A glimpse of the meanders of the Yonne at Châtel-Censoir

(S/E) Cross Rue de la Fontaine with care and join Rue de Magny opposite the car park. Rue de Magny (the D321 road) heads north-west on a gentle descent towards the Canal du Nivernais.
Cross the railway line carefully (level crossing) and cross the Canal du Nivernais via a bridge. Continue straight on towards Château de Saint-Marc to cross the Yonne, then head uphill to the first path on the left (before a large agricultural shed on the right).

(1) Turn left onto the flat, stony track. Follow it for about three hundred metres, then turn right onto a grassy, uphill track.

(2) When you reach a fork in the path, take the right-hand path heading north-east. Further on, the path joins the D217 road. Follow it carefully to the right, downhill, to the junction with the D321 road about two hundred metres further on. Turn left onto the hillside path between two fields and head to the next crossroads.

(3) Turn right onto the old tarmac farm track which descends the hillside towards Magny. The small road joins the D217 at the southern entrance to Magny, near a fine country house on the right-hand side of the D217.
Head left onto the road to cross through Magny. As you pass through, you’ll see some fine examples of traditional local architecture, including farmhouses and town houses. On leaving Magny, look out for a beautiful château on the left-hand side. Continue along the tarmac road, Rue André Picq, for about four hundred metres.

(4) Turn left onto a path that enters a wooded area and immediately turn right onto a small path that climbs the gently sloping hillside. The path crosses the Bois de la Tour until it reaches the plateau , which it follows along the eastern edge , offering magnificent panoramic views of the meandering Yonne. The path turns towards the centre of the plateau and runs along the edge of the woods on the right. It reaches a T-junction. Take the path on the right, which leads out of the woods and crosses a clearing where a castle stands on the right, a good fifty metres away. Continue straight on along the Chemin des Chaumes de la Tour, which immediately runs alongside the castle farm; then, upon reaching a wooded area on the left, begins the descent down the hillside towards Merry-sur-Yonne and becomes tarmac.

(5) At the bottom of the descent, the small road, Chemin de la Tour, crosses the railway line via a bridge and immediately turns left to run alongside it. At this point, two paths branch off towards the east and north-east.
The road veers away from the railway line by turning right and joins the Route de Compostelle (D217).
At the crossroads, head straight ahead (on the left-hand side of the D217) to pass in front of Saint-Denis Church. As you approach the outskirts of Merry-sur-Yonne, turn into a dead-end road on the right to take a short detour and see a pretty covered wash house less than a hundred metres away.

Back on the D217, continue towards the edge of the village and towards the Yonne. Note a small rest area on the left immediately after passing the village sign.
Cross the Yonne, then the Canal du Nivernais via two successive bridges.

(6) Turn immediately left and follow the D100 road, walking along the path beside the canal for about sixty metres. Cross the D100 road carefully before the bend and take the small path that starts before a hedge on the right-hand side of the road. Turn immediately right onto the uphill path.
The path passes beneath the Ferme des Vignes, which is situated on the edge of a plateau. Continue along the path, which climbs gently up the cliffs towards the east and joins the Route du Haut des Roches as it reaches the plateau, at a bend in the road.

Continue straight on along the Route du Haut des Roches along the edge of the plateau, with cultivated fields on your left. Once again, there are lovely views over the valley. The road passes above the Rochers de Saussois, a spot renowned for rock climbing. Shortly afterwards, the hillside on your right becomes wooded; the road becomes the Route des Longues Raies, then veers away from the edge of the plateau and crosses a stretch of farmland.

(7) At the next junction with a white gravel track, turn right onto the track heading south-west. Continue straight on to the edge of the hillside. The track enters the woods and descends the hillside diagonally, emerging onto a small road just above the D100. When you reach this small road, turn left and follow it carefully. It is flat and leads into a small valley that is home to the hamlet of Vaulabelle.

(8) Take the path on the right which crosses the valley floor, then climbs through the Goulots area via a wood to a sweeping view of the Rochers du Saussois.

(9) As the path reaches a sort of ridge, it turns sharply left and then crosses it heading south. Continue straight along the path until you reach the football pitch at a place called La Croix Pélerin.
At the crossroads at the end of the football pitch, you will find a wayside cross, the Croix Pèlerin, and, on the left-hand side, a mobile phone mast.

Continue straight on along Route Saint-Pèlerin, which descends diagonally down the Garet hillside towards the village of Châtel-Censoir. Continue straight on along Rue Chatonnière, which follows on from Route Saint-Pèlerin and leads onto Avenue de la Gare (the D100). Turn left and follow Avenue de la Gare (pavement) until you reach the first path on the right, Chemin de Magny.

(10) Turn right onto Chemin de Magny, which leads towards the Canal du Nivernais. Cross the railway line with great care (gate) and turn left to follow the towpath along the Canal du Nivernais. When you reach Route de Magny, which crosses the canal via a bridge, turn left onto Rue de Magny towards the village and return to the car park (S/E).

