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Second car park before Ornans, at the bottom of the hill, on the D67 after Tarcenay.
Yellow and blue signposts.
(S/E) Head towards the " Cédez le passage " sign with a marker and turn right onto the gravel path. Soon, a marker post invites you to climb the wooded hillside via a path on the right, heading towards Bois sur le Grand. The path climbs steeply in a straight line. You will soon reach a path perpendicular to it. Turn left. You will cross a beautiful fir forest, passing large boulders that have broken away from the cliffs. When the fir trees give way to deciduous trees, ignore a path on the left and continue climbing on this beautiful, wide trail.
(1) Caution! At the top, immediately after some beautiful rocks, look for the sign indicating to climb to the right, but continue climbing for about fifty steps on the same path (ignoring the small path on the right) until you find a second sign indicating to turn right. Then take the wide path (on the right, of course). Continue to the signpost, ignoring the paths to the right and left, and follow the signs carefully.
(2) At the fork, at the signpost, go right, heading towards Roche du Grand.
(3) About 50 metres from the cliffs, look out for the faded yellow and blue markings on a tree on the right and a barely visible fork in the path. (Hikers have piled up some stones to create a small cairn). Continue straight ahead to the first unsecured viewpoint over the more modern part of Ornans and the upper Loue valley as far as Roche de Hautepierre. Be careful, the viewpoint is not secured and sharp limestone pavements can cause you to trip. Return to the cairn and take the small, barely visible path on the left that runs along the cliffs at a distance and joins a small rocky spur. Approach with extreme caution: this is the second and most beautiful viewpoint over the lower valley towards Scey-en-Varais, as far as Mont de Cademène and Rocher de Colonne. At the foot of the cliffs is the old Tacot viaduct. Return to the cairn.
(5) then at the next fork.
(4) Continue straight ahead towards the Fermes de Septfontaines. As you leave the woods, you will cross a meadow with beautiful views of the neighbouring mountains on your right and, opposite you, the luminous Roche de Hautepierre, which deserves its nickname of Roche du Soleil (Sun Rock). When this small, well-paved road crosses a path that climbs up into the meadow on your left, continue straight ahead for about 100 metres
(4) When it is bordered by hedges and a barbed wire fence ends, look for a small path that descends the wooded hillside on the right. You will lose the markings, but continue down this beautiful path with well-defined switchbacks until you reach the Clairière de la Fontaine des Vipères, ignoring the other paths.
(5) From the fountain, there is a lovely view of the west passageway of the castle, pierced by three arrow slits. Cross the clearing and continue along the path until it quickly forks. Take the left fork. At the second fork, take the wider path on the right. At the stone colonnade, climb up to the left to join Rue du Château at a hairpin bend. Climb up to the left towards the hamlet.
(6) At the first houses in the village, head towards Site du Château - Chapelle Saint-Georges. Pass between the two no entry signs and turn right towards the viewpoint.
(7) You will arrive at the viewpoint and the ruins of the old castle.
The castle was destroyed by the Duke of Luxembourg on the orders of Louis XIV during the second conquest of Franche-Comté. Captured on 5 May 1674, it was dismantled immediately. Interestingly, it was administered by the mathematician Pierre Vernier, who was its captain. It was here that he created his new quadrant, which was later used to develop the famous vernier scale.
Continue towards the Chapelle Saint-Georges, built by Othon, Count of Burgundy, in 1289 and rebuilt in 1500. The current chapel is in a flowery ogival style and is still used as a place of worship.
Continue along a small lane to the left of the chapel to complete the loop around the hamlet.
Go back between the two no-entry posts and past the fountain, then go straight ahead to the calvary and turn right towards Roche des Pins.
(8) At the last house, ignore the sign telling you to turn right and continue climbing on the same stony path until you reach another calvary. Cross the road and go straight up, passing in front of the EARL du Château. You will lose the signposts. Continue along this small gravel road until you reach the forest. You will pass a magnificent viewpoint over the upper Loue valley, but you will also pass under high-voltage power lines, which detract somewhat from the beauty of this plateau. On the left, there is a beautiful view of Mont Poupet.
(9) As you approach the woods, the path forks; keep right. At the edge of the woods, the gravel ends. Continue straight ahead on the stone road. Before entering the woods, take one last look to your right at the silhouette of the Roche de Hautepierre. The road becomes a beautiful forest path that deserves to be signposted. It will take you back down into the Brême valley through a beautiful, light forest, passing under some impressive rocks.
(10) You will come to a signposted path at right angles, which you take on the left to return to the first signpost of the walk. About 50 metres further on, on the right, there is a small path which you descend carefully to cool off in the Ruisseau de la Brême stream before returning to the car park. Finally, cross the main road carefully and descend to the Brême well via the path at the end of the wooden fence on the other side of the road, crossing the river via a strange bridge made of round stones (S/E).
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