Le Moulin Rouge et le Château du Fort

This hike starts from the salle des fêtes parking lot, along the D965. (D/A) With your back to the village hall, go uphill to the left without crossing the road. Past the school, turn left into Chemin des Pimolles. Go past the sports field, then the cemetery and down to the left. (1) The tarmac road ends and gives way to a cross-country track. Turn right at the next junction. (2) The path forks, turn right and continue to the next junction, where you turn right to reach the first houses in Les Dalibeaux. (3) At the road, turn left, continuing along this lane, leaving the paths leading off to the right and left. At the junction with another perpendicular road, turn left. Keep to this narrow lane as far as Les Soupirons, where it ends in a gravel path. (4) At this crossroads, turn sharp left, keeping to the main path and following the property fence to the right. At the end, take the path to the left, then cross the Branlin stream on your right. (5) When you reach the tarmac road (grassy strip in the middle in places), turn right downhill, cross the bridge over the Branlin and come to a crossroads. Take a slight right-left turn onto a new sunken path which leads to the Chapelle du Château du Fort. (6) Pass the entrance to the château, continue on this path and, at the sharp bend, leave it to go straight ahead. Continue into the woods, then through a strip of hedges, until you come to a crossroads of small lanes. Go straight ahead on this narrow asphalt road. (7) When you reach the outskirts of Mézilles, take Rue des Ferriers, leaving Rue de la Barre on your right and Route de Fontaines on your left. Join the D965, cross it at the pedestrian crossing. Once on the sidewalk, turn left towards the bridge. Cross one of the branches of the Branlin and go straight down into the Ribaudin garden. Cross the garden along the reach and exit through the gate onto the street. Walk down towards the river, either over the ford or the bridge (depending on water level and your preference). (8) Turn left onto the path alongside the Branlin. Pass under the porch housing the wash-house and exit at the corner of Rue du Moyen-Âge and Rue de l'Église. Walk up Rue l'Église, keeping the church on your left. Join the Grande Rue, turn left, cross the D965 at the pedestrian crossing and return to the start parking lot (D/A).