Views of Langres between Arbigny-sous-Varennes and the Liez Dam

Unmarked

(S) In Arbigny-sous-Varennes, take Rue du Château. At the T-junction, turn right onto Rue du Cornot and cross the Presle.

(1) At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue des Charrières. At the Fork in the road, take the road on the right.

(2) At the T-junction, leave the road on your right and continue straight ahead. At the T-junction, leave the grassy path on your left and continue straight ahead along the stony path. At the T-junction, leave the grassy path that enters the forest on your right and continue straight ahead along the edge of the woodland.

(3) At the edge of the Bois du Coin Culson, take the stony path on the left and enter the forest. Ignore the logging tracks on both the left and right. You will come to a metal gate, then a sign indicating that you are entering the Marcilly Voisey State Forest. At the first junction, pass through another gate, continue for 30 m and reach a second junction.

Red and white markings

(4) Follow the GR® 7 signpost “Marcilly 7.5 km”, take the small road on the left (Route Forestière du Plateau). Pass through another metal gate, then leave the forest.

(5) At the GR® 7 signpost “Marcilly 5.9 km”, head down the path on the right through the undergrowth and then into the forest. Cross a track, then take the first turn right then left. At the crossroads, take the path on the right (muddy), reach the bottom of the Val de Presles and cross the stream. In a clearing, continue straight ahead along a stony path. Enter the Bois Brulé.

(6) At plot 14, follow the signpost for the GR® 7 "Marcilly en Bassigny 3.5 km" to the left. The forest road turns left and climbs into the Bois Brulé.

(7) At the fork in the road at the top of the climb, continue along the forest road to the left. It becomes tarmac, leaves the woods, continues along the edge and curves round a bend.

(8) Continue along the road to the left, crossing the plateau.

(9) At the fork in the road, take the D 281 straight ahead. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead on the D 281. Follow the GR® 7 signpost for “Troischamps 3 km” and enter Marcilly-en-Bassigny. Pass the church on your right and, on leaving the village, continue along the road towards Plesnoy.

(10) At the wayside shrine, follow the signpost for the GR® 7 “Troischamps 2 km”. Turn left onto the stony path that crosses the meadows. It bends to the right, becomes grassy and descends to the edge of the woods.

(11) Cross the Ruisseau de la Barre (Amamce) via a footbridge, climb the slope opposite and emerge onto a road.

(12) Follow the D 280 to the left as far as Troischamps.

(13) At the cemetery, take the road on the right and continue straight ahead along the road that turns left. Continue along the D 279, descending into the valley. Cross the Ruisseau de la Tonge, which forms the source of the Amance.

(14) At the fork in the road, follow the signpost for the GR® 7 “Lecey 6.5 km”. Take the D 120 straight ahead, which climbs towards Celsoy and Chalindrey. Cross the railway line from Chalindrey to Toul.

(15) At the fork in the road, follow the sign for the GR® 7 “Lecey 5.8 km”. Turn right onto the grassy path that climbs up to the Bochot plateau.

(16) Cross the D 51 main road. Follow the signpost for the GR® 7 "Lecey 5 km", then continue straight ahead along the small road. At the Fork in the road, take the road on the left.

(17) At the fork in the road just before Orbigny-au-Mont, follow the sign for the GR® 7 "Lecey 3 km" to the left. At the crossroads on the edge of the Champ Renault woods, enter the forest via the second path on the right. Pass between plots 8 and 9.

(18) At the T-junction, turn right. The^GR® zigzags (follow the markings carefully).

(19) Leave the woods and head along the stony track to the right across the fields until you reach the D 188.

(20) At the T-junction, take the D 188 to the left for 250 m. At the Fork in the road, follow the signpost for the GR® 7 “Lecey 0.5 km”. Head down to the right along the small road that cuts across the bend. Pass the grassy path on your right leading to a chapel, head down the stony path opposite and enter Lecey. You’ll come out onto the D 188; follow it to the right for 50 m.

(21) At the fork in the road, turn right onto the D 188A towards Langres (Rue des Fontaines).

(22) At the T-junction, head down the D 266 opposite towards Langres (Rue du Lac). Leave the village via the D 266 towards Chatenay-Mâcheron.

(23) At the fork in the road just past the last houses, before the left-hand bend, follow the sign for the GR® 7 “Barrage 10 km”. Turn right onto the stony path. Pass through a metal gate and enter the forest. Follow the eastern bank of the Liez Reservoir.

(24) At Le Râlet, continue along the eastern shore of the Liez Reservoir. Pass through a metal gate and reach a Fork in the road.

(25) The stony path turns left and crosses a bridge over the Suane.

(26) At a fork in the road near the Bois de la Carotte, turn left. At the T-junction, follow the signpost for the GR® 7 “Station nautique 5 km” straight ahead.

(27) At the T-junction in the Bois de Cordamble, take the gravel path straight ahead. Pass through a metal gate and enter plot 29.

(28) At the end of the Murgers peninsula, turn right. Follow the northern bank of the Liez Reservoir.

(29) At the Fork in the road, ignore the path leading to the Ferme de Cordamble on the right and continue along the northern shore of the Liez Reservoir into Peigney Bay. Pass through a metal gate just before the Centre Nautique.

(30) At the crossroads, continue straight ahead along the lake. Pass through another metal barrier. Follow the signpost for the GR® 7 “Barrage 1 km” straight ahead and walk along the beach. Below the D 284, pass near the sailing school, cross two car parks and head for the dam (E).

Walk completed by the author on 10/06/2020.

Starting from the Marcilly Voisey National Forest (4), this route follows the GR® 7. It is described in the TopoGuide ‘Les GR® de Lorraine’ published by the French Hiking Federation under reference 514.

At the bottom of the Val de Presles, just before (6), the path is very muddy. A footpath allows you to bypass the obstacle.

Arbigny-sous-Varennes (S): guesthouses.

Troischamps (13): water.

Liez Dam (E): hotel, cafés, restaurants.

In the Bois Brulé: note, behind a grassy outcrop, the 13th-century Presles Chapel, built on the site of a miraculous spring to the right of (6), off^the GR^{®® route.}

On the Bochot plateau at Orbigny-au-Mont: Sources of the Liez in the copse 200 m to the left of (16), off^the GR®®^route.

From the Côte de la Chèvre: view of Langres between (17) and (18).

From the Bois du Râlet: viewpoint over Lake Liez and the town of Langres at (24).

In the Baie d'Orbigny-au-Val: small marshy areas and mudflats make the site attractive to coots, grebes and herons between (24) and (28).