A circular walk through the Perche and Haut-Vendômois regions starting from Rocheux

The walk starts at the car park situated along the wide driveway leading to the entrance of Rocheux Castle, known as the ‘Château des Énigmes’, in Fréteval.

Yellow markings.

(S/E) Turn your back on the castle to reach the small road, which you’ll follow to the left. Leave a wide avenue on your left and immediately turn left onto a grassy path.

(1) Turn left after a good hundred metres, then follow the edge of the woodland on your left.

(2) Turn left onto the D2, then immediately right onto the forest track. Take the path on the left just before the gate closing off the main track. Ignore the side paths into the woodland. Continue straight on at the crossroads at the edge of the woodland to follow the edge of a new plot on your right.

(3) On leaving the woods, continue along the central path, ignoring the side paths to the left and right, heading north-west. The track eventually follows the edge of a small copse before reaching a crossroads.

(4) Turn left onto the wide path until you reach the D2 shortly after the area set aside for the display of a large stone.

(5) Carefully turn right onto the D2 and, at the junction, continue uphill towards Les Hauts de Courcelles. Turn immediately left as you leave the hamlet onto the small road, which is followed by a track.

(6) Ignore the turn-off to the left and continue downhill towards the Bois du Refuge. At the junction just after this, carry on straight ahead to enter the woods. Once inside the woods, keep to the left at the Fork in the road to follow the contour lines. The forest track leads onto the Allée du Berruet at the edge of the Bois du Refuge. This gravelled track becomes tarmac as you approach the hamlet of Le Breuil.

(7) Turn left onto Rue du Breuil and immediately turn right onto Chemin de Chambord. At the Fork in the road, keep to the right onto the tarmac-surfaced Chemin du Pâtis des Anglais. Turn left at the place known as Les Vignes, then continue straight on at the two successive crossroads to reach Allée des Noues Charron. The tarmac gives way to a grassy track which you should follow, ignoring the various side paths, until you reach a wide, compacted track.

(8) Turn left onto the track. This crosses a farmstead with livestock buildings, then becomes tarmac and eventually joins the D12, which you take to the right to return to Rocheux Castle, the starting point of the walk (S/E).

This well-signposted walk can be enjoyed in all seasons.

At the start of the walk, the 13th-century Château des Énigmes, which was remodelled in the 19th century, offers a fun and original tour.

In Fréteval, the keep of the Carolingian feudal castle overlooks a vast natural landscape shaped by the River Loir.