The box trees

From the medieval town of Saint-Gengoux-le-National, a route via the Crainseny Viaduct and Culles-les-Roches.

Details

n°154635

Creation:
16 Sep 2015

Last update:
08 May 2017

Last review:
09 Jun 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 10.72 km
Average duration: 3h 40
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 214 m
Descent: - 216 m
Highest point: 349 m
Lowest point: 240 m

Country: France
Area: Massif central
District: Saint-Gengoux-le-National (71460)
Start/End: N 46.615585° / E 4.663823°
IGN map(s): Ref. 2926SB, 2927SB, 3026SB, 3027SB
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Description of the walk

Meet at the Arquebuse car park at the foot of the Tour de Lierre or Tour François 1er.

(S) Leave the car park and turn right onto Rue de l'Arquebuse. Follow it for about 150 metres, leaving Chemin Mont Goubot on your left.

(1) Turn left and climb the very steep Allée des Buis. At the fork, at the calvary, continue left on the tarmac path for 350 metres.

(2) Continue left onto the gravel path which, after a few dozen metres, gives way to a path through the box trees. Follow the path north-east to the T-junction.

(3) Turn left and, after a few dozen metres, turn right. Follow the path first through fields and then downhill into the forest until you reach the junction with the new gravel forest road.

(4) Cross the new forest road and take the path that descends the Crainseny Valley for about 1.4 km.

(5) Pass under the Crainseny Viaduct and continue along the path heading north-east.

(6) At the junction, turn left (west) towards Culles-les-Roches. After about 1 km, note the Moulin de Châtenay mill on the left, on the Mouille stream. About 400 m further on, take the street slightly to the left crossing the lower part of the village of Culles-les-Roches. Continue to the T-junction with the Route de la Forêt.

(7) Turn left onto Route de la Forêt (^GR®76, red and white markings), descend towards the Mouille stream, then climb back up to Pertuis du Bois

(8) Cross the old railway line and continue climbing up Route de la Forêt. Before descending to Saint-Gengoux, leave the road and take a forest path on the left (again, follow the red and white markings). Cross the Bois des Saules to the T-junction at Les Chaumonts.

(9) Continue straight ahead, still following the^GR®, on the tarmac road and pass La Culasse. Continue south for about 1 km.

(10) At a place called La Combe, leave the^GR® and continue straight ahead, then turn right down the path (not shown on the map) that leads between the vineyards towards Bourg-Hameau. At the entrance to a wood, turn left and take the very steep path to reach a road.

(11) Turn left onto the road and continue for 350 metres to return to the starting point.

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 253 m
1 : km 0.14 - alt. 253 m - Fork in the road, Allée des Buis
2 : km 0.68 - alt. 294 m - Fork in the road
3 : km 1.42 - alt. 346 m - T-junction
4 : km 2.02 - alt. 349 m - Gravel forest road
5 : km 3.43 - alt. 250 m - Crainseny Viaduct
6 : km 4.25 - alt. 254 m - Turn left towards Culles les Roches.
7 : km 6.3 - alt. 286 m - Route de la Forêt
8 : km 6.74 - alt. 299 m - Le Pertuis du Bois
9 : km 8.37 - alt. 315 m - Les Chaumonts
10 : km 9.95 - alt. 323 m - Turn right onto the "Bourg-Hameau" path.
11 : km 10.53 - alt. 244 m - T-junction with a road.
S/E : km 10.72 - alt. 253 m

Notes

Tour de Lierre or Tour François 1er, a place reserved in the 15th century for a society of archers, then, under François 1er, for arquebusiers.

