The ridges around Espanès

A route starting from Corronsac in the 'long' version, with magnificent landscapes on ridge paths and some beautiful trails in the Lauragais.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.59 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 304 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 307 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 285 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 198 m

Photos

Description of the walk

The starting point is in front of the entrance to the Corronsac cemetery, where parking is easy along the street.

(S/E) Take Chemin de Simon, a small road leading downhill opposite the gate, towards Espanes on the signpost.

(1) Continue left at the bottom of the road towards the roundabout, which you cross to climb up the paved Chemin d'Urtaut.
This climbs steeply to the hamlet of the same name, which you cross. The path becomes grassy.

(2) 50 m further on, follow a path along the edge of a hedge that dips to the right. This comes out onto the road to Venerque. Follow it to the left, continuing downhill.

(3) After the Pont de Bartevidal bridge, at the bottom of the valley, leave the road and take the wide dirt track on the left.
This curves to the right and climbs towards a farm, which you cross. The path continues straight ahead and becomes paved. This is the start of a 2 km paved section with no traffic (dead end). Ignore the path on the right heading towards Espanes. This path arrives at an intersection with the D74.

(4) Cross it and continue straight ahead, still on the small paved Chemin de Montan. This road stays on the ridge, allowing you to enjoy the Lauragais landscapes on the left (especially Montbrun with its magnificent mill) and the Montagne Noire on the right. When conditions are favourable, the view of the Pyrenees can be spectacular.

(5) The road begins to descend as you reach the hamlet of Montan. Continue straight ahead and the tarmac gives way to a wide dirt track with a steep descent.

(6) The path arrives at a crossroads of trails at the edge of a wood. Ignore the wide path going up to the left and turn right, following the edge of the wood.
after 300 m, the path turns right to cross a ditch, then turns into a pretty trail that climbs back up into the woods.
It stays at the edge of the woods and eventually comes out onto a new, partially paved path, which you follow to the left. This path comes out onto the D68.

(7) Take this road and continue straight ahead. At the next junction, the D68 rejoins the D74, which you follow for 100 m to the left.

(8) Leave this road and turn right onto Chemin de Teyssonnières.
after 50 m, follow the grassy path that goes around a renovated farm on the right. The path becomes a trail as it enters a wood (not shown on the IGN map). Follow the main trail straight ahead (ignore the paths on the left) until you come out at the end of the wood. The trail branches off to the left and comes out onto a wider path. Follow it to the right.

(9) In the centre of the village of Espanès, turn left onto Allée des Platanes (riddle: why this name?).
Follow the lane to the end, which joins the D94. Turn right and follow this road up to the next ridge.

(10) At the top of the steep slope, turn left onto Chemin herbeux de Capdeville towards the water tower.
At the end, the path comes out onto a small road (D35C) which you take on the right. Follow it straight ahead for 300 m, then in the bend, take the wide grassy path on the right which becomes a track and descends along the edge of the field.
This is the trickiest part of the route, as it can be very muddy. You can bypass it by walking along the edge of the field at the top of the embankment on the left, which is a little less... "challenging".

(11) This path comes out onto a wide track which you follow to the right. It turns left and becomes a lovely, playful path leading downhill.
Be careful! This section is also very popular with mountain bikers, who can come down very fast, of course!
The trail ends on the Chemin goudronné de Meniot, which you follow to the right. This joins the D94 and returns to the starting point.

(3) Unless you want to do the route again, follow the route in reverse to the Corronsac cemetery (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 238 m - Near the Corronsac cemetery
  2. 1 : km 0.33 - alt. 200 m - D24 roundabout
  3. 2 : km 1.05 - alt. 245 m - Hamlet of Urtaut
  4. 3 : km 1.62 - alt. 199 m - Bartevidal bridge. Crossroads of the loop
  5. 4 : km 3.6 - alt. 277 m - Crossing the D74. Hamlet of Clara
  6. 5 : km 4.79 - alt. 234 m - Hamlet of Montan
  7. 6 : km 5.05 - alt. 203 m - Roumieu crossroads
  8. 7 : km 6.13 - alt. 260 m - Junction with the D68
  9. 8 : km 6.87 - alt. 258 m - Turn right onto Chemin de Teyssonnières
  10. 9 : km 8.25 - alt. 275 m - Espanès
  11. 10 : km 9.47 - alt. 283 m - Capdeville trail
  12. 11 : km 11.13 - alt. 240 m - Turn right onto a wide path.
  13. S/E : km 13.59 - alt. 239 m - Near the Corronsac cemetery

