start of another narrow path on the right.

(7) Descend steeply along this path to reach the Cave aux Loups 70 metres further on. There, a blue eye will be watching you. Retrace your steps to rejoin the path along the ridge.

(7) Once back, turn right and follow the ridge, enjoying the many views, until you reach an esplanade marking the end of the Combe d'Arvaux. Pass the information post, continue straight ahead for 20 metres, and you will come to a wide stony path.

(8) Turn left and, at the crossroads a few metres further on, keep to the right to enter the undergrowth. Further on, when you reach two hunting hides, turn right onto a grassy woodland path. Follow it to the end, to the T-junction.

(9) Turn right and continue straight on until you reach the D104k (signposted on the left). Cross the road and take the white path on the left in the bend.

(10) Immediately after, turn right onto a stony path leading into the woods to a hunting hut. Go around it by following the path on the right, then, when you reach it again, turn right onto a woodland track suitable for vehicles. At the first three-way junction, keep left (signpost 24). At the second three-way junction, keep right.

(11) Descend the path with the ruins on your left. Follow it until you reach the Chapelle Saint-Louis.

(12) Enjoy the view of Lantenay and its surroundings, then retrace your steps to the previous crossroads.

(11). Turn right, going around the ruins. Keep to the right on a clear, clean dirt track. When you reach the corner of a field (on the left), the track turns right, goes up and then down again (field on the left). Ignore the side paths. Go around a water hole for animals in the middle of the path, which soon turns into a trail. It runs alongside a power line on the left and descends through the woods to end behind the Lantenay castle grounds.

(13) When you reach the foot of the dovecote, turn right and follow Chemin du Colombier. Pass in front of the gate of one of the castle entrances (caretaker's house and chapel) and continue until you reach the D104. At the cross, turn left then right and proceed cautiously for 100 m along the road.

(14) Turn right onto the white gravel path. Continue straight ahead, passing under three power lines in succession. Turn left and right, then at the three-way junction, keep to the left (field on the left). At the crossroads in the middle of the fields, continue straight ahead towards the fir trees. Pass under a high-voltage power line and then over the bridge spanning the railway line.

(15) Turn left immediately after the bridge. This gravel path runs alongside the railway line (guide on the left). At its end, it turns into a trail and descends particularly steeply (43 m elevation loss over 120 m) to the bottom of the Fain Viaduct.
After the steep descent, start from the bottom right on the path that leads to the crossroads.

(16) Return to the original white path, keeping to the left. Climb back up and enter the suburbs of Velars-sur-Ouche via Rue de la Combe de Fain.

(17) When you reach a stone wall on your right, turn sharply right onto a stony path (fire hydrant 3481 at the corner). Descend the Chemin du Creux de Suzon between a stone wall on your left and villas on your right. Continue along this path through meadows until you reach Fleurey-sur-Ouche. Pass under two medium-voltage power lines and close to the Ouche river (small waterfalls). Enter Fleurey via Rue des Roches d'Orgères. Reach the square with the plane trees (S/E).

Walking sticks are recommended on the uphill and downhill sections in wet weather (particularly (7) access to the Cave aux Loups and (15) Fain Viaduct).
Binoculars are useful for observing from the open heights.
(12) Picnic possible at the Saint-Louis Chapel (on the grass).

Alternative route:
(15) For the less adventurous, from the railway bridge, continue straight ahead. Follow the poorly maintained white path that descends steadily, turning left until you reach a crossroads of tracks in the undergrowth (16) and turn left to reach the Fain Viaduct.

- Take the time to stroll around Fleurey-sur-Ouche along the canal, on the banks of the Ouche.
On Rue du Château, linger near the information panels: At the school; at the Ouche bridge, "La rivière indocile" (The Unruly River); the 18th-century Castel - a neo-Gothic villa; the Church of Saint John the Baptist, built between the 7th and 12th centuries.

- The Cave aux Loups (Wolf Cave) located in the Combe aux Mammouths. This is a small cave filled with concretions.

- Numerous viewpoints from the ridge overlooking the Combe d'Arvaux (views of the plateau, Flavignerot radio tower, etc.).

- The Chapel of Saint Louis, dating from the 12th century. Restored. Lava roof. Located on the site of the first fortified castle of the Dukes of Burgundy. Inside, there are listed frescoes from the 13th century. Former Chapel of Our Lady of the Castle of the Dukes. Numerous ruins in the surrounding area.

- Lantenay Castle. 17th-century building (1655), with chapel and dovecote. Modified in the 18th and 19th centuries. French gardens around the castle, designed by Antoine Bouhier between 1700 and 1740.
Best viewed from the D104 towards the village of Lantenay.

- Fain Viaduct. Two-storey railway bridge with a 43-metre-high semicircular arch. Two derailments in 1888 and 1962 (600 passengers, 39 dead and 47 injured), destroyed by the Germans in 1944.

- From Chemin du Creux de Suzon, it is possible to approach the banks of the Ouche. On the way back to Fleurey, successively: pass to the right in front of the Moulin shelter dating from the Mesolithic period (-9000 to -5000 years). On the left, Chemin du Moulin des Roches (before 1814) with explanations about marble quarrying in the area. Then, (former?) climbing site on the right managed by the CAF.