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Departure from the car park of the Auberge du Petit Nice in Croignon. Electric vehicle charging available.
(S/E) Leave the inn on your left, walk downhill for about 250 metres and turn left onto Chemin du Gestas until you reach a Y-junction.
(1) Turn left and walk up Chemin de Virel for about 200 m.
(2) Leave the main road and continue right on Chemin de Vireli, which enters the woods and then crosses a pasture where sheep often graze.
(3) At the crossroads, turn right onto the steep path leading to Gestas. Cross the bridge over the stream and continue to the tarmac road.
(4) Turn right, then take the first path on the left, before the house. The path climbs through the woods. Go through the cattle grids and continue. On the left, you will see a pidgeon hunting hut. Continue to the tarmac road.
(5) Turn right and continue. Pass the town hall and Saint-Martin du Pout Church. A little further on, on the right, is the first castle on the route, dating from the 17th century: Château Rivalan.
(6) Turn left onto Chemin des Marches. Cross the small hamlet and continue straight ahead on the dirt track that descends through the undergrowth to the tarmac road.
(7) Turn left and continue to the stop sign. Turn right, then immediately left onto Chemin des Chevreuils. At the end of the tarmac section, continue along the dirt track that runs between the edge of the woods and the vineyards. Cross Route de Camarsac and continue straight ahead through the vineyards. There is a beautiful view of Château de Camarsac on the right.
(8) Turn right onto the road that winds down towards the hamlet of Brochard to reach the stream of the same name.
(9) Take the path on the right after the bridge over the stream and continue along its left bank. On the right bank, you will see beautiful properties and a pond.
(10) Leave the bridge on your right and continue left on the path that climbs towards the Château de Camarsac. You will pass close to the magnificent circular dovecote (17th century).
(11) Facing the vineyards, turn left at the foot of the imposing Château de Camarsac (second on the itinerary), built in the 14th century and remodelled in the 16th and 18th centuries. Legend has it that the Black Prince, son of Edward II, King of England, stayed here to defend his father's lands. Walk along the surrounding wall to the right, then turn left and continue to the D936.
(12) Cross the road with great care and head left for about 100 metres. Then leave the D936 and turn right. Ignore the entrance to the property on your left and continue straight ahead.
(13) Turn right onto a beautiful straight driveway lined with magnificent oak trees. This is the former tramway line that connected Bordeaux to Camarsac between 1900 and 1949. In 1924, there were up to ten return trips per day at a speed of 35 km/h, with a journey time of 55 minutes.
(14) Cross over and take Chemin des Trams.
(15) Turn left, then walk along the Camarsac pond, fed by the Gestas: an idyllic spot for a short break or a picnic.
(16) Leave the pond and take the road that runs alongside the Gestas to Avenue Georges Rivière.
(17) Turn right onto this road. Cross the Gestas river, then climb towards Saint-Germain-du-Puch.
(18) Turn left towards Sales (misspelled on the IGN map) and cross the hamlet. The road then turns right into the vineyard and crosses the hamlet of Cordes.
(19) Continue along Chemin de Cordes.
(20) Leave the road and continue straight ahead along the lane between the vineyards until you reach the Château du Grand Puch farm. The imposing silhouette of the château stands directly ahead. Construction is thought to have begun between the end of the 13th century and 1330. It was completed between the middle and end of the 14th century.
(21) Take the road to the left. At the bend, continue straight ahead on Route du Grand Puch.
(22) Turn right onto the Bol d'Air route to reach Château du Petit Puch further on.
(23) Walk along the front of the château and continue through the vineyards until you reach Route de Sallebœuf. Turn right, then immediately left onto Chemin de Pingat and continue through the vineyards.
(24) Turn right into the vineyards and then walk along the wall surrounding the château grounds: take a look at one of the entrances to the grounds!
(25) Turn left onto the tarmac road and go straight ahead at every junction.
(26) Leave the road and head downhill to the right between the vineyards towards the wall surrounding Château Jonqueyres. Follow the wall to the left and you will arrive in front of the château. Then walk down the château driveway until you reach the D936.
(27) Turn right and descend the D936 with caution. Cross the Gestas again, then cross the D936 at the pedestrian crossing and continue to the town hall.
(28) Turn left and continue to the church of Camarsac, dedicated to Saint Saturninus, Bishop of Toulouse, who died a martyr in 250. It has been listed in the Supplementary Inventory of Historic Monuments since December 1925.
(29) Turn left onto Chemin de Croignon.
(30) After the water treatment plant, turn right. At the fork you passed at the start of the route, turn left and head for the Auberge du Petit Nice (S/E).
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