The Combraille lighthouse in Marche

A journey through the centuries: history, legends and mysteries await you. At the foot of the village tower, strange fields of stones stretch out, serving as hiding places for fairies and elves.

Details

1785
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.79 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 774 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 797 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,142 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,532 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Start in front of the church in Toulx-Sainte-Croix.

(S/E) Walk past the war memorial, then head down towards the archaeological excavation site. Pass beneath the cemetery, near the Saint-Martial Chapel, then walk back up the road a short way.

(1) Head down the path on the right and come out onto the D14. Turn right. Follow the D14 for 300 m.

(2) Take thefirst track on the left to reach Lavaud. Walk through the hamlet, ignore a road on the right and, at the end of the hamlet, follow the road on the left for about 300 m.

(3) Take the track on the right.

(4) At the four-way junction, turn left and you’ll come out onto the D14. Cross the road and continue straight on until you reach a second road.

(5) Turn left and, at the next junction, carry on straight ahead to the hamlet of Les Maisons.

(6) Facing the pond, take the small road on the right, then the track on the right that runs between the houses. Continue to a T-junction about 700 m further on.

(7) Take the path on the left. After about 900 m, turn left and carry on to Pradeau, passing three paths branching off to the right in turn. At a cross, carry on straight ahead to the D67 and cross the road.

(8) Immediately afterwards, turn left. Walk alongside the pond on your left and continue to the D77

.(9) Turn left onto the road and you’ll come to a junction with a cross. Carry on straight ahead. When you reach the junction with the road leading to Les Bordes, turn right onto this road.

(10) 50 m further on, turn onto the path on the left and you’ll reach the first junction of paths. Carry on straight ahead until the next junction.

(11) Go straight on. The track curves to the left and leads back to Toulx-Sainte-Croix, near a small reservoir. The water tower is directly opposite. Turn right onto the road which bends to the left and leads to the church, our starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 2,142 ft - Church of Toulx-Sainte-Croix
  2. 1 : mi 0.29 - alt. 2,057 ft - Junction
  3. 2 : mi 0.84 - alt. 1,909 ft - Junction on the path
  4. 3 : mi 1.49 - alt. 1,824 ft - Junction on the track
  5. 4 : mi 1.84 - alt. 1,709 ft - Crossroads
  6. 5 : mi 2.23 - alt. 1,608 ft - Road junction
  7. 6 : mi 2.65 - alt. 1,647 ft - The hamlet of Les Maisons
  8. 7 : mi 3.43 - alt. 1,532 ft - T-junction
  9. 8 : mi 4.69 - alt. 1,654 ft - Junction after the D67
  10. 9 : mi 5.21 - alt. 1,785 ft - D77
  11. 10 : mi 5.84 - alt. 1,896 ft - Junction on the path
  12. 11 : mi 6.32 - alt. 1,955 ft - Crossroads
  13. S/E : mi 6.79 - alt. 2,142 ft - Church of Toulx-Sainte-Croix

Worth a visit

Toulx-Sainte-Croix: the church, the tower.
Les Pierres Jaumâtres.
Boussac and its castle.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 13 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
POULIN Gérard
POULIN Gérard ★

Hello, and thank you, Vador61, for pointing out this error. It has now been corrected.

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Vador61
Vador61

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 20, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, enjoyable walk.
Also, don’t hesitate to make a detour to the observation tower, which offers a superb panoramic view of the region.

A small correction: in the ‘Description’, point (6) appears twice; the second instance should therefore be point (7).
This point begins with “Take the path on the right”; in fact, this should be corrected to “on the left”.

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User 12262884

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : Yes

Only the part near the Toul Sté Croix hill is pretty, but the appeal is largely spoiled by around fifty hunters surrounding the area, with barking dogs and vehicles everywhere.
The paths are wide and well maintained because they are frequently used.

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randolim78
randolim78

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A peaceful and pleasant hike, with a short section on the road, otherwise well signposted and without difficulty, winding through forest and countryside, ending in the fog that was beginning to fall. I recommend it 😀👍

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DaDoRando14
DaDoRando14

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike. We added a detour to Pierres Jaumâtres, a site not to be missed, about 3 km extra. The yellow markings, which are quite old, are not always very clear, so be careful!

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Gilles Baudat
Gilles Baudat

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 11, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The route is pleasant, gently undulating.
The explanations are very clear.
From point 8, I added a return trip to the Pierres Jaumâtres.

At Toulx Sainte Croix, we also enjoyed the view from the top of the tower/observatory.

Gilles Baudat
French Alpine Club of Châteauroux

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PaléoScriB
PaléoScriB

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We have added a detour to this route to take in the winter fountain and wash house, an exceptional site that is not to be missed, which has been undergoing restoration since 2011 by Pierres en Marche. From Saint-Martial Chapel, with its breathtaking view of the Chaîne des Puys, cross the D14 and continue straight ahead. The path has a steep incline. This is the most interesting part of the hike, with a 300° view of the Chaîne des Puys between points 3 and 4! The rest was more monotonous, but very peaceful. The church of Toulx-Sainte-Croix is a must-see. We thought we would be able to climb the tower, which has since been turned into a water reservoir, which is a shame. The paths are pleasant, especially during a heatwave! A beautiful walk to do on a clear day.

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Petitours29
Petitours29

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 28, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Although we were unable to find out what this "Phare de Combraille" (the Toulx-Sainte-Croix Panorama Tower?) was, this route is nonetheless magnificent and easy (11 km in 2 hours 45 minutes). The explanations are very clear and, what's more, the route is marked with yellow signs from start to finish. In short, we had a wonderful time around Toulx-Sainte-Croix.
One small comment: it would be interesting to know whether some of the paths taken, especially at the beginning, are not old Roman roads, as it seemed to me in certain places... It's up to the experts to decide.

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jeannette vallet
jeannette vallet

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 17, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It's a beautiful hike that would benefit from including a detour to the yellowish stones. The trails are clean and easy, the few sections of local roads are very quiet, and the scenery is relaxing. Thank you for this walk.

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Joel2503
Joel2503

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A round trip to Pierres Jaumatres, 2 km in total, makes the hike even better.
Joel

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PRamon
PRamon

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 25, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely, undulating route along shaded paths. However, there are no real highlights and no particularly nice places to stop for a bite to eat. That said, you pass less than 1 km from the Pierres Jaumatres site. I recommend taking this little detour to discover a truly magnificent site.

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sydam18
sydam18

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 17, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely walk that can easily be enjoyed with the family and your dog.
The scenery is magnificent, and the paths lined with stone walls are very pleasant.
There are a few sections of road, but given the low volume of traffic, it's no problem to walk.
A short detour to the Pierres Jaumatres site was the perfect way to end the day.

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Céline P5.
Céline P5.

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 27, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

We pushed on to Pierres Jaumatres, 14.7 km away. Very nice.

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nene52
nene52

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 17, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

very beautiful hike.

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