The forests of Aubaine and Bouilland, starting from Bécoup

Head to Bécoup from Pont d'Ouche via the D18. As you enter Bécoup, turn left into Rue du Tilleul, then, once you reach the lime tree, turn left down Rue des Lavières. Park on the grass verge on the left as you head downhill or, if permitted, in the car park of the hunting lodge located at the bottom on the right, opposite the farm sheds.

(S/E) The route starts at the lime tree, in the square. Walk up Rue Cornu (dead end for vehicles) until you reach the Route des Hautes Côtes (D18). Cross it and take the path opposite. At the first crossroads of tracks, turn right. Further on, there is an orientation table with a beautiful panoramic view overlooking the Ouche valley. Pass a water reservoir on the left of the path (elevation 510m). Continue straight ahead, climbing until you reach a four-way junction. Turn left.

(1) Walk a few metres and then keep right. A little further on, on the left, there is a clear-cut area. The forest path is gravel-surfaced in places and leads onto a dirt track in an open area. Follow it to the right until you reach the next junction at the start of a left-hand bend. Turn right and then immediately left to follow the path that leads into the undergrowth. Turn right at the next junction of tracks.

(2) This path widens to join a broader track coming diagonally from the right. Continue straight ahead to the next junction, which is a single track with a branch off to the left. There is a stone marker and a sign reading “Line 7” for the Bouilland communal forest. Turn left onto the path that heads straight into the woods (visible when you look up). The route is also visible on the ground. A few excavations and fallen trees require brief detours. Shortly before it ends, the path descends, crosses a hollow and climbs straight ahead again. It comes to a dead end at a cross-path. Turn left, then take the first path on the right.

(3) Follow “line 6” straight ahead. Its route is clearly visible on the ground. It then descends gradually, crosses a low wall and heads off to the right, winding its way through woodland and open ground. At one point, the path turns left into the undergrowth, passes by tall piles of stones and opens out into a meadow. Follow it all the way to the left until you come to a path crossing it. Head left until you reach the D2.

(4) Keep to the right. Walk down this road with care until you reach its first bend to the left. At the start of the bend, head up the path on the right which leads into the woods. At the edge of the woods, turn left to stay on the edge of the woods, with the field on your right. The path gradually moves away from the field and enters the woods. It winds along the ridge and then climbs slightly to reach a viewpoint.

(5) A beautiful panoramic view of Bouilland and the surrounding area, with a few cliffs visible nearby. An ideal spot for a picnic. The path continues along the ridge and then descends steadily until it reaches a stony track bordering a field. Keep left to go down this white track until it joins a tarmac road. Head straight on along the left-hand edge of the field, which marks the start of the path to follow.

(6) It branches off to the left, heading into the woods whilst moving away from the field. Then it veers left again and emerges, at the top of a hillock, into a meadow (guide to the right). At the next junction, keep left.

(7) This white track passes in front of the Maison de la chasse (on the left) and some buildings (on the right). Follow it continuously until you reach the D104. Turn right. Carefully walk up this road for about 180 m before turning left onto the^GR®7. Follow it straight on until you reach a distinct widening on the right, thought to be a stone quarry. Turn right just before this,^{following the GR®} markings^.

(8) Climb the embankment to follow the well-marked^GR® path. At a crossroads of tracks, keep left and pass under a medium-voltage power line. Shortly afterwards, you’ll come to a T-junction. Leave the^GR® here and turn right.

(9) Head up the tarmac road. On the left, there is a lovely viewpoint just before entering Crépey. The route ends on the Route de Sainte-Marguerite. Head down to the left towards the old village via Route de Bouilland and Rue de l’École. At Place du Four à Pain, note the wayside cross beneath the lime tree and, opposite, an old water cistern with its pump. Head down to the right along the path to the wash house. On the left, an old well dating from 1827, sheltered by a roof. Steep descent along the tarmac path.

(10) At the bottom of the slope, on the right, there is a picnic area and a renovated wash house with an adjoining trough. Continue along the same path. After passing between two fields, the path climbs into the woods. At the first crossroads of tracks, turn right to continue on level ground. When you reach the end, keep to the right and head downhill. At the bottom of the slope, the path bends to the left. Further on, at the next junction, turn right.

(11) Walk continuously along the bottom of the Presme valley. When you reach a vast meadow that opens up the view, you can take the path branching off to the left to reach, a few dozen metres away, the pumping station behind which there is an accessible spring. Return to the original path and follow it until you reach the D104a. Walk carefully along it, enter Aubaine via the Presme road and turn into the first street on the right.

(12) The climb up La Tillotte goes round the church and the cemetery and continues for some time before reaching the top of the hill (passing at the foot of a pylon and under a medium-voltage power line).

Once out in the open, there is a beautiful view to the left with Châteauneuf-en-Auxois on the horizon. Continue carefully along the main road, then take a path on the left which veers away from the road for a while before rejoining it just before entering Bécoup. At the first houses, on the right, is the old wash house.

On reaching the junction with the D18, you will see old cast-iron signposts on two sides of the house on the left. Cross the road to take Rue du Tilleul and thus return to the starting point (S/E).

If you need to park more than 4 vehicles, please contact Bécoup Town Hall (Mondays 3pm–7pm on 03 80 33 01 04) and/or the Hunting Chairman to gain access to the hunting lodge car park located at the bottom right of Rue des Lavières in Bécoup.
Walking sticks are recommended for the section through the woods (uphill/downhill).
A pair of binoculars is useful for viewing the panoramic views at various points along the route.
Picnic table under a lime tree in Bécoup.
Option to have a picnic on the grass at the panoramic viewpoint overlooking Bouilland.
Picnic table under a lime tree in Crépey and next to the wash house.

- Viewpoint with an orientation table on the heights of Bécoup.
- Panoramic viewpoint overlooking the village of Bouilland and its cliffs.
- Viewpoint on the left before reaching Crépey.
- In Crépey: old wells, bread oven, wash house.
- Renovated stone houses in Aubaine.
- Viewpoint from the heights of Aubaine towards the Auxois region (Châteauneuf-en-Auxois).
- Bécoup wash house and two cast-iron signposts at the D28 junction (house on the left-hand corner).