The Ource

Hikes & walks in Villars-Santenoge

9.1

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Departure: parking near the pond - Signposting: green and yellow - Walking time: 3h30 - Duration mountain bike: 1h45 - difficult level - From the pond in the village center, take the direction of Chaugey, passing in front of the center equestrian then continue on the D 118a for about 500 m. Take a path on the right which climbs in the undergrowth, cross the field then the wood. At the crossroads with a white path, follow it on the right and continue straight to the road. Turn left and follow signs for Colmier-le-Bas. After about 1 km, turn on your right to take a farm road at a place called "La Rochotte". Follow this path to D 118, paying attention when crossing the creek. At the crossroads with the D 118, continue straight and climb the forest path that joins the wood of Colmier-le-Bas. After 2 km, turn slightly right to take a forest slice that will lead you into the forest of Auberive. At the crossing with another slice turn right and take the path that winds through the forest. At the edge of the embankment that you must go down, pay attention to the stones; we advise inexperienced mountain bikers to continue on foot on the 100 m of this descent. Once down, continue straight on the forest road to the hairpin turn. There, take the slice that descends strongly to the Côte de Belvau. Then walk along the stream for 700 m then pass over the improvised log bridge. Continue straight ahead and climb the Côte de Belvau to reach Châtel. Follow the forest section by crossing a white path twice, to the edge of the forest. From there, turn right and continue on this road until you reach Villars train station. Take then right then left to find your starting point. All the tourist info on

Description sheet

Department	Haute-Marne
Departure municipality	Villars-Santenoge
Outing type	Hike
Difficulty	Easy
Duration	4h10
Kilometres	13 km
Altitude upon departure	327m
Change in altitude	350m

Access

Depart from the town of Villars-Santenoge, latitude 47.7516283 (N 47° 45’ 6”), longitude 4.9767617 (E 4° 58’ 36”)

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Itinerary

 Villars-Montroyer
(mentioned in the 12th century) under the name of Viller, Villar (derived from villa: estate) and called Vilers Morochers after 1223, named after the famous Burgundy family of Morhier who will own the Seigneury until the beginning of the 15th century.
Villars-Montroyer will be called Villars-Santenoge, after the merger on June 5, 1972, with the neighboring municipality of Santenoge.
The red square
The red square (sculpture - shelter), the work of the artist Gloria Friedmann. Set in 1997 on the edge of a pond in the beautiful countryside of Châtillonnais, the red square can be defined as a "useful sculpture". In addition to its classic sculptural characteristics (form, color, definition of a space, affirmation of materials), there is a particular dimension: the invitation to use by the viewer. Subtitled "Tableau-refuge", it is at the same time a work and a shelter, a place where to come to experience direct relations with the landscape, for which the art will have acted as mediator. The deliberately simple and uncomplicated accommodation conditions, by placing the occupant closer to the reality of nature, invite us to meditate, through a red immersion in the greenery, the brutality of our daily life and the peace of our territory.
The marsh of Belvau
The ZNIEFF of the Belvau marsh occupies a narrow valley of the Langres Plateau and the base of the north-facing slope on the edge of the leafy forest that encloses it. A beautiful undisturbed forest marsh, one of the most typical of Haute-Marne, constitutes most of the vegetation of the area. Covered by a dense marsh vegetation, locally invaded by buckthorns, it presents a great diversity of plant groups. Its border consists of a willow and a fringe of aspen and willow. The vegetation is very characteristic and well adapted to the particular conditions of the tuff marsh: about thirty species meet there, one protected at the national level, the ferruginous choin and four in Champagne-Ardenne.