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Park in the René Canivenc Park car park in Gradignan.
(S/E) Enter the animal park and turn right immediately, walking alongside the pheasant, deer, donkey and Gascony cow enclosures.
(1) Leave the park through a turnstile gate and cross a small bridge over the Eau Bourde, then turn immediately right, following the river, which you will come back to at the end of the walk.
You are approaching the Gradignan media library, which is marked by curious "letters" scattered in the grass: this is "Le Grand Huit", a work by visual artist Marc Adi (created in 2009).
(2) Go around the media library (and the Théâtre des Quatre Saisons) and head up a cycle path that runs alongside the football pitches, then around them.
(3) This path takes you into the woods of Mandavit Park; it is fairly easy to follow as it is also marked out as a running track (5000 or 7000 m). After about 600 m, the path crosses a small road in a clearing; turn right and you will immediately find the path in the undergrowth, first heading east and then south-east again.
(4) At this point, you can take a short detour onto a well-marked path that opens up to the right and leads you through slightly denser undergrowth, then onto the path that follows the edge of the woods, running alongside the Château Brown vineyard. Turn left onto this path heading north-east. Along these various paths, there are benches at regular intervals where you can rest for a while or have a picnic.
Finally, you will reach the small road leading to the Cité des Grands Bois.
(5) Follow it to the right (still heading north-east), then take the cycle path in the same direction when the road turns right. The path will take you to another small road, which you follow all the way.
(6) At the crossroads, turn left onto Avenue Jean Rostand and follow it for about 400 metres. When you reach Avenue Jean Monnet, turn left until you reach a large roundabout.
Then follow Rue Saint François Xavier (cycle path) until you reach the Eau Bourde, which you cross; a path opens up on the left, and you are now on an island. The general direction is now south-west.
(7) At this point, leave the island via a small bridge. The path runs alongside the Eau Bourde, first on the left bank then on the right bank, crossing Avenue du Maréchal Juin (bus stop), Parc de Pélissey and Allée de Barthez (another bus stop). Finally, cross a small bridge to reach Parc René Canivenc (S/E).
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