Worth a visit

Saint-Gengoux-le-National.
The Crainseny Viaduct.
Culles les Roches.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5

Based on 12 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5

Route interest
4.4 / 5

Rastarocket

09 Jun 2025 at 21:29 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Difficulties finding the way to points 3 and 4

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Anne-Lise71

08 Apr 2024 at 11:25 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
We really enjoyed this hike, which we did on Saturday in beautiful spring sunshine. The explanations are excellent, and we didn't encounter any difficulties along the way.
The first half of the route to Culles les Roches is mostly through woods. However, on the second half of the route, be careful in summer as I think the sun can be very strong and the path is never in the shade. On the first part, we had to go around a lot of mud, especially at the viaduct, so be careful if it has rained heavily the day before. The final descent to St Gengoux is very steep!
It took us 2½ hours to complete the 11.5 km hike, according to our GPS watch, following the Visorando map to the letter.

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MARTDomi

19 Jul 2021 at 16:36 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant hike

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Kilau

19 Jan 2020 at 17:41 3600

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Good description and beautiful walks, but a few minor changes are needed to avoid any confusion:
at point 3: for those who are not using the route: at the end of the first boxwood path, turn slightly right and take a second path through the boxwoods a few metres to the left
At the end of this second path, follow the wide path on the left that leads to the forest and follow the path through the forest.
At point 8: the hamlet is called La Sachette; perhaps this should be changed to avoid confusion? In any case, follow the GR markings carefully.
At point 10: I didn't see a very steep path to reach the road?! The path indicated, which descends into the vineyards, leads to the hamlet through the box trees. As soon as you reach the hamlet, take the tarmac road on the left to reach the starting point a few metres away.

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chassignol

05 Nov 2018 at 09:09 3600

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 05, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A very beautiful hike despite the November fog. You can shorten the route by climbing up onto the viaduct and heading to Culles les Roches.

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GEGE71450

24 Apr 2018 at 08:39 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 24, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello
It's a shame that all the box trees are diseased, otherwise it would be a nice walk.
Thank you

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Lechad

15 May 2017 at 08:25 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 15, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I have already given my opinion and comments.
See you soon

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bibi

08 May 2017 at 19:03 7200

Thank you for this detailed information, which will enable us to update the description.
Kind regards

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Lechad

08 May 2017 at 18:23 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very beautiful route.
I would like to point out two small errors in the description:
1st - Landmark 2: "Continue to the left... which, after a few hundred metres..." In fact, it is: a few dozen metres. About 50 metres.
2nd - Marker 6: "At the T-junction, turn left..." It is not a T-junction but a real crossroads. I suggest removing the words "T-junction".
Other than that, the description is very good.
Thank you
Alain

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AlainClessé

12 Feb 2017 at 18:59 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very good route, not too steep. We took a detour to Culles-Les-Roches, it's nice to climb up to the church.
There are some very interesting information boards around the village of Culles-Les-Roches. You can also take a small path along the La Mouille stream below Culles, about 200 metres long, which is very bucolic.
I'm thinking of taking a walking group on this route.
Many thanks to the creator of this route.

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gazok54

28 Jun 2016 at 20:44 7200

Thank you Nanojc for your comment and compliments. It is thanks to all of you that Visorando has become what it is today.

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Nanojc

28 Jun 2016 at 08:52 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 28, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very pleasant hike with no particular difficulties. We do this hike regularly, and the aim was to see how the hike tracking works. Thank you to the author of this hike description.
A big thank you to Visorando for this software, which will allow us to explore hikes beyond those we already know.

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Novus

01 Jun 2016 at 11:41 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A very good hike, completed in four hours (including numerous breaks). A good route, neither too long nor too short, easily accessible (however, be sure to check the weather forecast for the days leading up to your trip: the forest trail was quite muddy, but nothing too serious). Once you arrive at the viaduct, be sure to take a short break to climb to the top and admire the view. Returning via the village of Culles les Roches is a very good idea, as it is a very pretty village.

Thanks to the author!

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michel.tetu2@yahoo.fr

06 May 2016 at 19:14 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 06, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A beautiful hike, a very pretty path through boxwood trees, the return journey with views of the valley to the west, completely devoid of houses, is very exotic, and the arrival via the small path that descends to the medieval village of St Gengoux is magnificent.
In the area, you should also consider the greenway that connects Culles les Roches via the viaduct.

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Author

J-PC
1 Walk

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