The Joan of Arc Circuit

Start : The "Jardins d'eau Pierre Doudeau" water gardens' car park is the departure and arrival point of this hike.

(D/A) With your back to the toilet building, go straight ahead (South-West). Do not cross the river arms, but head towards Avenue Jean Jaurès. Cross it carefuly. In front of the headstone, turn left, cross the Loing river. Take immediately the Rue du Loing on the right.

(1) At the entrance to the public garden on the right, go straight on for about 50 meters then turn left (South-West) into Rue des Chapelles. At Rue de Saint-Cartaud, a slight left/right turn leads to a path. Go up this path and arrive in front of the Rigole de Saint-Privé.

(2) Turn right. Cross the Rue des Chapelles at the level of the Pont de Saint-Jacques to continue on the path along the gutter on your left.

(3) Turn left and describe a large curve always following the course of this gutter to bypass the Étang du Coudray.

(4) Turn left over the Pont du Palais. The Rue du Palais is partly tarmacked, follow it straight ahead leaving the Domaine du Coudray on the right. The stabilised path that follows is a private part, it runs along a wood on the right and ends at the Pont du Crot à l'Âne.

(5) Continue by turning right up the Gutter de Saint-Privé; it will remain on the right until the road. Pass under the Château du Coudray and the washhouse. Arrive at the Palais bridge.

(4) Take the road by the left. Cross the Palais then the Merlin and continue still staying on this small tarmacked road.

(6) At the crossroads, turn left and then left again. Shortly after the water treatment plant, after the big curve, turn right onto a path that runs alongside a hedge. At the end, a passage allows you to cross to enter a green space. Walk along the Loing river to the square and the playground. Join the Rue du Loing.

(1) Turn left. At the Avenue Jean Jaurès, cross carfeuly this driving avenue. Head opposite into Rue de l'Épalu. Pass the camping-cars area. In front of the building, turn left, cross the bridge. Leave the fish ladder on the left. In the alley, go left, then cross two arms of the river on the bridges. At the exit, turn right to reach the car park. (D/A)

Family walk without difficulties. However, Careful along the Gutter de Saint-Privé, children must be watched.
Between point (4 et 5), the path is private. In order to be able to keep walking here, thnak you to respect the site and to keep dogs on a lead.
Others marked hike are, in some places, common to this one.
This marked trail following the markup charter of the Community of Communes of Puisaye-Forterre bears the number 31 inscribed on plates with a yellow background.
The markup was carried out by the association A chacun son chemin en Puisaye-Forterre in October 2019.
In case of trouble, thank you to fill the questionnary (it will take you 1 or 2 minutes).
Careful when you cross roads.
The fact that the markup is mentioned however requires that you leave at least with this description and its IGN map or the visorando app.

The Gutter of Saint-Privé (la Rigole de Saint-Privé) is over 20km long. It was built in 1646 to direct the waters of the Loing river from Saint-Privé to Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses to feed the Briare Canal.

The Water Gardens were created in 1995 and form a vast expanse of greenery with streams running through it. There are playgrounds with benches.

Gaston Fleischel, the inventor of the automatic gearbox:
It was in Bléneau that Gaston Fleischel developed the automatic gearbox that was developed by American manufacturers.