Let me tell you about our secret walks on the wild side
Discover an area full of publicly accessible walks right on our doorstep!
I picked up a great little book at our local Office de Tourisme in Sens last week. It shows 24 walks in the Pays d’Othe (pronounced “Pay Dot”) region of Burgundy. This little, hidden area starts in the village of Véron – home to our depot – and spreads out to the west.
Our new little book of 24 walks
The Pays d’Othe is well known in France for its enormous forest and natural beauty, but most overseas visitors have never heard of it, partly because there’s very little tourist information available about it online. However, it is well worth a visit if you like hilly, forest walks and don’t want to share them with a single soul…or maybe just a little bit of wildlife, like these baby wild pigs!
Wild boar (sanglier) piglets in the Pays d’Othe
The region is also renowned for cider production and many of the walks include the option to visit cider makers and taste as you go. Be careful though, this local brew is pretty potent and at the same time deceptively refreshing. If you plan to taste during your walk, also plan to leave your campervan parked for the night at the beginning of the walk – or be sure the driver only “sips and spits”!
A couple of weeks ago, Phill and I tackled the 7.5km Vaumort walk and didn’t see another person. Highlights were the church at Vaumort, wonderful views from the hills opposite the village and a close encounter with a family of deer (sorry, I didn’t get the camera out in time to capture them!).
The three-minute video (below, in French) gives you a good look at the countryside and the inside of this deceptive little church, which has the most beautiful and intact Roman floor tiles – known as tomettes.
Last Sunday we did the 8km Les Bordes walk and it was just as peaceful. Highlights were the old wash house, La Roche au Diable (or Devil’s Rock – part of a Megalithic circle of granite blocks) and the view from the top of the hill into the Les Bordes valley in the last kilometre of the walk.
La Roche au Diable on the ‘Les Bordes’ walk, just visible through the trees
If you fancy tackling a few of the walks in the beautiful Pays d’Othe, you can purchase the book for just €4.50 from local tourism offices. It is only available in French but each walk is clearly depicted on a very detailed map, so easy to follow even if you don’t speak French.
Just the two of us!
There are endless places to park a motorhome and wild camp in the region so if you are hoping for a peaceful campervan adventure with some lovely walks, this region might be for you.
There’s room to store your muddy boots in all our campervans and motorhomes
Needless to say, the views we had were a bit wintery, but it will no doubt be spectacular and still totally unspoilt from early spring to late autumn, so why not book your trip now and make the Pays d’Othe your first port of call?