Les lavoirs et la chaume de Thury à cheval

Departure from the church square at Saint-Julien de Thury. This circuit is signposted VTT n°206 and follows the same route as a footpath in the opposite direction, signposted n°9. (D/A) Take Rue de la Fontaine Saint-Julien for 100 m, then turn right into Rue du Guichet. At the next crossroads, turn left and continue for around 300 m, finding the start of a footpath on the left a few metres after the town exit sign. (1) Follow the path on the left, straight ahead, for approx. 1.300 km, until it forks at the end of a hedge of trees. (2) Turn right onto a small lane, then right again. (3) At the four-way crossroads, go straight ahead towards Colangette, and at the next crossroads, turn right for a few metres, then immediately left. This avoids crossing the hamlet of Colangette. (4) At the crossroads with Rue du Carouge, continue straight ahead on the dirt track, regardless of whether you're coming from the right or the left. At the crossroads, turn right to join the road (D4). (5) Keep right for 50 m, then climb the left-hand track to reach a tarmac road. (6) Turn right and continue along this road. At the next fork in the road, take the street on the right for about 100 m, then the 1st dirt track on the left to reach the Puits des Champs wash-house. (7) Continue to the next asphalt road, turn left and enter the village of Grangette. Go straight on until you reach a four-way crossroads. (8) Turn right towards Pesselière and, at a grove, reach the next start of a dirt track on the right. Take this, then turn left a few metres after turning right at right-angles to reach a road (D73). (9) Continue straight ahead, into the undergrowth, on the right-hand path. From this point onwards, many trails are marked on the ground; refer to the practical information and mountain bike signs. Go south-west, leaving the quarries on your left and following the wooded strip. (10) Go straight ahead along the edge of the forest. Pass the stadium on your right and come to a crossroads (soccer field changing rooms below). (11) Turn left onto the road, which becomes a forest track. Leave all the paths on the right and left as far as the edge of the wood on the descent. (12) Turn 90° to the right and follow the edge of the Bois du Roichat then between the fields to the next road. (13) Turn right and continue for about 800 m to the next track on the left. (14) Take this and, after 150 m, turn right and stay on this track until you reach the next road (D3). (15) Cross this road with care and continue on the track opposite, slightly to the left. At the four-way crossroads, turn right, cross the road again and follow the path down to the Source de Moulery with its wash-house. Return to the road. (16) Cross the road on the left-right and take the dirt track. On this path, there's a lovely view of the hamlet of Moulery. Turn right once, then left again to reach a four-way crossroads. (17) Turn right, then right again at the next crossroads to reach the Gémigny wash-house. (18) Take the left-hand street and go straight on until you reach the last buildings. (19) Take the left-hand path to the Source de Boutaut. (20) Turn around and return to Gémigny. (19) Turn right, then left at the next crow's-foot into Rue des Cours, then left again into Rue des Lavoirs. Keep to this until you reach the Source de Panny. (21) Carefully follow the road to the left, heading north-west. Ignore a road on your left and you'll come to a crow's-foot. Turn right, and immediately afterwards, take the left-hand path. At the next junction, turn right to reach the next one at the top of the climb. (22) Turn right to join a road (D73). (23) Carefully cross the road and take the path opposite, leaving it at the next junction to turn left and then right. Continue straight on to the village of La Forêt with its drinking trough. (24) Take the road on the right (D211) to the semi-underground reservoirs on the left. (25) At the right-hand bend in the road, take the dirt track to the left, heading south-east. Ignore a track on the right, then another on the left, and at the bottom of the descent, turn left to reach the road at the first houses in Thury. (26) Cross this road, with the lavoir and Fontaine de Saint-Julien opposite, and continue south-east to reach the village church forecourt (D/A).