Pollarded trees and Puisaye cedars

The route starts from the car park near the Colette Museum (also known as the Maison de Santé car park).

(S/E) In front of the Mauris column, head up the street passing between the two sandstone blocks, walk past the Colette Museum (on your left), follow the avenue lined with lime trees and go through the gate. Turn right, passing the Gandrille residence (retirement home). Go down the first street on the right (Rue derrière le Parc), skirting the park to reach Rue des Renards.
Turn right and walk up this street, then head down Rue des Vignes on the left. The church without a bell tower will be on your left; follow it down to the left to reach the road and the level crossing.

(1) Just after crossing the tracks, you can take a short detour to see the Petit Saint-Jean washhouse with its catchment basin. Then, follow the railway line along the Chemin du Petit Moulin, which is gravelled at the start.

(2) Pass the pumping station, cross the bridge over the Loing and follow this path – dotted in places with iron-rich stones – up to a road. On the left are the old iron-rich sandstone quarries used in the village’s construction.

(3) Cross this road and carry on straight ahead (a few dozen metres) to admire the Croix Saint-Pierre. Retrace your steps and head right for 150 metres. Turn right onto a dirt track. Ignore the next path on the right and continue to an old farm. Carry on to the next road.

(4) Follow it to the right to reach the hamlet of Les Cagnats. Enter the hamlet via the first street on the right to see the old horizontal oven, then take the first left to rejoin the main road.

(5) Turn right and follow this road to reach the village of Moutiers.

(6) On arriving in the village, take Rue de l’Église and continue, turning slightly left onto Rue de la Forge until you reach a ‘Stop’ sign.
Head to the right, cross the bridge over the Loing and join the main road (D85).

(7) Turn right without crossing the road, go past the railway tracks, let the main road continue to the left and, after crossing the D85, take the dirt track on the left which leads up towards the woods.
This track, ignoring the side paths, will take you to a small hamlet of a few houses (Les Michauts).

(8) At the junction, carry on straight ahead along the path, which is stony in places, grassy in others, and damp in certain sections, but magnificent for anyone who loves these pollarded trees.

(9) The dream of these strange creatures is over; a tarmacked road lies ahead, leading to a junction.

(10) At the ‘Stop’ sign, turn right, then at the second ‘Stop’ sign, turn right again. Cross at the pedestrian crossing, follow the pavement on the right for a few metres and go down the steps on the left leading to the Gerbaude washhouse.
Walk back up the alleyway and cross Rue de la Gerbaude. Head right towards the town centre. Turn left onto Rue Derrière les Murs and pass under the archway to reach Place du Marché.

(11) Opposite, take Rue de la Roche to return to the car park where you started (S/E).

On this route, please ignore the signposts; they are reserved for other specific routes described on Visorando.
Good walking boots are recommended in wet weather.

On this route, there are some very fine hedges. There are also some fine specimens of Lebanese cedar (including the one in the cemetery just before reaching the outskirts of Saint-Sauveur); a few metres before the ‘9 ’, from the edge of a field, there is a lovely view of the Colette Museum, the Saracen tower, and the buildings below with their slate roofs – these are the school Colette refers to in her works.
Places to visit in Saint-Sauveur, listed as one of the ‘Cités de caractères Bourgogne – Franche-Comté’ villages:

• The Colette Museum and Colette’s birthplace.
• The artists’ galleries on Rue de la Roche.

In Moutiers-en-Puisaye:

• The church and its murals.
• The Place de la Fontaine Glabert (a sculpture in Puisaye sandstone).