The moors from Cadeuil to Sainte-Gemme

The entire route is signposted with a Blue Line.

Starting point: school car park in Sainte-Gemme; GPS 45°46'16.5"N 0°43'22.6"W

(S/E) As you leave the car park, take the street on the left, then the one on the right towards the Romanesque church of Sainte-Gemme and follow the signposting to the right, behind the priory, until you reach a bend. Look out for a spring called the Fontaine de Prieuré, from which a stream flows.

(1) Turn left, then left again at the next junction. Continue straight on at the following junction, then, at the war memorial, carry on along Rue de la Croix des Forges until you reach the junction with the D112.

(2) Cross it carefully, take the path opposite which runs alongside the cemetery wall, take the path on the left and follow the signposts straight on until you reach the Route de Chez Bouchet.

(3) Take the road on the right for several hundred metres and turn left at the first road towards Pas de Blénac.

(4) Walk past the goat farm (where goats are reared and cheese is made). Watch out for the farm dogs: they’re not aggressive but they can look intimidating. Continue straight on along the path, which first passes through coppiced woodland (hornbeams, chestnut trees, oaks, etc.) and then through heathland (broom, ferns, etc.) before reaching sandy ground. At the road, turn right to reach a Fork in the road.

(5) Turn right again towards La Grande Vergne. Follow the signposts and walk through the hamlet. Take the path between the trees.The view of the Cadeuil sand pits opens up on your right. Atthe next Fork in the road, continue along the path to the right and head deep into the Landes along these sandy tracks. Watch out for motorbikes and quad bikes you may encounter on these tracks. Walk alongside Lake Cadeuil and, at the end of the track, you’ll reach the Route de La Brande du Roussillon.

(6) Follow it to the left, then head up the limestone track on the left. Enjoy the panoramic view over a sandpit. If you look carefully, you may spot various species of birds. You’ll reach a road.

(7) Turn right onto it, then at the next fork, take the path on the left. At the junction, turn left (north) onto the white track with the woodland on your right and continue to the road.

(8) Follow it to the right, turn left, then right onto a sandy track, then a dirt track, continuing straight ahead up onto a limestone plateau until you reach the Route de Chez Bouchet. Turn right to return to the junction you passed on the way out.

(3) Carry on straight ahead to the D122, crossing carefully opposite Chez Bouchet.

(9) Cross the D122 and follow the Route du Bois Bouchet straight ahead. Follow the path to the left via Rue de la Mairie until you return to the car park (S/E).

Church of Sainte-Gemme: built in the Poitou style with some Auvergne influences, it has been damaged and burnt down several times. Ethnographic museum to the right of the church (Priory).

You can see one of the village’s three calvaries (the others are at La Crocherie and La Belle Croix).

At the^second turn-off on the right, you can admire the motte-and-bailey castle of La Vergne and its centuries-old oak tree.

Take the time to go for a stroll around the lakes of Cadeuil. During the flowering season, you’ll be enchanted by the carpets of flowers.