The Meanders of the Spin

The start of this walk is on Avenue de la Gare, close to the Tourist Office.

(D/A) Head towards the château, cross the Grande Rue (protected passageway) and enter the grounds. Drive around the building to the right. At the end of the gable, turn right and continue through the wooded area towards the buildings at the back (retirement home). After the pond on your right, turn left downstream of the car park and then right towards the stairs. Access to the car park ends at Allée des Amours, which leads up to Route des Thus.

(1) Turn left onto Route des Thus. Follow this road past the Thus wash-house and leave it at the crossroads signposted Les Rats.

(2) Follow this road to the left. At the last houses, the road takes over as a path through undergrowth. Oak trees that are almost certainly several hundred years old and magnificent pollards guide the way. Occasionally, a few rusks cross the path, which leads to a bend in the Vrille.

(3) Turn left and follow the meandering river to the right. Cross the footbridge over the river. Continue along the path between the fences separating the fields on either side. Reach the D955 road.

(4) Carefully cross the road before turning right, keeping to the left-hand shoulder and remaining vigilant. After about 150 m, there is a footpath entrance on the left. Enter it and climb the path, which soon becomes a wider track. At the top, turn left (a field entrance can give the impression of a new path). You will come to a place called Les Plançons.

(5) At the pond and well on your right, turn left down the road serving this hamlet. It soon turns south and you will come to a bend in the road to the left. Turn right onto a wide track. Continue along this road, passing a stream at the bottom of the valley.

(6) On the right, pass between the trognes and climb up a sunken track with a small, unobtrusive fountain on the right (see explanations in Practical info). At the end of the path, you will come to Les Moreaux with its colourful gated properties.
Opposite the entrance to a property, let the path run off to the right (small car park) and continue along this road (which in places is more of a greenway in the middle). Go past the old kiln on the site of the current pottery training school (CNIFOP).

(7) At the fork in the road, walk down the Faubourg des Potiers. Pass the Écomusée de la Mémoire potière on your right. Continue downhill until you reach Carrefour Carriès. Cross carefully over the pedestrian crossing and head towards the town centre along the Grande Rue. Cross the two bridges over the branches of the Vrille and return to the starting point (D/A).