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Car park in the centre of Pagnoz, next to the war memorial.
Yellow markings, Mountain Bike Route 74.
(S/E) Pass in front of the chapel and its lintel dating from 1792 and climb left into Rue de la Fontenotte. At No. 11, turn right (yellow markings) and immediately left into Chemin de Plenessu, which climbs steeply to a fork in the road.
(1) Turn right and stay on this steep, well-marked stony path. Along the way, you will pass a signpost marked "Plenessu". Continue climbing towards the medieval ruins of Vaulgrenant, accompanied by an old mossy wall. You will arrive at the corner of a small, newly built wall (signpost marked "Croisement des vestiges").
(2) Turn right to reach the entrance to the ruins (picnic table). Turn right to walk along the ramparts (lice) to the end of the castle, then return to the entrance. Do the same on the other side to climb up to the ruins and the viewpoint with its orientation table.
The viewpoint offers a beautiful 360° view with, from right to left: the Chaux Forest, the Val d'Amour, Mont de Pretin, the Saint-André and Belin forts and Mont Poupet.
(3) Return to the low wall.
(2) Descend to the right towards the hamlet of Vaulgrenant and its beautiful old farms. At the small pond, continue along the small tarmac road and, when it starts to descend, turn left onto a path that quickly becomes stony and leads you to a small, beautifully undulating corner of the countryside, overlooked by Fort Saint-André in the distance. Continue to a three-way junction, about 50 metres before an old farm shed.
(4) Go down to the right along the grassy path, following a hedge of trees. Stay on this sunken path, lined with hedges on either side and marked with yellow signs, to enter the woods, following old piles of stone gathered from fields until you reach a large stone lying in the middle of the path and a fork about thirty steps further on.
(5) Take the path on the right. Soon after, you will come to another fork (forest signpost 19, badly damaged marker post, hidden by vegetation): descend to the right towards Pagnoz.
About thirty steps further on, leave this wide forest path and continue downhill on the path that branches off to the right and leads to a triangular intersection (signpost no. 18).
Continue downhill to the left until you reach the first houses in the village and join Grande Rue by going down the gravel path on the right and then Rue de la Chaux.
At Grande Rue, turn left onto the pavement to cross the road (carefully, as cars drive quite fast) at the pedestrian crossing to visit the beautiful fountain and wash house, then return to the car park (S/E).
Visorando member
Association / Club / Walk leader
Moderate 
Difficult 
