Vineyard in Citadel - Blaye Loop

Depart from the town of Blaye, latitude 45.1333603 (N 45° 8’ 0”), longitude -0.6633639 (W 0° 39’ 48”)

• Step 1

• Your starting point is on the car park, facing the Blaye fire station. Return to the small square and cross to join the sidewalk in front. Take a right and walk a few meters before turning left at the second beacon.
• You then enter a charming path lining the back of the houses, in the middle of the gardens and henhouses. Continue to the paved road.

• 2nd step

• At the arrow holder, turn left and take the first road on the right towards the hospital delivery sign. A little further, you walk on a gravel road. Go straight.

• Step 3

• On reaching the paved road, take the dirt road between the low stone walls. You take the path of the Way of Tours marked by a specific signage on the beacons. From this moment, you benefit from many escapements on the estuary of the Gironde on your left. You dominate for a long time this landscape of water and marsh and overhang Castle La Grange.

• Step 4

• After about two kilometers, you reach the place called "La Brousse", the name of the castle that stands in front of you. Continue on the paved road and turn right at the height of the castle in the "path of the 3 mills", then again to the right leaving on your left the "path of vines".

• Step 5

• You go up to the plateau in a landscape of vineyards typical of Blayais landscapes. The views of the Estuary and Medoc are spectacular. Turn left at the beacon and continue straight ahead leaving the "dead end" sign on your right.

• Step 6

• Arrived at the arrows holder, turn right then immediately left to join Saint Genes de Blaye. You pass in front of the cemetery where benches will allow you to make a small stop.

• Step 7

• Before entering the village, turn right on the "D 137" (attention, traffic). After the exit sign, go up to Calvary and take the paved road on the left. In the first bend, continue straight on the gravel path and walk along the agricultural building of the "Priory" castle.

• Step 8

• Continue your walk through the vineyards to an arrow holder under an oak tree. There, turn left towards the paved road that you follow left again, then right at the crow's feet towards Saint-Genès-de-Blaye. After the hamlet, turn right into a gravel road at the foot of an electricity pole.

• Step 9

• After 350 m, take the path on the left between the rows of vines. The views of the hillsides and vineyards are superb.

• Step 10

• On the paved road, turn right, then first left. You then climb regularly on a hill crossing the places called "La Valade" and "Pellegris", overlooking the estuary.

• Step 11

• At the exit of Pellegris, you turn left on the ascent, at the corner of a beautiful fig tree which conceals the beacon.

• Step 12

• Continue to the next junction where you turn right, before taking the first road on the left at the corner of a house. You have crossed several hamlets backed hills where new residents live alongside the old. Both will not fail to greet you. Take the time to talk to them, they will tell you their attachment to this land.

• Step 13

• You cross the D 135 taking a left and then immediately right. You walk along a vineyard and turn right immediately after (beacon). At the top of the slope, you join the path taken at the beginning of the ride (step 6). You then come back to Blaye where you came from. Put yourself in the skin of the pilgrim who discovered on the horizon the medieval city, its jacquaire hospital and fortified castle whose remains you can admire in the citadel. Do not forget, back to your starting point, that you are only a few tens of meters from the entrance of the citadel, where craftsmen, artists and tradesmen will welcome you to complete your journey comfortably on the heights of the Country Blayais.