De l'Ardèche au Luol

The circuit reaches the village of St-Julien-du-Serre and its church, a jewel of Romanesque art, perched on its wide, panoramic ridge. A side road running along the western flank of this ridge takes you back to St-Privat, with the Château d'Aubenas as a backdrop.
Starting from the Place de St-Privat in the Ardèche plain, the route goes up the Luol valley to the village of St-Julien-du-Serre. The first steps are accompanied by a semi-urban atmosphere, between the old houses located around the Pont Vieux (104th century) and the residential neighborhoods that spread out along the Rue du Pont Vieux up to the RD XNUMX. The landscape then becomes forested and the path winds through the hills covered with white oaks. After crossing the Luol, halfway along, you reach the village of St-Julien-du-Serre. As you pass, the Romanesque church proudly displays its porch and its ornate capitals, a true rural popular catechism of the XNUMXth century, sculpted in the local sandstone. From here the landscape opens up, the light floods the greenhouse on which the church is built. A side road running along the western side of this greenhouse takes you back to St-Privat, with the Château d'Aubenas in the background. The loop ends with the lapping of the Ardèche and the Saint-Privat canal, which until the middle of the last century supplied gardens, orchards, and silk mills.

Description
→Departure from the INFORMATION PANEL located on the Place des Jardins Publiques, against the wall near the toilets. Go up the stairs and cross the square then Avenue de la Soie to follow Rue du Luol. After 150 m, cross the Pont Vieux (reputed to date from the 1th century) on your right and continue for XNUMX km on Rue du Pont Vieux.
→At the crossroads with the RD 104, go along the houses on the left at the edge of the RD then turn left onto the path next to the house. At the tarmac, continue on the Chemin du Chiet for 150 m then take the path on the left which goes around a property (former campsite). At the toilet block, take the path on the left at the foot of a wall then climb the track above it. Go down this track to the bridge over the Liopoux.
→500 m after crossing the Liopoux, at the crossroads, turn left and follow this path, always uphill, for 1km to reach the hiking crossroads “La Téoule”.
→LA TEOULE Post: Follow the road to the right towards "Le Chomeil" for 150 m, then at the bend turn left onto the path that climbs alongside a wall. At the road, go up it to the left, cross the hamlet of La Téoule, pass the LE CHOMEIL post at the crossroads, and enter the hamlet.
→After the first narrow passage between the houses, take the path on the left that runs alongside the house and then through gardens (lavender) before plunging into the undergrowth. The path descends a steep hillside overlooking a bend in the Luol river and the Près du Moulin meadows. It then climbs gently back up to the "Valette" crossroads.
→VALETTE Post: Go down the path on the left towards "Le Clap" then follow the paved road. At the first hairpin bend, cut across the path below, cross the Valette bridge and go back up to the road to the end of the meadow, where a path goes up to the left.
→From this point, a lovely spot by the river is accessible via a short out-and-back walk (200 m each way): continue along the road for 100 m then turn right onto a fairly steep access path. Alternatively, take the path to the left which climbs up to the road, crosses it, and leads to the "Le Clap" crossroads at the entrance to the village of St-Julien.
→LE CLAP Post: cross the road and head up towards the church along the stepped path that crosses a road and leads to the church entrance. On your right, a clearing offers shade and a panoramic view, but the route continues to the left, passing under the flying buttresses that support the apse to reach the "L'église" crossroads.
→THE CHURCH Post: take the road on the left towards "Suel". At the high cross, go up the Route du Suel for 300 m.
→Leave the Suel road and take the Chemin du Lourtou, which descends gently to the right. 400 m further on, pass the LE SUEL ​​Poteau hiking junction and continue towards "L'Houme" on this same path, which runs along the limestone slopes of this ridge for nearly 2 km and offers beautiful views of the Buis valley and the Château d'Aubenas (please remember to close the gates behind you). Further on, the path enters the undergrowth, then climbs again and reaches a junction.
→Go up the left-hand path (do not go down to the ruins) until you reach the main ridge path. Follow this to the right, pass under high-voltage power lines and continue on a forest track until you reach the "L'Houme" crossroads signpost, in a large bend.
→L'HOUME Post: Descend to the right along the path due south, bordered by walls, towards "Le Poisson" (The Fish). At the end of this path, note the beautiful old cross known as the "Croix des Lépreux" (Leper Cross). Go down the street opposite you for about 150 meters, then take the paved cul-de-sac on the right, opposite the fire hydrant. At the end of the cul-de-sac, in front of the gate, descend via a paved path to the "Le Poisson" crossroads.
→LE POISSON Post: follow the road on the left for about 100 m then cross at the raised passage to follow the cycle path on the right which takes a vaulted passage. Follow the cycle path which runs alongside the Ardèche then a canal takes you back to the starting point.