Park in the car park near the church in Candé-sur-Cosson.
Red and white markings (GR® 3 andGRP® ‘from castle to castle’)
(S/E) Follow the “La Loire à vélo” sign near the church. Rue de l’Église passes in front of the town hall before reaching a crossroads.
(1) Leave the tarmac and take a grassy path on the left, which is not very visible from the junction due to the terrain. This path, the entrance to which appears raised, heads north. It runs alongside the primary school and then the nursery school on the left-hand side. Turn right onto Rue de la Liberté, passing Rue des Caudières.
(2) As soon as you have passed the junction, take another grassy path on the right. This joins a wide lane, “les Terres de Villebazin”, on the edge of a wood. Follow the lane, ignoring any side paths. It eventually becomes tarmac as you approach the hamlet of l’Aumône, gradually turning northwards and becoming the Rue des Châtaigniers as it climbs.
(3) Leave this street and take a grassy path that is barely visible from the road, on the right just after a wooden house. The path joins a compacted track,
(4) First turn left then right, crossing Rue de la Garenne to rejoin a grassy path, Rue des Frichots. Cross the first cross street, then head right onto the second. Rue de la Loire serves the hamlet of Madon and then follows the castle’s surrounding wall.
(5) Turn left downhill immediately after passing the castle, heading towards “Chailles 4”. After 200 m, leave Rue de la Fontaine and take a path on the right. Ignore the turn-off to the right and stay on the path, “Rue de Gâte Argent”. This joins a small road, which you will leave after about fifty metres.
No signposting
(6) At the crossroads, turn left onto a compacted track leading downhill towards the Cosson. Turn left onto a path at the edge of a wood just before Pont de l’Etumeau on the Cosson. Stay on the Chemin des Grands Prés, ignoring the various turn-offs, until you reach a crossroad, where you turn right. This road crosses the Cosson at the Pont de Madon and leads to the Loire embankment.
(7) Cross the embankment and take the path opposite, heading down towards the Loire. Turn left and follow the well-marked path between the embankment and the Loire to the end.
(8) Follow the fence, turning left onto the cross-road to rejoin the embankment, near the entrance to a restaurant. Take care when joining the D173, with your back to the Loire. The D173 crosses the Cosson, runs alongside the walls of Château de la Borde and becomes Rue du Château.
(9) Take the second street on the left, Rue de l’Église, to reach the car park near the church, the starting point of the walk (S/E).
