Towards the Folin woods, setting off from Bibracte

Start from the car park at the Bibracte Museum, 2 Route Jacques-Gabriel Bulliot, 71990 Saint-Léger-sous-Beuvray, 3 km from the village centre.

(S/E) On leaving the car park, with your back to the Bibracte Museum, take the D18 to the right, pass through Le Poirier au Chien, then La Bise à l’Âne and Corlon, until you reach a Fork in the road near the house known as ‘Le Pommeret’.
(1) Turn right, towards Poil. After Vers les Croix, carry on straight ahead, then pass La Chazotte and its cross, and keep right at the three-way junction, ignoring the sign for Montandé. Ride on until you reach a memorial stone.

(2) Carry on, keeping to the right after the stream, until you reach the junction at La Palissade.

(3) Leave the Poil road and carry on straight ahead into the Bois des Gouttes. You’ll reach the Croix de Meux.

(4) Carry on straight ahead, then turn right at the next junction and reach the Château de Pierrefite.

(5) Carry on along the road, pass La Forge and arrive at a Fork in the road.

(6) Turn right (north) onto Chemin de Plantelune, then continue straight on at the next junction onto Route de Pétition (D507). Keep going straight on.

(7) Pass through Montvernot and, further on, turn left towards Pétiton. On your right is the reverse side of Le Beuvray, the mountain on which Bibracte is situated.

(8) Follow the road (D507) uphill, then carry on to the D27.

(9) Follow it to the right as far as Le Puits.

(10) Turn right onto the D18, towards Glux-en-Glenne, then join the D500.

(11) Turn left onto this road, heading towards Glux-en-Glenne. Pass through Anvers and carry on straight on until you reach the junction with the D300 in Glux-en-Glenne (accommodation and dining available).

(12) Turn right and drive back and forth to enjoy the beautiful view of Le Beuvray and the museum situated near the church.

(13) Head back to the previous junction.

(12) Once back, carry on straight ahead along the D500 towards Arleuf (on the left is the European Archaeological Research Centre at Bibracte). Pass through Santasse and Les Tourneurs, and continue to the Pré du Massé (accommodation available).

(14) Keep heading towards the Route Forestière du Bois du Roi (the Bois du Folin is on the left, marked by a rocket-shaped antenna reminiscent of Tintin’s) and reach the Col du Haut Folin, the highest point in the Morvan and Burgundy (ideal for a picnic).

(15) Continue along the D500 to the Route Forestière de Préperny (continuation of the D500).

(16) Ignore this and head down towards La Croisette (Route de Saint-Prix). You’ll reach the Col de la Croisette junction.

(17) Keep entirely to the right onto the D179, towards Saint-Prix, until you reach Franay.

(18) There is a view of Montcharmon. Go straight on into the Bois de Rire and stay on the same road until you reach the junction with the D260 at Saint-Prix.

(19) Turn right and follow the D260 towards Glux-en-Glenne. Pass through the hamlet of Plein Faîte and continue to the access road to Argentolle.

(20) Carry on straight ahead and, at the hairpin bend on the D260, leave this road and take the small road opposite, following it to the end where it joins the D300.

(21) Turn left onto this road and, at the next junction, turn left again onto the D18, towards Saint-Léger-sous-Beuvray. Follow this road until you reach the museum car park on the right (S/E).

(2) 1 km away, off the route, in Saint-Léger-sous-Beuvray, you’ll find chemists, bakeries, grocery shops and accommodation.

(16) Off the route, turn left towards Arleuf; 1 km away is the lovely Étang de Préperny, where you can have a picnic.

(19) In Saint-Prix, there are restaurants, brasseries and accommodation.

Accommodation is also available in the villages of Villapourçon, Glux-en-Glenne, Arleuf, Fâchin and Saint-Prix.

Full details are available from the local tourist information centres.
Grand Autunois Morvan for Saint-Prix and Saint-Léger-sous-Beuvray: 03 85 86 80 38.
Morvan Sommets et Grands Lacs for Glux-en-Glenne: 03 86 22 82 74.
Rives du Morvan for Larochemillay and Poil: 03 86 30 43 10.

E-bike hire in Sémelay, at ‘Cyclo Déchaîné’, tel: 06 19 81 24 13

(S/E) On Mont Beuvray, at the end of the 2nd century BCE, the Aedui, a Gallic tribe, founded Bibracte, their short-lived capital – both the crucible and the tomb of Celtic unity – which was moved a century later to the site of present-day Autun. Set on the mountainside, the Bibracte Museum paints a picture of the oppidum and its era. As well as shedding light on a pivotal chapter in European history, it explains the methods and techniques of archaeology. The archaeological site, set in a lush green setting where the forests are as magnificent as the landscapes, has been the subject of annual excavations since 1984 as part of the European Archaeological Centre.

(12) At the source of the Yonne, within the listed Mont Préneley site—covered by the Morvan’s last great mountain beech forest and also designated a departmental sensitive area—the Yonne rises from the heart of one of Burgundy’s most remarkable peat bogs. These wetlands, which are both rich and fragile in terms of biodiversity, allow us to travel back in time through the study of pollen preserved in the peat. Along the discovery trail within the listed site, there are numerous traces of human occupation: contemporary remains of Bibracte, a Roman-era sanctuary, and dykes from the reservoirs that enabled timber rafting.

Near the (16) Étang de Préperny: small in size but exceptional in terms of biodiversity, it is a true natural gem set amongst the forests of the mountainous Haut Morvan. A well-maintained footpath takes you round the pond, passing alongside the peat bog and then along the embankment. Information boards encourage visitors to contemplate and discover the site’s natural heritage, following in the footsteps of Sylvestre the goblin and Noctua the owl.