On the trail of the Druids

Nature walk between meadows, forest, streams and ancient mills, a site rich in history. Pass through amazing places that are linked to druidic rituals and gatherings.

Technical sheet

107596
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.19 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 216 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 220 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 699 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 501 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) Start at the small car park in front of the village hall of Fayet-le-Château.

Head to the right, past the war memorial and follow the D337 towards Montmorin (sign).

Take the first road on the right uphill after the curve and along meadows. Continue along the plateau, then cross into the woods passing by the small path to the right at a yellow marking post. Continue to arrive at an intersection in a clearing.

(1) Turn right after taking the time to read a small sign that tells you about the history of the site. Continue between the fenced meadows, enter the wood and continue straight: huge and amazing stacked boulders are visible.

Start the descent which becomes steeper and can become slippery due to the presence of rocks on the ground. At the intersection, turn left, following the direction of the green arrow on the rock.
Leave the path going straight down, and another smaller path that goes to the right on the side. The path descends slightly to a small stream, often dry in hot summer: after this turn right at the intersection.
New slippery descent: sometimes steep and rich in slippery rocks flush with the surface. Arrived in
at the bottom of the descent, turn right to go up the Ricochet valley to the pond of the
Gravel pit.
Head up immediately to the left on the path marked by red paint stains on each side and follow it eastbound on the mound. It overlooks the stream on the left. Continue until you arrive at large slabs of rock strewn across the ground and reach the small stone bridge over the stream.

(2) Cross the bridge and continue uphill. Turn right at the intersection, along the stream that will have to be crossed several times before leaving the wood and continue to the area called "La Gravière". Turn right and pass over the dike of "l'Etang de la Gravière". At the end, take the often muddy little path uphill opposite that turns left. Continue uphill overlooking the pond on the left near a small stream.

(3) Do not cross it but leave the main road to turn right on a narrow path up near the woods which ends in a narrow passage between two fences, culminating in the small village of "Cheix".

(4) Turn left and go down the paved road to an intersection. Turn right, go past a farm and traditional manure pile, cross through Fayet-le-Château, and reach the town hall.(S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 653 m - Fayet-le-Chateau town hall, departure
  2. 1 : km 1.11 - alt. 669 m - Sign indicating the history of the site
  3. 2 : km 3.04 - alt. 517 m - Small stone bridge and cromlech
  4. 3 : km 4.03 - alt. 607 m - Take the path on the right before the stream
  5. 4 : km 4.47 - alt. 670 m - Turn left onto the tarmac road
  6. S/E : km 5.19 - alt. 653 m - Fayet-le-Chateau Town Hall

Practical information

Note: The paths or trails described between point (2) and point (4) are not shown on the IGN map.

In the nearby area

The name of Fayet-le-Château comes from the Latin "Fagus" meaning beech, deciduous trees which abounded in the surrounding forests.
In the early twentieth century, the village named simply “Fayet”, but an eponymous town already existed in the department: Fayet Ronaye. This is why, to differentiate it has been added to.
“The Castle" was preferred to “The Ponds": however, there are also many ponds in the town.
Curious history buffs can stroll along this walk discovering many remnants of water mills, millstones are still visible between points 3 and 4.
See also the cup in stone (researchers believe they were linked to rituals, but the evidence is weak) and the stone circle (megalithic monuments consisting of dozens of stones stuck in the ground, or “menhirs”, and arranged in a circle. Some researchers believe that this is a place of cultural gathering, while others prefer the idea of an observation of the stars or the moon. They date from the Bronze Age: 2500 BC to 1000 BC)
At about 3 km, Castle Mauzun, a large medieval fortress with its imposing ruins, can be visited in the summer.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 86 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Clarity of route map
4 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
User 17285567

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : May 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A fun, pleasant and well-maintained route.

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vilaret
vilaret

Hello, this trace caused me serious problems: when I opened it with Carto explorer, it immediately closed the application. After I managed to delete it, I found that it had destroyed the part of the map where the circuit should have been displayed.

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ThierryANLR
ThierryANLR

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A short, easy and pleasant circuit.

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lemarcheur65
lemarcheur65 ★
• Last modified:

Hello Fams
The walks offered on Visorando are not necessarily signposted.
In addition, Visorando is not responsible for any signposting or maintenance.

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Fams
Fams
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : Yes

The description was poorly done and it was easy to get lost
At first everything is fine but then with the description of the stream it is not at all clear several possible paths and nothing clear
It should be marked out on the trees so that it's easier to understand.
Otherwise very nice walk

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Pauline37530
Pauline37530

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Walked this morning with my Border Collie. Very pleasant, but the path back up to the village of Cheix is almost impassable because of the brambles and nettles... be careful, it stings!
Very light signposting but simple if you follow the description carefully.

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Isasoleil
Isasoleil
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very nice walk away from the long signposted routes. The only drawback is that the path back up to the place known as Le Cheix is very difficult to walk: lots of brambles and nettles which hinder progress. Watch out for the very, very virulent ticks! Beautiful scenery and, above all, a cool, shady walk. Watch out for mosquitoes! We managed to find our way thanks to the description, but we had to be very careful to find the right direction (in particular to find the green cross on the rock at the end of the stone path).

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Virgieluce
Virgieluce

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : May 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

It's a really nice walk! And the rocks are amazing! This is the 2nd time I've done it and I'm still not tired 😊

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Babeth67
Babeth67

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Great walk, very pretty. Lots of undergrowth. We did it in the rain and didn't see anyone except a deer. The GPS track is wrong halfway along the river. We had a bit of trouble catching up with the path.

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mick15
mick15

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

nice easy course

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JM Vic le Comte
JM Vic le Comte

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Very nice walk, not for everyone (nice descents and climbs)
I really enjoyed it!
Thank you for this route

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koby
koby

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 29, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

You need to be more precise, to avoid wasting time and/or finding the right route.
There are now devices that give distances, which you should include in your routes.

We enjoy discovering unimaginable sites from the roads, but it's discouraging when you get lost in the meanders of the route description.

Thank you

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CES63
CES63

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Jan 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Although the route is not very busy, we did meet some hikers. A very pretty hike, to be repeated in another, less wet season, as there are some tricky sections due to stagnant water.

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valoufroufrou
valoufroufrou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 25, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Magnificent, varied walk. We really enjoyed it!

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mj219
mj219

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : N/A
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

GPX plot not exact, but easy to find your way around

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