On the heights of Haut Rançon

Park in the car park next to Marmagne church. Follow the MAR2 signposts throughout the route.

(S/E) From the church square, take Rue Capet opposite, heading east.

(1) When you reach the junction, between the two Stop signs, cross at the pedestrian crossing on the left to reach the square, passing between the two low walls, and walk past the fountain erected in 1876 by Mr Schneider. Walk along the low wall, then cross the road at the pedestrian crossing to take the small Rue de la Tuilerie opposite. Keep to the right at the next junction to come out onto the Route de la Croix Blanchot.

(2) Cross the road with care (no pedestrian crossing) and take the path opposite towards Saint-Sulpice, which you’ll reach after crossing a small wooden footbridge.
Walk past an 18th-century square chapel and you’ll come to a three-way junction.

(3) Climb the hill via the path on the left.

(4) At the entrance to Les Descloix, turn right.

(5) Continue further into the forest; then, as you emerge from the woods, cross the RD80 with care and take a small, sloping path opposite, at the edge of the woods. When you reach a small road, turn right, then take a wide dirt track on the left.

(6) Cross the RD80 with care, then head straight ahead into the Planoise State Forest. After about 300 metres, turn left onto the main track, then turn right onto the Chemin de la Conduite.

(7) At the end of the descent, through the trees you’ll see the Rançon stream below; turn left. You’ll immediately pass a concrete structure with a metal door on your left, marking the start of the pipeline heading towards Le Creusot. Continue on to Maison Loye.
Possible alternative route (detour to the Haut Rançon dam): see the section ‘During the walk or nearby’.

(8) As you emerge from the woods at Maison Loye, take the path on the left.

(9) When you reach Les Thubes, at the bus shelter, turn right onto a road.

(10) Just before the Croix Blanchot junction, turn left onto a path that leads back down to Marmagne.

(11) At the end of the track, at Les Bonnotes, take the road that leads back down to the village via Les Sauvageots.

(12) Continue along the D287 road until you reach the three-way junction you passed on the way there.

(2) Follow the route back in the opposite direction to the outward journey and head for the (S/E).

(7) It is possible to take a detour to the Haut Rançon dam; at the bottom of the descent, take the path on the right instead of the left (allow 30 minutes for the round trip).
The Rançon reservoir is fed upstream by the Martinet ponds (a further 10-minute walk if you continue along the same path) and the Noue ponds.
Downstream of the dam, from the Rançon, a tunnel runs to the base of the “Plateau”, followed by a 20-kilometre-long pipeline along the hillside at the level of the Mesvrin valley, carrying the water to Le Creusot via La Marolle.
All along its route, the pipeline is marked by boundary stones engraved with Schneider’s ‘S’.
You will find some of these between the waypoints (5) and (7) on the walk.