The western trails of Coursegoules

Coming from Vence, at the foot of the village of Coursegoules, turn left towards "La bibliothèque" and park on this road called Chemin Neuf.

(S/E) Walk up Chemin Neuf. Take the first staircase on the right, which is not marked on the map. At the top of the steps, turn left onto Ruelle Pourtaou and go through the stone archway. After the archway, turn left, then right and walk up towards the church.

(1) Turn left until you reach the bend. Take the stairs on the left just after Impasse du Fournil. First stop: around 9.30am, smell the first batch of bread coming out of the oven.

Continue down the stairs on Rue d'Escaou to see a bas-relief on the façade of an old house that is sure to intrigue you. (see photo) Second stop: this imposing work, 5 metres high and 3 metres long, was created by children in the 1960s.

(2) Continue along Rue des Tisserands , home to the former house of Diane de Poitiers. (She inherited it but never lived there). Walk past the nearby library, turn right and pass under the Pountis porch. Continue towards the bottom of the village and the western end of the Sentier des Granges.

(3) Start the downhill path alongside an old house, cross the Cagne and arrive at a crossroads (marked by a cairn).

(4) Turn left onto the descending path and arrive at Route Saint-Michel.

(5) Turn left and follow the descending road carefully until you reach a bridge.

(6) Turn right just after the bridge and you will come to a junction of paths.

(7) Continue straight ahead. Stay alert as the track quickly becomes a path and tends to disappear into a field for a few metres. Then, after a few rocky steps, the path enters a magnificent pine forest and arrives at a wide stone track.

(8) Turn left onto this track and climb up to the telephone antenna.

(9) The antenna area is covered with boxwood bushes. Beautiful views of the Cheiron massif to the west. Turn around.

(8) Go straight ahead and, 20 m further on, turn immediately left onto a track suitable for vehicles. Terraced walls line this route, bordered by an oak forest. You will come to a cairn marking the start of the yellow markings.

(10) Follow this very pleasant path through meadows and terraces to reach marker 180.

(11) Turn left onto the path towards Autreville.

(12) Cross a stream and continue along the path uphill through a beautiful beech forest to a pass.

(13) Continue along the descending path, passing a small canyon on your left and a rocky ridge on your right. You will arrive at marker 17.

(14) Take Route du Moulin on the right with caution, pass La Gagne and arrive at a crossroads.

End of yellow markings

(15) Turn left onto Route de la Ferrage and continue to the first right-hand bend.

(16) Leave this road and continue straight on Chemin des Granges, which enters the village.

(17) Turn right onto Chemin Neuf, which is initially tarmac but then becomes grassy, to return to the car park (S/E).

Walking sticks and hiking shoes recommended

No water on the route

Rue des Tisserands: the last loom was still in place in 1960 in the recess on the left as you leave Le Pountis.

Rued'Escaou: 5m x 3mmural . A bas-relief under the sign of Coursegoules.

- According to the children, the lower steles represent the first half-human, half-animal beings who established their heritage in the territory of Coursegoules. They discovered the arts of working the land, domesticating animals and feeding themselves.

- The motif in the middle represents, at its centre, the mother as educator who loves and enlightens the child. She symbolises the school in its educational mission. On the right and left, the personalised flowers and animals have the faces of children's free joy. They are there "simply to make it beautiful". The goat represents the flocks, the wealth of the country. They preferred it to the sheep because of its more decorative head.

• The upper fresco, with its simple lines, represents the artisans in the nobility of their craft. They hold in their hands the symbol that characterises their function. They are seated like eternal Buddhas because the arts necessary to the village must be revived and, too, be eternal because they are necessary to life.

https://www.coursegoules-histoires.fr/histoire/