The mills of Barthos

de fr

Hike in southern Gironde, with a succession of typical rural landscapes: old farms with tobacco drying sheds, the Landes de Gascogne forest and old mills.
The route follows the yellow or green departmental markings, along quiet country roads and forest paths.

Not to be done during the wood pigeon hunting season (early October to 15 November).

Details

n°1066260
Creation:
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Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.44 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 30 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 30 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 125 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 90 m
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Photos

Barthos Mill
Les Monges

Description of the walk

Parking in front of Marions Town Hall.

Green markings

(S/E) With your back to the town hall, follow the road to the right towards the west. Pass in front of the church and the cemetery. Continue to the intersection with the D655E2. Cross carefully and take the path opposite. On your right are meadows, on your left a wood. Leave a path on your left.

Yellow markings

(1) When you reach a farm (Bargasse), leave the path on the left with the green markings and continue straight ahead with the yellow markings.
The path turns 90° to the right, then to the left. Follow it without worrying about the paths branching off to the right. You will soon reach a small tarmac road that leads to Lavazan.

(2) Cross the D124 with caution and take the road opposite (yellow and green markings).

Green markings

At the next intersection, turn right (leaving the yellow markings).
At a place called Castagnet, the road becomes a path. It turns right and at the next intersection, turn left. Pass in front of Prie and you will come to a tarmac road.

(3) Turn left onto it. Pass Pater and stay on the road until the intersection to find the yellow markings again.

Yellow markings

(4) Turn right. At Ferrand, the road splits in two. Leave the right-hand branch and you will arrive at the forest. Follow the main path, ignoring the two paths on the left. At the next intersection, turn left to reach a small road. Cross it and continue straight ahead. The path crosses another road.

(5) Turn left. When you reach the junction with the D124, turn right (be careful of visibility on the bends!) and continue to Moulin de Muset (on the left).

(6) Continue on the D124 for about 200m, then take a path on the left with a sign indicating "vieux cimetière de Muset" (old Muset cemetery). Leave the yellow markings.
The path runs parallel to the Barthos, follow it eastwards.

(7) At the first crossroads (four paths), turn left, then right. The path crosses a pidgeon hunting hut: stay on the path and respect the private property. You will arrive at a tarmac road.

Green markings

Turn left to reach the Moulin des Monges.

(8) Enjoy the beauty of the place, and continue along the road for about 400m, then take the path on the right.

Yellow + green markings

Ignore the turnings on the right, join a tarmac road and turn left. Follow this road for 800m until you reach the glass recycling bins. Turn left to return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 113 m - Marions Town Hall
  2. 1 : km 1.04 - alt. 111 m - Bargasse
  3. 2 : km 2.39 - alt. 118 m - Lavazan
  4. 3 : km 3.73 - alt. 125 m - Turn left onto the tarmac road
  5. 4 : km 4.45 - alt. 119 m - Cayre
  6. 5 : km 6.29 - alt. 100 m - On the left
  7. 6 : km 7.32 - alt. 93 m - Moulin de Musset
  8. 7 : km 7.98 - alt. 98 m - Crossroads of 4 paths
  9. 8 : km 9.13 - alt. 98 m - Moulin des Monges
  10. S/E : km 11.44 - alt. 113 m - Marions Town Hall

Notes

Easy paths.
Water points available in the Marions and Lavazan cemeteries.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 18 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
Luc33250
Luc33250

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

Beautiful route, easy to follow with the GPS app.

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User 25657973

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The markings on the first few kilometres have disappeared.

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CalouGuy
CalouGuy

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 08, 2024
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 and accessible hike.
For your information, we visited on 30 September, and at the Monges mill, the path was closed (and inaccessible) due to a pidgeon hunting hut.

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Prudhomme
Prudhomme

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Excellent, very pleasant parish specific to Brittany hike. Don't hesitate!

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jpbr31
jpbr31
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

a lovely stroll under the trees
with the heat, you have to leave quite early
on the way back, have a snack at a table in the shade in front of the town hall

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momomarcheur
momomarcheur
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

easy and pleasant hike, varied route and well marked;

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ChantalZ
ChantalZ

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, 1 hour and 10 minutes from Bordeaux, best enjoyed in sunny weather as it includes many wooded sections. The description is perfect and refers to numerous markers that are clearly visible on the ground. However, be sure to follow the instructions regarding the colours of these markers, as they are sometimes yellow and sometimes green. The highlight is the sight of two water mills (the second of which is in a magnificent setting!), but above all the discovery of a landscape that was once entirely devoted to tobacco cultivation, as evidenced by the presence of numerous drying sheds in good condition, now used for forestry, tourism (lodge, guest rooms) and hunting. There are some good examples of traditional dwellings (airials). We opted to start in Lavazan rather than Marions, as Lavazan is easier to access for the car meet-up. Thank you to the Visorando team!
Michel from Bordeaux
Visorandonneur

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monnerie
monnerie

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 02, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

:

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Marinette fabien
Marinette fabien

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 25, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I really appreciated the description of the route. It was easy to find my way around
Thank you

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BriTerr
BriTerr

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Thank you for this lovely walk, which takes you through the Bazardais region, with its beautiful farms and remarkably restored mills. Even if the route is a little monotonous towards the end (pine forest), it is still an opportunity to discover some very pleasant countryside.

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capitaine nemo
capitaine nemo

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 29, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, flat walk through woods, countryside and some fine examples of Landes architecture.

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natm33
natm33

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, easy hike with varied landscapes: tobacco drying sheds, traditional houses, different types of forest

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bx86
bx86

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 16, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike, without any difficulty.
The route is reliable and the directions are impeccable (even without a map... a first for us).

Very pretty examples of Landes airial architecture (even though we were in Gironde) and something exceptional for those who are used to walking in our countryside... remarkably well maintained! This is quite a feat, as many of these buildings (especially the old corn dryers) are made of wood and are quite large. But in the various hamlets, you can sense the ability (and the taste and also the finances...?) to showcase these buildings. There is no decorative "rubbish" as our inhabitants are so good at creating: rusty abandoned cars, used agricultural equipment left on site, collapsed barns, piles of tyres..

Of course, the highlight of the show is the Monges mill (as indicated by the creator of the circuit), but others (the hamlet of Pater) are also worth a look, giving the impression of going back several decades (small self-sufficient mixed farming (orchard, vineyard, vegetable garden) around the house shaded by a large lime tree in the centre of three or four different types of barns.

The "village" of Marions sets the tone from the outset: a pretty town hall and a most pleasant little square, with shrubs, flowers and trees.

The route is often shaded and the small roads taken are almost deserted.

The very flat route obviously does not offer the same views as you might find in more hilly areas, but the preserved airials are really worth seeing and studying... (see above).

Thank you for this route.
Best regards

P.S. Quite often, the Muset mill is spelled "Moulin de Musset" on the road (blue sign in the hamlet), while the IGN spells it "Muset"! How are we supposed to make sense of place names?

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gachucha1946
gachucha1946

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 23, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

In my previous comment, I omitted a small error in the description. At the start of the hike, it says, "follow the road west." This road, which passes in front of the cemetery and the church, is the D655E2. You leave it when it turns to the right.
Then take the path opposite. Meadows and woods are a little further on.

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villenavais
villenavais

I will be doing this hike on 2 May 2019 and will give my opinion afterwards.

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