The Moulin de la Roche in Marcilly-lès-Buxy

A peaceful walk through the remote forests and wooded countryside of Saône-et-Loire, where the villages along the way have managed to preserve their rural character.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.92 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 741 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 751 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,375 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 856 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) Leave the cemetery car park, passing in front of the church, and turn immediately right – almost going against the flow of traffic – along the edge of a property.
Follow this path between the hedges until you come to a small lane running perpendicular to it a little further on. Turn left and you’ll soon reach the Volvin farm

(1) Walk past the farm buildings and take the dirt track opposite, leaving the road that branches off to the right. Keep to the right at the next two junctions and stay on the track, which turns southwards, reaching a four-way crossroads after just under a kilometre.

(2) Carry on straight ahead, still heading south, until you come to a gate. Turn right and follow a track through the fields, which joins a road after a series of 90° bends.
Turn left, ignore the path coming from the right, and you’ll reach the first houses of Savianges at the next junction.

(3) Leave the lane leading to Les Pignerets on your left and carry on straight ahead until you reach, not far from there, a junction marked by a stone cross.
Keep to the right and cross the village, maintaining the same direction at the following junctions until you reach the edge of the village just past the last houses.

(4) Turn right towards the west up a hill towards Mondornon (yellow sign) and carry on straight ahead at the first junction to reach, a little further up, another junction at the edge of the forest.

(5) Carry on straight ahead, still heading west, and enter the Bois du Rougeon.
The path continues to climb and soon turns south-west until, about 900 metres further on, it reaches a junction just after a cleared area on the right.

(6) Turn right towards the north; the gradient will reverse after about 500 metres. Carry on straight ahead, ignoring the side paths, and reach the edge of the woodland after a 1-kilometre descent.
You’ll soon cross your first road and, not far from there, reach the Prettement crossroads.

(7) Take the road opposite, signposted as a dead end, and reach the hamlet after a right-hand bend. Continue until you reach the last houses at the end of the road.

(8) Carry on along the extension of the road on a dirt track and, after 200 metres, turn right at the Fork in the road.
The path will soon turn right and head north-east, reaching the village of Martrat at the end of Impasse des Punaises after 1 km.

(9) Follow the road opposite until, a little further on, you cross the Impasse du Château at the school.
Turn right and continue along the path, which immediately turns left. A little further on, ignore a path branching off to the right and stay on the path, which will turn first right and then left to go round the castle grounds.

Keep to the right at the Fork in the road and, just after the bend, turn left to return to the cemetery car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 1,020 ft - Marcilly cemetery car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.47 - alt. 958 ft - Volvin Farm
  3. 2 : mi 1.08 - alt. 965 ft - Four-way junction
  4. 3 : mi 2.36 - alt. 886 ft - Pignerets Crossroads
  5. 4 : mi 2.78 - alt. 883 ft - Leaving the village. Near the - Guye (rivière)
  6. 5 : mi 3.24 - alt. 1,047 ft - The edge of the Bois de Rougeon
  7. 6 : mi 3.75 - alt. 1,296 ft - Crossing the forest
  8. 7 : mi 4.73 - alt. 1,145 ft - Prettement crossroads
  9. 8 : mi 5.14 - alt. 997 ft - End of the route at Prettement
  10. 9 : mi 6 - alt. 1,155 ft - The village of Martrat
  11. S/E : mi 6.92 - alt. 1,020 ft - Marcilly cemetery car park

Notes

There is a large car park next to the cemetery and the church, whose bell tower can be seen from afar.

Please note that the route has been adapted to take into account the fact that it is impossible to access the Sentier de la Guye between the Moulin de la Roche and the Hameau des Pignerets (unless you’re willing to pole-vault).
It’s always a shame that paths clearly marked on maps are effectively privatised with copious amounts of barbed wire.

Reviews and comments

3.9 / 5
Based on 4 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
3.5 / 5
amattheur
amattheur

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route, even if the mid-November weather meant we couldn’t fully enjoy all the views it has to offer.
The church at Marcily-lès-Buxy is very beautiful, and arriving at Savianges Castle makes you want to find out more about the place.
My only suggestion for improving the description between points 2 and 3 would be to specify that you walk alongside the driveway, as the driveway itself is impassable; if you’re expecting something ‘walkable’, you might be taken aback.
This route was a lovely discovery that makes you want to do the walk again when the weather is fine.

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Perret Christian
Perret Christian

Thank you, Alain, for your feedback.

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alainlem
alainlem

Following Christian’s misadventures, I went there myself to retrace this walk.
The first sections of the path are poorly maintained, and the wild vegetation has really thrived thanks to the generous rainfall of spring 2024. And sure enough, a little further on, I see that the path has been ploughed up: Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!
I managed to find my way by using the tall trees that mark what is no longer a proper path, but it was a right struggle!
The rest of the walk remains pleasant. I’ll see if I can suggest an alternative that doesn’t involve too much tarmac
In the meantime, it’s best to choose another walk in the area, as there are plenty on the VisoRando website.

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Perret Christian
Perret Christian

Overall rating : 2 / 5

Date of your route : May 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

We weren’t able to follow the recommended route for this walk because, between points 2 and 3, we found ourselves in crops (rapeseed fields) that were impossible to cross. We had to turn back (adding 3 km to the original distance), return to point 2, and get back onto the roads to reach point 3. I won’t even mention the height of the grass along the long stretch between points 2 and 3 (over 1.50 m...)
I strongly advise against this walk....

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Borosmoke
Borosmoke

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

I didn’t really enjoy this walk. We had to walk through very muddy ruts quite often, and most of the route runs along the edges of fields. That said, it’s a very sunny walk and there are some lovely views. I liked the village of Savianges. That said, there are more scenic walks in the area. I’d therefore recommend this walk to seasoned walkers who want to explore places they haven’t been to before. Note: very easy. Completed in 2 hours 30 minutes.

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Pat BREDILLET
Pat BREDILLET

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 16, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely walk that’s typical of our region… the Guye Valley, the bocage, wooded hills, hamlets…
A very good guide.
We did this walk starting from Savianges and it only took us 3 hours, even though we took our time and stopped for a bite to eat.

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