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Park in the car park at Parc René Canivenc in Gradignan.
(S/E) Enter the wildlife park and turn right straight away, walking past the pheasant and fallow deer enclosures, then those of the donkeys and Gascony cows.
(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’ll come across again at the end of the route.
You are approaching the Gradignan media centre, which is marked by curious ‘letters’ scattered across the grass: this is ‘Le Grand Huit’, a work by the visual artist Marc Adi (created in 2009).
(2) Walk round the media centre (and the Théâtre des Quatre Saisons) and head back up onto a cycle path running alongside the football pitches, then rounding them.
(3) This path takes you into the woodland of Mandavit Park; it is fairly easy to follow as it is also signposted as a running route (5,000 or 7,000 metres). After about 600 m, the path crosses a small road in a clearing; turn right and you’ll immediately rejoin the path through the woodland, heading due east at first, then south-east again.
(4) At this point, you can take a short detour along a well-marked path branching off to the right, which will take you through slightly denser woodland before leading onto the path running along the edge of the woods, skirting the Château Brown vineyard. Turn left onto this north-easterly path. All along these various paths, there are benches at regular intervals where you can rest for a while or have a picnic...
You’ll eventually 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 veers to the right. The cycle path leads you to another small road, which you follow all the way along.
(6) At the junction, turn left onto Avenue Jean Rostand and follow it for about 400 metres. Where it joins Avenue Jean Monnet, turn left and continue to a large roundabout.
Then follow Rue Saint François Xavier (cycle path) until you reach the Eau Bourde, which you cross; a path opens up to 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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