The lakes of the Domaine de Banayre

(S/E) Start from the church forecourt; with your back to the church, walk to the road junction. Turn left onto Rue du 11 Novembre and follow the footpath on the left-hand side of the road. Continue along Route de Saint-Lys, passing two roundabouts. Be sure to use the pedestrian crossings when crossing the various roads.

(1) At the^third roundabout, turn slightly left, staying on the footpath, until you reach a road and head towards the Collège Irène Joliot-Curie.
Walk past the school and continue along the footpath between the sports hall and the playground to reach the Domaine du Banayre.

(2) Turn left onto Avenue des Romarins and carry on until you reach the architect’s house on the corner of the next street on the right.

(3) Turn right. The road ends and continues as a path opposite; carry on towards the Le Vidaillon stream. Then follow this path, which runs alongside the stream and crosses the housing estate, feeding the three ponds along the way, which are used as water reservoirs. Pass the first pond, then carry on to go round the^second on the right and the^third on the left, until you reach the road. Carry on straight ahead and leave the housing estate.

(4) At the roundabout, turn left and take the footpath. After passing a cross, veer left and, at the end of the footpath, turn right onto the path leading to Chemin de Soulery. Carry on straight ahead until you reach the junction with the D68a.

(5) Turn left onto Route de Cantalauze until you reach the Bouygues tower at the next junction.

(6) Turn right onto the Chemin du Château and carry on straight ahead until the next junction. As you pass, on the right, you can see Cammartin Castle, headquarters of the “Les Chaussures du Château” chain of shops and home to the first retail outlet.

(7) Turn left onto the Chemin des Starguets and continue straight on until you reach Fontenilles Church. Walk round the church to reach the churchyard (S/E).

On the square, opposite the church, the café “Chez Lulu” is a great place to quench your thirst after your walk, with a lovely terrace and a home-style lunch.
There are no particular difficulties on the route, which is mostly flat.

(S/E) On Saturday mornings, the forge is open and in operation thanks to its volunteers, which makes for a pleasant way to round off the walk.

Just before the secondary school, you arrive at Genibrat, where “Radio St Lys” was once based, enabling communication with sailors all over the world. It was from here that the final message was sent to Alain Colas, who went missing at sea aboard the Manureva. The facilities are open to visitors during Heritage Days.

The secondary school is home to two horses with therapeutic properties; their presence has a calming effect on the pupils.
With a bit of luck, you might spot herons on the lakes.
The^second lake has a peninsula, and the^third is the largest, with its shoreline overgrown with vegetation.

Camartin Castle is privately owned, but you can admire it by taking the path leading to the shop, which sells shoes at a 5 per cent discount compared to other shops.

The church has been fully restored.