Le Ferrier de la Garenne - Tannerre-en-Puisaye

Visit the Ferrier de Tannerre-en-Puisaye, one of the largest in France, dating back to Gallic times.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 3.91 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 32 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 32 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 221 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 185 m

Description of the walk

Marked route No. 4.
The starting point for this hike is in the town hall car park.
(S/E) When you leave the town hall courtyard, head towards the village with the church in your sights. After crossing the bridge over the Branlin, take the Grande Rue on the right (in the direction of traffic). With the church on your left, you will come to a side street (Rue Carreau). Turn left and continue along this street until, after No. 16, you come to a path on your right. Go under a gate and walk between the gardens and a hedge on your left. You will come to a fork in the path.

(1) Take the path on the left and pass the rails stored on the right-hand side of the path. At the next junction, ignore the side paths and continue along the well-marked route.

(2) Take the path on the right (picnic area on the right). You will come out onto a cross path.

(3) Turn left. Pass in front of the well. At the next intersection, make a sharp left turn. Leave the old rails and wagons, remnants ofthe 20th century, on your right.
At the next crossroads, turn right, leaving the path on your right. Pass a clearing and arrive at a three-way crossroads.

(4) Make a first turn right then left and, before the clearing where a forge and a replica blast furnace have been installed, take the first path on the left. Pass a path on the left to reach a crossroads you took on the way there.

(3) Turn left, ignore a path on the right and arrive at the crossroads at the entrance to Le Ferrier.

(1) Turn left. Take the path you took on the way there and you will come out on Rue Carreau. Go down this street and turn right in front of the church gate. Head towards the bridge and you will reach the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 189 m - Parking at the town hall and village hall - Branlin (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.92 - alt. 216 m - Entrance to - Le Ferrier de la Garenne
  3. 2 : km 1.27 - alt. 219 m - Grassy area on the right (Place Champlay)
  4. 3 : km 1.44 - alt. 217 m - Waypoint on the outward and return journeys
  5. 4 : km 2.32 - alt. 219 m - Picnic area and forge
  6. S/E : km 3.91 - alt. 189 m - Parking at the town hall and village hall

Notes

Apart from the village section, this route is very shaded.
Shortly after crossing the bridge over the Branlin, on the right, there is an old wash house to visit.
On the way back, at the junction with Rue Carreau, you can go down to another wash house via a narrow lane between two properties.
Shelter at (4).
Dry toilets along the route (between (3) and (4)).
There are numerous paths and trailheads on the site.
Please do not collect any iron slag; these residues are left in place to bear witness to the past of this steelworks.
This route is marked in accordance with the signage charter of the Puisaye-Forterre Community of Communes and is numbered 4 on yellow plaques.
The signage was installed by the association À chacun son chemin en Puisaye-Forterre in September 2021.
If you have any concerns, please fill in this questionnaire (it only takes 1 to 2 minutes).
Please take care when crossing roads.
However, the fact that the route is signposted means that you should at least set off with this description and the accompanying IGN map or the Visorando app.

Worth a visit

This site has been classified as a Historic Monument since 1982.
During this hike, you will find:
- various information panels about the flora.
- other panels on the history of the site.

At the end of the Middle Ages, a large fortified castle was built on this site, La Motte Champlay. It was destroyed during the Hundred Years' War.

- Inthe 20th century, iron ore mining was undertaken on a large scale. A railway line was built between La Garenne de Tannerre and Villiers-Saint-Benoît to extract and transport the iron ore.

Iron ore is the residue obtained from the reduction of iron in blast furnaces, consisting largely of slag in the form of shiny black "stones". The Ferrier is also the place where iron ore is found.

At the beginning ofthe 20th century, it was used to fill in roads, to line railway tracks, and to enrich iron ore from Lorraine blast furnaces (adding manganese) in order to produce special steels.
To find out more, Le Ferrier de Tannerre

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
User 10725049

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 13, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A nice little walk

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Bois vert
Bois vert

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you for this very informative walk.

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cbellu
cbellu

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Short trail through the woods with signposts indicating points of interest and tree identification. Don't miss the small theatre in August, "La fille des arbres" (The Tree Girl). Unfortunately, we were unable to attend the performance. Explanations about the blacksmith. Given the short length of the walk, it's impossible to get lost, even if you're unsure at certain junctions. Highly recommended.

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fraancooiis
fraancooiis
• Edited:

Thank you for your comments.

It is true that our small signs are ageing rather badly, and last week we cleaned some of them and replaced others, but it is true that there are still some that need to be replaced. This will be done.
We are also considering making them out of a more durable material, and we have applied for a grant to help us.

Francois

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guedelon
guedelon

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 20, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very interesting walk, a very special and informative site: perhaps it would be a good idea to update the information boards

and other educational materials.

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goumarche
goumarche

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 25, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

This was our first time using a Visorando route. It was a nice, informative walk. It was easy to follow. However, there were many paths inside the Ferrier, and we didn't find it easy to navigate. There were lots of information boards explaining how the site works, its history and the flora. We couldn't find the viewpoints, as they weren't clearly marked.
In any case, this short route suits us perfectly as we are not very good walkers.

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esglove
esglove

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 03, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A delightful and easy walk through flower-filled woodland. The sun was shining. What's more, this site and the activity that once took place here are of great historical interest. Today, it's hard to imagine what mining and ore processing were like in ancient times. Perhaps the remains of the fortified castle should be made a little more visible, and its historical importance emphasised.
In any case, I really enjoyed this visit. Thank you for the suggestion.

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odorus
odorus

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 04, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

It's a shame that motorcycles ride on this beautiful site.

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trièves
trièves

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very interesting trail. Completed with children aged 4 to 11 (4). Excellent educational value and very well-designed information panels. Picnics possible in several places. Given the heat, we preferred to return via the very shady trail we started on.

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