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Arrive in Espagnac via the D41, the road through the Célé valley, cross the bridge and immediately afterwards park on the left in the car park at the entrance to the village.
(S/E) Enter the village and look on the right for the chevet of the former priory, now a parish church. You will also see the statue of the pilgrim. After a detour through Espagnac, take the tarmac road south. Continue until you reach the Mas district.
(1) When the tarmac ends, turn right onto a steep grassy path. The path joins a small road; continue uphill until you reach the edge of the woods.
(2) Leave the road and take a barely visible path below. An old sign indicates the direction of Merlet, but for how much longer? Along the way, with a bit of luck, you will find the Trou de la Crosse du Renard (see map), the entrance to a well-known cave. Further on, the view opens up over Espagnac and, downstream, the Moulin campsite.
(3) At the T-junction, turn left. The route continues more or less level, skirting around the Vignes Grandes valley. The path joins a bridle path; take it on the right. A little further on, a wide track branches off to the right and descends; continue straight ahead on level ground. Shortly afterwards, the bridle path branches off to the left; continue straight ahead. On the cliff on the right bank is the hamlet of Causse et Brengues.
(4) Turn right onto a path that descends. There is a sign on a tree above the path indicating "Merlet". Shortly afterwards, there is a spring on the right and many low walls indicating former agricultural activity. You will reach a fork, a crossroads of paths at an elevation of 237 metres.
(5) Take the left-hand path that climbs up towards Mas de Greil. You will come to a private crossroads.
(6) Turn completely left uphill (signposted) to go around Mas de Greil, which is private property and cannot be crossed.
(7) Cross the track leading to Mas de Greil and continue straight ahead (this is not the most attractive part of the route, as there is a lot of debris). Continue downhill to the D38. At the bottom of the descent, there is a large hunters' hut. Take the road on the right towards the Célé valley. Continue to Mas de Lavergne and then to the edge of the Célé.
(8) Do not cross the bridge but turn left. Just in front of the Breil carpentry workshop, take the small path between the box trees that climbs up to Roc de Lagane (sign). At the end of the path, turn left onto the small road that climbs uphill. On your left, you will have a beautiful view of the rock overlooking Brengues. When the road ends, continue left on the path that climbs uphill.
(9) At the fork, take the path on the right that climbs up the cliff. Continue south for about 1.5 km, ignoring the paths on the right and left, and heading towards a conifer forest. Shortly after passing two paths on the right, walk along a truffle field until you reach a crossroads with a track.
(10) Take the track on the right at an angle of almost 180° and continue to an old analogue television relay station (télévillage). At this relay station, approach the cliff carefully for different views of Brengues, Caudenat and, more generally, the valley.
(11) Continue past the relay station on the left along a small trail that is a running trail. The trail joins a track; take it on the right. A little further on, at the crossroads, take the track on the right that descends and, taking care to stay on the main track, you will arrive at a large farm: Bazos. From the farm, flanked by a cazelle, continue along the small road that leads to the D83. Take it on the right and cross the bridge over the Célé to join the D41.
(12) Take it on the right towards Brengues. 100m further on, leave it on the left towards Mas de Jordy. Stay on this road, start a left turn and then return to the crossroads with a path.
(13) Leave the road and turn right onto this steeply ascending path.
At the next three-way junction, turn left and continue uphill. Then cross a large field. Follow the markers to avoid entering the lower part of the field.
Enter the plot at the top via a passageway provided for this purpose, and exit almost immediately at the top onto the access track to the plot. You will then reach a small house.
(14) Turn right just after the house onto theGR®651marked in red and white. A little after the house, on the right, you will find the heath fountain. Continue on theGR®, ignore the path on the right leading to the D41 and continue left on theGR® towards Brengues. In the village, head towards the church and, at the crossroads just before it, turn left and go uphill. You will reach the crossroads with the water tank at the top of the village.
(15) At this turn, there are two paths on the right. Take the one furthest to the right, which is the GR®. It climbs up to pass under the cliff (keep your head down). Pass under a gate to reach the Château des Anglais, which is perched on the cliff (no access).
(16) Leave theGR® and turn right onto a grassy path that descends. Leave a path on your left and continue towards a fountain. Further on, there is a second fountain and a wash house. Continue along the path where, depending on the season, you will need to open and close sheep gates.
(17) After the gate, head towards the edge of the cliff for a bird's eye view of Espagnac and its priory. Leave this spot on the right and join the path that descends towards Diège (gate). Join the D41 crossroads.
(18) Turn right. Continue along this road to return to the car park at the Espagnac bridge (S/E).
Association / Club / Walk leader
Moderate 
Visorando member
Easy 