Notes

This circuit, which can be completed in 2½ hours, has been designed and recommended for winter use as it mainly consists of quiet tarmac paths and unpaved tracks that are normally passable even in wet conditions. However, this is the Lauragais region, and some short sections can be very muddy during periods of frequent rain, but remain generally passable with only one potentially slippery section before the (11). Please equip yourself accordingly.
Of course, in hot weather, take the usual precautions as there is little shade.

A shorter 3 km variant is possible starting from Espanès (9), avoiding the return trip to Corronsac.

Worth a visit

(3) Manor house on the site of a former Templar monastery.
(9) Château d'Espanès, dating from the heyday of the pastel industry.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 26 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
herline
herline

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very pretty route, very easy. Varied views. The very short climbs and descents present no difficulty in terms of terrain or danger. For those who mention steep climbs, etc., if you read the description, you can see that this is not a walk along the canal.
for orientation, as always, it's best to start the hike, which allows you to follow your progress on the map of the planned route.
a beautiful trail for those who are interested.

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Valeser
Valeser

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant hike with beautiful views. However, there is some tarmac but no traffic.

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FUCK
FUCK
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant route with beautiful sections of unpaved trails shaded by hedges and small woods.
One small downside: the kilometre after Espanès on a narrow road lined with plane trees, which is very busy and where I almost got my shorts cut several times.

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Alain MONTAGNIER
Alain MONTAGNIER

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Nice walk, but I regretted the return route, which retraces the first three points of the outward journey, which are not very interesting and, what's more, involve a steep climb at the end, forcing walkers to finish with a difficult ascent. I would have found it better to start the walk directly at point 2 or even point 3.

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caouec
caouec

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

pleasant route
it's a shame about the view of the Pyrenees, which must be magnificent, but it was a bad day

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VincentLafon
VincentLafon

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 20, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant walk in the countryside with views of the Pyrenees and some beautiful houses.

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elpatrok
elpatrok
• Edited:

..

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kiki2711
kiki2711

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 24, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant, varied hike with beautiful ploughed fields at the start of autumn and beautiful views of the Pyrenees.
Thank you for this route.

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Jean31
Jean31

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike, the sections on asphalt are car-free, but watch out for mountain bikes, as noted at the end.

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Pascal0351
Pascal0351

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Overall good, but the description was a little vague and led us astray when following the edge of the woods.

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De Grasse
De Grasse

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Well-described route with warnings about tricky sections, such as slippery descents!
Very beautiful hike with views of the Pyrenees in good weather.
Highly recommended

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Wan. ie
Wan. ie

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

3/5
Nice little walk but nothing special
you spend a lot of time (too much for my liking) on paved paths
I don't really understand why they call it "ridges"
The trail is very well marked

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H de Boissezon
H de Boissezon

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A really nice, varied walk. We did it during the week, so there weren't many people on the initial section between Clermont and the banks of the Ariège, but it must be busier at weekends. Beautiful views of the Pyrenees. Some sections are no longer quite up to date in the description (text) but you can easily find your way thanks to the signposts.

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jama
jama

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 02, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

a pleasant, easy hike with well-marked trails.

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Isafrabenapo
Isafrabenapo

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike. The route is varied as we pass through woodland, walk alongside fields and follow a clear path with superb views of the Pyrenees. There are few paved sections and very little road traffic.
The signposting is very good.
Perhaps best avoided on windy days! In summer, bring water and sun cream as there is little shade.

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