The Gonsans nature trail

Car park at the Maison de la Chasse et de la Nature in Gonsans. Yellow-and-blue signposting is virtually non-existent.

(S/E) Set off along the gravel path heading towards the woods. Take the left-hand path at the first two junctions. At the end of the nature trail, head straight on towards the pastures, which you’ll reach via a small wooden footbridge.

(1) Head towards the large copse in front of you to see the statue of the Virgin of Gonsans and enjoy a view of the plateau. On your right, you’ll see the fortified house of the Jouffroy family. At the statue of the Virgin, head down the left-hand side of the pasture (with your back to the statue), moving towards the fence, which you cross at the cattle gate. The walking trail continues straight ahead, but leave it and turn left onto the departmental road for about forty metres.

(2) Turn right onto the gravel road, which quickly becomes a dirt track. A hundred metres further on, you’ll pass a beautiful, moss-covered sinkhole on your left. Enter it – even though there’s no path – and cross it, staying in the middle. You’ll reach the sharp limestone pavement at a large stone marking the boundary between the upper sharp limestone pavement (on the right) and the lower sharp limestone pavement (on the left). Climb (carefully) up and then back down the sharp limestone pavement at this point, following the upper sharp limestone pavement whilst veering slightly to the right. Caution: crossing the sharp limestone pavement by heading to the left may seem easier but is impossible and dangerous, as it leads you above the cave entrance.

(3) The cave will be on the left, at the bottom of a second sinkhole. It’s a beautiful, large cavity that I could only make out dimly from the threshold, having only my mobile phone’s torch, so I cannot judge whether it is safe to enter. With a proper torch, it is no doubt possible to go down a little further, but do remain vigilant. Turn back to the path and head left.

(4) Caution! You’ll come to a crossroads forming a triangle. Carry on straight ahead at the first fork, walk about ten paces to reach the actual crossroads, and continue straight ahead, keeping a sinkhole on your right.

(5) At the small tarmac road, turn left for about a hundred metres, then right onto a path that is half earth, half stone (signposted ‘Gonsans 34’). When it becomes entirely earth, it forks. Head up the left-hand fork. Cross the main road and take the small tarmac road on the left, at the foot of the ‘Forêt Communale’ sign. The road becomes stony and enters a beautiful fir forest. You then pass through a series of pastures and copses.

(6) At the edge of another fir forest, turn right onto the dirt track which quickly enters the woods. Head diagonally to the right at the small patch of meadow to rejoin the path through a gap in the trees, then turn right again at the nearby fork. The path may be muddy in wet weather. Cross two small clearings quietly and, like me, you might be surprised to spot two pretty does bounding about. A chorus of birds is guaranteed.

(7) As you emerge from the woods, turn right onto the small gravel road. At the beautiful hunting lodge, head down to the right towards the village. When you reach the first houses, turn right onto the Chemin de la Vie au Château. Opposite the statue of the Virgin Mary, on your right, stands the 16th-century Manoir des Comtes de Jouffroy on its hillock. Continue to the Rue de l’Église, with its wooden shingles, and head up to the right to visit the church (altarpiece and statues).

(8) On leaving the church, walk a short way up the main road to the left, then turn left again immediately at the fork (towards Magny-Châtelard). When the road bends to the right, leave it and enter the pasture via the cattle gate, head up towards the statue of the Virgin Mary, then towards the edge of the woods and the starting point of the trail, which is about a hundred metres to the right of the water tower.

(1) Back at the end of the discovery trail, this time turn left to complete the circular loop. Shortly after the sharp limestone pavement section, at the fork, continue left to return to the car park (S/E).

• The discovery trail, comprising 45 markers placed in front of trees, shrubs or animals (represented by life-size silhouettes) and 15 orientation markers hidden in the forest. Investigator’s guide and the website.
• The Deschamps Cave and its graffiti, some of which dates back to the 18th century. Be sure to bring a torch.
• The Virgin of the Mount, dating from the interwar period, a time when imitations of the Grotto of Lourdes were common.
• The 16th-centuryManor House of the Counts of Jouffroy, built on the site of the former castle.
• The Church of Saint-Maurice, clad in wooden shingles – wooden tiles used to cover roofs and façades. It houses a 16th-century Flamboyant Gothic altarpiece and polychrome wooden statues, notably Saint Maurice on horseback.