Val de Gères from the Château de Surgères via Saint-Germain-de-Marencennes

(S/E) From the castle car park, take the steps, walk along the ramparts to the left, pass the Romanesque porch and then the old prisons. Leave the drawbridge on your left, walk past the church, then under the Renaissance gate and head towards the River Gères on the left.

(1) Take the Voie des Poètes, continue straight on along the Gères, then cross a footbridge at the end of the Espace Georges Pompidou.

(2) Continue along a dead-end road; at the end, turn right onto Rue de l’Abbaye, walk 50 metres and turn right again. At the stop sign, take the second street on the left, Rue Albert Camus, walk past the Saint-Pierre Cemetery and continue to the left to reach a dirt track.

(3) Cross the D911bis carefully using the steps; after a few metres, take the path on the right (south-west) and continue straight on for about 600 m. Turn into the first path on the left, go 200 m and turn right to join a small road.

(4) Follow it to the left, continue to a junction and turn right. Continue straight ahead.

(5) Cross the D211 carefully, continue straight ahead along a shaded lane, then take the first path on the right. Pass two vineyard plots. A little further on, at the junction, continue straight ahead, pass by the Le Fief du Moulin building, join the Route de Vandré and turn right.

(6) Cross the D911 (Route de Surgères) with care, enter the village of Saint-Germain-de-Marencennes and continue to the Stop sign. Turn right, pass a hairdresser’s and, at the crossroads, continue straight ahead to reach the Mounet (stream).

(7) Cross the footbridge, follow the stream and take the footbridge next to the children’s play area for a return trip to a remarkable oak tree on the right.

(8) Retrace your steps and continue to the right along the stream to the hamlet known as Le Moulin Neuf.

(9) Turn left and then right onto a small road, continue straight on, turn left at the next junction and arrive at a bridge over the Gères.

(10) Immediately turn right onto a grassy path, follow the river, cross two footbridges, and continue along a small, winding path black with peat. You’ll come to two large stones; continue to the right until you reach another footbridge (ignore the footbridge on the right).

(11) Follow the Mounet to the left, cross three more footbridges to reach the hamlet known as Le Moulin de Gautrut, then take the small road on the left to the sewage treatment plant.

(12) Go round the treatment plant on the left along a small path lined with fruit trees, cross the small road, and take the grassy path opposite. Reach the ring road via a few steps, follow the safety barriers on the right to the car park.

(13) Cross with care and continue along the Gères on the left. Continue to a bridge and turn left, following the Gères on the right until you reach the U Express shop.

(14) Turn left, walk along the shop car park and cross Avenue Saint-Pierre. Head towards Impasse de la Guinguette, cross the footbridge to rejoin Voie des Poètes, and follow it to the left.

(1) Turn left again into an avenue of chestnut trees, following the ramparts to reach the castle car park (S/E).

Picnic area and toilets at the castle car park.

After heavy rain, and in the event of flooding, before turning towards (11), opposite the two large stones, you can continue straight on to reach the sewage treatment plant via the road.

Surgères Church, the castle grounds, its drawbridge and ramparts, the Poets’ Path.

In Saint-Germain-de-Marencennes: a remarkable oak tree.