Chamblas Castle and the two Huches

Park at Chambe de Bos, on the left as you approach from the D35 from Le Pertuis; the communal car park can accommodate a large number of vehicles.

(S/E) Return to the D35 and follow it to the right towards Le Pertuis for a good hundred metres. When the road bends to the left, carry on straight ahead along a small road leading to an abandoned house.

(1) Once you have passed this house, do not continue along the small road but take a path that climbs, then turn immediately right onto a wide path following the contour line through the woodland. Once you have emerged from the woods, do not continue along the path which begins to descend, but head uphill to the left, following the yellow markings.

PR Yellow markings

(2) You will then reach a small road. Follow it to the right for about 500 m, passing the first access road to a farm below.

(3) At a second access road on the right, take the stony path marked in yellow which descends steeply between two hedgerows (this is the bed of a small stream!). Join a wider track and continue along it to the left. Pass a pond and continue downhill to reach a small road.

(4) Opposite is a house called “Au pays des Knolls”, which houses a lodge and guest rooms; head up the road to the left, then turn right at the first junction signposting another guesthouse called “La Maison des Chazes”. Take this access road on the right, pass “La Maison des Chazes” and then a detached house to reach a crossroads, all marked in yellow.

(5) Continue straight down; the path joins a small road which soon leads onto the D433. There, take the D433 to the right, then leave it almost immediately by taking a path on the left.

(6) This path leads gently uphill to the hamlet of Roulhac. Cross the Roudesse stream, then, just after the bridge, take a path on the right that runs alongside the stream.

(7) Walk uphill past two houses, then continue along the same path as it enters the woodland. This takes you to Chamblas Castle.

(8) Walk down the road, then leave it via a track on the left that runs alongside the château’s grounds (a lovely view of the château set back in its grounds). Follow this track until you reach a small road, which you take to the left for a few dozen metres.

(9) Leave the road before the bridge by taking an uphill path on the left. Follow this for a few hundred metres until you reach a crossroads.

No signposting

(10) Leave the yellow markings and take the path on the right which leads to the hamlet of Combriol. Once you reach the hamlet, follow the road to the left; about 500 metres further on, on the left, you’ll see a restored old wash house (11).

PR Yellow markings

(11) Here you rejoin the yellow markings. Follow the markings along a small road on the right, which very quickly turns into a track.
Follow this track until you reach a hamlet and its access road. Follow this road to the right until you reach a junction at the entrance to the hamlet of Céaux.

No markings

(12) Leave the yellow markings, which continue straight ahead, and turn right. At the next junction at the entrance to Céaux, turn left onto a small road that leads downhill. At the three-way junction, turn right and cross the Ruisseau de Planhol via a footbridge. Follow the path as it climbs; take the opportunity to admire the cliffs of La Huche Plate and join a path marked in yellow, which you take on the right to continue the ascent.

PR Yellow markings

(13) Enter a wood of strangely twisted pine trees; this is a pine woods which, before the Second World War, were used to fuel bakers’ ovens (see information boards on site). Continue the climb, which takes you round the Huche Plate. You’ll emerge at a crossroads.

No markings

(14) Leave the signposted route, which turns left, and carry on straight ahead to reach the hamlet of Fougères. Cross the road, then, in the centre of the hamlet, take the small road on the left which climbs towards La Huche Pointue. The road turns into a track. When you reach a small concrete platform, turn right onto a path between two hedges. This path joins a track at a hairpin bend. Take the right-hand branch and join a wide track that climbs. Turn left onto it, pass a small pass and head straight on to the hamlet of Chambe de Bos (S/E) where you started.

(S/E) Finish the route by climbing to the summit of La Huche Pointue, where the view is unique. To do this, take the D35 on the left for 100 m, then climb up the path on the left, which remains easily passable all the way to the summit.

(15) From there, head back down the same path to finish the route at Chambe de Bos (S/E).

Make sure you wear sturdy footwear as some of the paths are tricky to walk on (lots of stones).
Yellow markings between the points (S/E) and (1) – (2) and (5) – (6) and (7) – (8) and (9).
(11) There is a picnic table right next to the wash house
(14) It appears that, during the season, the path beyond the concrete platform is overgrown. The alternative route involves not turning left in the centre of the hamlet but instead continuing straight on. The small road leads to the hamlet of Palhaires, which you pass through before taking a track on the left at a three-way junction. You then rejoin the route described.

Pine woods are forests of pines that grow where the ground is poor and there is hardly any soil; these pines were regularly pruned to make bundles of firewood.

(8) Chamblas Castle, which in the mid-19th century was the scene of a murder that made the legal news.

Shortly before (13), admire the cliffs of La Huche Plate, an impressive lava flow (see information boards on site).

At (14), you can take the path on the right, which practically retraces your steps, to head towards the Huche Plate. In that case, go to the far end of this plateau to admire the view.

The view from the summit of the Huche Pointue at (15) is particularly beautiful at the end of the day.