In the footsteps of Brunehaut around Renève

Park in the small car park opposite the Lavoir du Fer à Cheval near the Foyer CAT, Rue de la Fontaine.

(S/E) Walk up the small lane opposite the wash house to reach Rue du Grand Chemin. Turn left and continue in this direction until you reach the end of the village, ignoring the streets that branch off to the right.

(1). At the edge of the village, at the last house, leave the road and follow the path opposite that leads into the fields and continue to the next crossroads. Leave the stony path that branches off to the right and continue straight on along the grassy path that descends to the junction with the D30B road (caution: muddy and slippery if the ground is wet).

(2) Cross the road. Opposite, follow the white path lined with meadows on either side and continue to the Pont de la Vingeanne bridge.

(3) Turn right before the bridge to access the Voie Verte (greenway) along the "Entre Champagne Bourgogne" canal to the Oisilly lock.

(4) Take the bridge on the left and enter the village. Continue along Grande Rue and go straight on Rue du Château. Pass in front of the château and turn left onto Rue de l'Abreuvoir to reach the bridge.

(3) Take the Voie Verte on the right along the canal for about 1 km, pass under the bridge over the canal and immediately turn left after the small car park.

(5) 100m further on, at the junction, take the small tarmac road that climbs to the left to cross the bridge over the canal. Continue along this road through a small wood until you reach the junction with the D112m. Turn left and, at the junction with the D70, turn left again and follow the road for about 150m.

(6) Cross the D70 (with caution, as some vehicles drive very fast on this straight stretch) and take the small road opposite that leads into the Mirebeau Forest. After 100 metres, turn right into the Sommière de Renève (the grass may be high depending on the time of year). Continue straight ahead for about 1.5 km until you reach the Étoile crossroads.

(7) Turn left onto the first track, Cheuge, and stay on it until you leave the woods. Continue along the gravel path, ignoring the paths on either side, until you reach the entrance to the village of Cheuge and go straight on along Rue des Baraques

(8) Turn right onto Rue de Saint-Sauveur. Pass the church and town hall and turn left onto Rue de Jancigny. On the bridge, leave the road and take the path on the right to rejoin the Voie Verte along the canal.

(9) Turn right, go under the bridge and continue along this path. After 250 metres, you will see the famous bascule bridge and the Cheuge lock. Continue to the junction with the D70.

(10) Cross the D70 (with caution, as it is a busy road) and turn right onto the path along the road. Enter Renève, cross the Vingeanne bridge, cross Rue du Moulin and continue straight on along Route de Dijon. On your right, you will see Renève Castle and its beautiful glazed tile chalet. Continue to the junction with the D30 at the end of the village.

(11) Cross over to the wide path opposite, which starts on the right and runs alongside the D70.

(12) Turn left towards the woods and continue along this stony path until you reach the Y-junction at the edge of the forest. Turn right and continue for 250 metres.

(13) Take the first track on the left (there is an ONF barrier) and continue straight on for about 1 km until you reach the hunting lodge.

(14). Turn left onto the path that leads to the village. Enter Renève via Rue de la Louvière and continue to the crossroads. Turn right onto Route de Talmay and continue for about 100 metres to reach the Halte Brunehaut

(15). Then retrace your steps to the crossroads. Turn right onto Rue du Grand Four until you reach the square and turn right in front of the town hall to take Rue de l'Église. Just in the shadow of the church, you can see the old war memorial (1880). After the church, go down the tarmac road opposite to reach Rue du Moulin.

(16) At this intersection, there is a small cul-de-sac on the left where you will find the wooden wash house at the far end on the right. Then turn left onto Rue du Moulin. At the fork, continue straight ahead on Rue du Grand Chemin until you reach Rue de la Fontaine on the left, where you will find the car park (S/E).

There is shelter for lunch at the picnic area along the canal in Cheuge.

(4) From here, you can see the large viaduct. If you feel like it, you can walk to it to see it up close (about 500 metres further on, but you will have to turn back as there is no bridge to cross the canal at this point to reach Oisilly).

(S/E) Lavoir du Fer à cheval. Built in the 18th century. It is fed by a spring in the heart of the village, which was developed in the 11th century to supply the first Renève castle (now converted into a CAT).

(4) Oisilly Viaduct. A 295-metre-long viaduct with seven arches, spanning the canal and the Vingeanne river, which used to carry a railway line connecting Is-sur-Tille to Gray, now disused.

Oisilly Castle was built in the 18th century; the outbuildings date from after 1838, the date of the old land registry, with the exception of the dovecote and orangery, which are contemporary with the castle; the left wing of the main building was rebuilt identically after a fire in 1864.

(9) Drawbridge or bascule bridge over the Champagne-Burgundy Canal and lock at Cheuge. One of the only drawbridges in Burgundy, built in 1887. This is where the film La Veuve Couderc, starring Alain Delon and Simone Signoret, was shot in 1971.

(10/11) Château de Renève, built in the 1880s by the owner of the flour mill (the Moulin de La Roye, of which only a few stones remain), which was very active at that time in Renève. From the D70 road, you can admire its pretty little chalet with glazed tiles and its old hop field with the date 1886 inscribed on the façade in iron letters.

(15) * Halte Brunehaut. A small private "museum" created by a history enthusiast who will tell you about the history of the village, the torture of Queen Brunehaut in 613, and where you can see remains found on a Gallo-Roman site near the village. Visits according to opening hours or on specific request for groups.

(15/16) * Saint-Martin Church. 12th-century Romanesque style, which can be visited on request.

A rather rare war memorial: the first in the commune, built in 1880 in memory of the children of Renève who died for their country between 1789 and 1871.

19th-century wooden wash house, restored to its original state.