The Moulin d'Encor

Starting from Empeaux town hall, take a stroll through the valleys to the Encor watermill, which has been converted into a rural lodge.

Details

4526113
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.68 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 151 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 154 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 320 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 172 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at Empeaux Town Hall

(S/E) With your back to the town hall, turn left onto Allée de l’Église, pass to the right of the church and head down to Rue du Hameau de la Rivière. Follow the tarmac road downwards; it turns into a dirt track after the last houses. The track bends to the left, then descends into the bed of a stream, a tributary of the Ruisseau du Pinon, before climbing back up to the D58K road.

(1) Turn left onto Route de Saint-Lys and follow the road down to the Peyrigué chapel.

(2) Leave the Route de Saint-Lys, which continues straight ahead, and turn left onto the Route du Peyrigué, which descends towards the bed of the Ruisseau du Mességué. Continue to the crossroads after Labarthe.

(3) Just before crossing the stream, the road comes to a Y-junction: ignore the road on the left (which you will take on the return journey) and go straight on.
The road makes a first turn right after crossing the stream and then continues straight on to the Moulin d’Encor.

(4) After visiting the watermill and the Boulouze water reservoir, turn back to return to the Y-junction.

(3) Turn right and start climbing towards Saint-Thomas on the Chemin en Tarride. Stay on this road and continue straight on without changing direction until you reach the church of Saint-Thomas.

(5) Turn left onto the street that runs past the church and then the school. Turn right at the end of the street to go round the village square.

(6) Turn left onto the D58 Route d’Empeaux and continue straight on. Pass a small chapel and carry on along this road, which becomes the Route de Saint-Thomas as you cross into another parish. Arrive in Empeaux and you will find the town hall on the left, as well as the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 310 m - Car park at Empeaux Town Hall - Église Saint-Sabin (Empeaux)
  2. 1 : km 1.33 - alt. 252 m - Route de Saint-Lys (D58K)
  3. 2 : km 3.03 - alt. 221 m - Peyrigué Chapel
  4. 3 : km 4.68 - alt. 173 m - Y-shaped junction
  5. 4 : km 5.72 - alt. 177 m - Moulin d'Encor - Boulouze (rivière)
  6. 5 : km 10.71 - alt. 319 m - Church of Saint Thomas - Église Saint-Thomas (Saint-Thomas)
  7. 6 : km 10.91 - alt. 319 m - D58 Route d'Empeaux
  8. S/E : km 12.68 - alt. 310 m - Car park at Empeaux Town Hall - Église Saint-Sabin (Empeaux)

Notes

On Place de Saint-Thomas, near the boules club, there is a drinking water tap
Refreshments are available at the Moulin d'Encor refreshment stand

Worth a visit

There are beautiful views along the route of the Pyrenees, the Gers valleys and the riverbanks you pass.

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
3.6 / 5
JMJ31
JMJ31

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Done on 27/02/2025
One of the few advantages is that the route consists almost entirely of quiet tarmac roads, although now the paths are more or less all passable

Machine-translated

AJT-31
AJT-31

This is the perfect time of year for this walk; on a clear day, the view of the Pyrenees is well worth the trip. On the downside, the mill is closed at this time of year, which is a shame as in summer you can enjoy a drink on the terrace.
The advantage of the tarmac is undeniable at the moment, and the lack of traffic makes this a great walk for the whole family.
Thank you for your encouraging comments

Machine-translated

yvesrégine
yvesrégine

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 31, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A drive along quiet country roads, so highly recommended in winter. Beautiful views of the Pyrenees.

Machine-translated

sabinevyvey
sabinevyvey

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 10, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk along quiet country lanes, ideal in wet weather as there’s not much of a path. Beautiful views. Be careful at the start of walk 1: you need to turn right onto the road to Saint Lys (not left as indicated). After that, it’s well signposted. No visit to the mill, so not particularly interesting.
Walk completed in 2 hours.

Machine-translated

andré 11100
andré 11100

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

As someone who loves tarmac, it was perfect: 98% tarmac, only four other vehicles on the road so no problems, and lovely views all along the route. However, the little detour to see the mill was a bit of a let-down – nothing special. For the record, I completed the route in 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Machine-translated

AJT-31
AJT-31

Thank you for this positive comment – it encourages me to post more walks

Machine-translated

Bernard CONDAMINES
Bernard CONDAMINES

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A leisurely walk with beautiful views of the Pyrenees. Lots of tarmac, but little traffic; a welcome relief after the heavy rain of the last few days.
Perhaps best avoided in very hot weather as there is practically no shade

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.