The car park is located on Rue de la Fontaine. Alternatively, you can park next to the station north of Châtel-Censoir (not far from the route’s point (10)).
Access: from Auxerre, take the D606 heading south. After Vincelles, turn right onto the D100 and follow the Yonne river. Cross the river at Mailly-la-Ville and continue to Châtel-Censoir.
Alternatively, you can come by train; in this case, adjust the route accordingly, as the station is right next to the route.

This hike across varied terrain requires suitable footwear.

This walk presents no real difficulty in terms of navigation as it is signposted in yellow (Petite Randonnée PR® trail) and in yellow and red (^GRP® des Méandres de l’Yonne) and follows the “Boucle des Rochers du Saussois” route featured on the local council’s website. In addition, it is advisable to follow the directions in the description and on the map, whilst paying close attention to the landscape. The waypoints (with their GPS coordinates and the distance from the starting point) serve as aids for hikers exploring the route for the first time.

Châtel-Censoir
General historical background
The village is first mentioned in the 7th century.
It takes its name (Castrum Censorium) from Saint Censure, Bishop of Auxerre in the 5th century.
It was a fiefdom under the bishops of Auxerre, held successively by the lords of Vergy, the barons of Donzy and the counts of Nevers.
The castle, situated on the promontory overlooking the village, was the seat of one of the seven castellanies of the Donziois region.
Tradition has it that the church was built on the foundations of a pagan temple. It was served by a college of canons under the authority of the Bishop of Auxerre.
It is the birthplace of the philanthropist Champion (the ‘Little Blue Coat’), the historian Tenaille de Vaulabelle, and Leconte (inventor of the first floating timber train).

Prehistoric and ancient remains
Grotte des Fées.
Rock known as "la Pierre qui Tourne", at the entrance to the Ausson valley.
Discovery of various Bronze Age artefacts.
Roman foundations, next to the church.
Merovingian graves found at a place known as Le Champ des Tombeaux.

Civil architecture
Remains of the 11th-centurycastle at Châtel-Censoir: ramparts, tower.
Maison de Vaulabelle, outbuildings, dovecote (listed by the French Ministry of Cultural Heritage).

Sacred architecture
Saint-Potentien Church (listed), former 11th-century Romanesque collegiate church, largely rebuilt in the 16th century: square tower (1541), three naves rebuilt in the 13th and 16th centuries with pointed arches and flamboyant vaults, 16th-century bas-reliefs of the Crucifixion and the Last Supper, archaic 11th-century Romanesque choir with a triple apse vaulted in a cul-de-four style, choir capitals carved on three levels with animal and plant motifs, crypt (listed); 13th-century square sacristy (listed) containing two 16th-century wooden Crucifixions; 12th-century chapter house retaining 13th-century glazed tiles; veneration of Saint Potentian, whose relics and a miraculous spring were the focus of major pilgrimages until the Revolution.

The Collegiate Church of Saint Potentian
A collegiate church is a church governed by a college of canons. The college at Châtel-Censoir was established at the request of the lords of Vergy around the 10th/11th century and dominated both the religious and the property and financial life of the village until the French Revolution.
It consisted of 12 canons, including an abbot appointed by them, but subject to the Bishop of Autun. The village priest was chosen from among their ranks, and the college included various posts such as the scholasticus (head of the college who taught the young people), the churchwarden who was responsible for offering alms to pilgrims, the treasurer; and so on.
Potentien; according to legend, he set out from Rome in 45 AD and came to Châtel, which did not yet have a name. He dipped his lips in a spring situated beneath Mount Saint Pèlerin (now the Magny lock) and the water suddenly became miraculous, curing various ailments (eye conditions, rheumatism, and even ‘so-called ordinary madness’).
He continued on his way to Sens, where he was martyred in 241, as the second Bishop of Sens. In 847, his bones were turned into relics and were ‘permanently’ enshrined in Châtel in 1160.
This saint was invoked during large processions to pray for rain or fine weather, as the occasion demanded.
To find out more:

A spotlight on the village:
Source: the municipality’s official website

Merry-sur-Yonne
Merry-sur-Yonne is situated in the valley of the Yonne, a tributary of the Seine, on the left bank (west side) of the river. In this region, the Yonne generally flows from south to north, but it has carved out a right-hand convex meander at the village.
The width of the floodplain, and thus the valley floor, is around 350 m wide at an altitude of approximately 127 m; the village is barely 10 m higher, at an average altitude of 135 m.
The valley floor is also occupied by the Canal du Nivernais, which occasionally shares the bed of the Yonne. It is bordered by high cliffs rising to around 190 m above sea level, including the famous Saussois rocks on the right bank of the Yonne
The commune includes several caves, including the Rechimet Cave, the Grande Planchette Cave, the Cachot de Ravereau and the Roche aux Loup Cave, all four of which have been explored by the Chablis Caving Club. Several of these caves are prehistoric sites.

The Church of Saint-Denis in Merry-sur-Yonne, formerly known as the Church of Saint-Augustin
Source: Wikipedia (excerpts)