The best traffic-free bike rides around Étang-Sur-Arroux

The loop can be started as desired. Elevation gain, forests and viewpoints. A good restaurant near the D'Uchon signal

The highest point of Saône et Loire. See the panorama over the Morvan on one side and the plains of Charolais on the other.

Nice climb, tough from Mesvres

Here is the route for the ascent of the Col des Blanchots starting from Broye

In the village you have a nice bakery, cafe, hotel-restaurant and a shop where you can buy products for pasta, among other things.

Also open on Sundays. Good quality. My favorite: pain suisse.

The lordship of Uchon developed from the 11th century onwards thanks to the lords of Chateauvillain, notably with the construction of the Church of Saint Sebastian in the 12th century (now dedicated to Saint Roch), in which Jean de Chateauvillain placed the relics of Saint Sebastian upon his return from the Crusades. He is also responsible for the Calvary of the Cross of Messire Jean, located at the summit of the mountain and restored in 2021 (funded by the BROC and TRAD UCHON associations). Suffering heavy destruction during the Hundred Years' War, the village began a long decline, accentuated by the fragmentation of the barony of Uchon and the dismantling of the castle in the 16th century. However, at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, the site of Uchon experienced significant growth linked to the pilgrimage centered around the relics of Saint Sebastian, invoked to protect against the plague that was raging at the time. Faced with the influx of pilgrims from Autun, the church proved too small to accommodate crowds of up to 5,000 people. It was decided to build an oratory outside the church, housing an altar, to bring the faithful together for celebrations. The pilgrimage continued until the 18th century before disappearing at the turn of the French Revolution. The altar was then replaced by a Calvary, surmounted by a Virgin Mary, in the first half of the 20th century. Since December 9, 1929, the Oratory of Belle-Croix has been listed as a historic monument. The oratory, built on a granite mound like the nave of the neighboring church, is oriented (facing east). Raised in a cantilever on corbels, this monument surprises with its singular silhouette which is not without evoking the unstable balance of the "Pierre-qui-croule" not far from there. In addition, the spire of the oratory, surmounted by a metal cross, gives a beautiful dynamic to the whole. Square in plan, the oratory receives an octagonal base cap resting on squinches. The masonry is made of cut granite blocks, perhaps from the castle which was dismantled at the same time. The masonry details (moldings, chamfers, niches, squinches) demonstrate the care taken in the implementation. Inside, a finely sculpted sandstone Calvary, surmounted by a Virgin and Child, contrasts with the rusticity of the granite. The interior masonry of the oratory does not display any particular decoration apart from a stone running through it, on the west facade, forming a sculpted capital on the interior side and a cross in bas-relief on the exterior, probably a reused stone.

Each of these crosses, which the hiker often encounters in the fields or (as here) on a prominent mountain location high above the city, is a sign of remembrance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. "Here on earth there is His memory, but in the kingdom of heaven there is His presence: this presence is the joy of those who have already attained salvation. The memory is our consolation, as we are still wanderers and journeying towards our homeland." (Bernard of Clairvaux)