From Moudon through the Vaud region to Yverdon-les-Bains

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Our Tour de Suisse cheese box takes you through the canton of Vaud in August. A hiking report by Jürg Studer:

In Vaud, the hike leads across wide fields, through forests and along rivers from Moudon to Yverdon-les-Bains.

Start of the hike in Moudon with the St-Etienne soft cheese
It's less than 18 km from station to station as the crow flies - but of course it's almost twice as long in the field, even though the route appears fairly direct on the map. And then there are always the ascents and descents. I would have loved to visit the brand new production building of the Le Grand Pre SA cheese dairy, which is not far from the train station.

But as it doesn't have its own shop in the industrial estate, I stock up on St. Etienne at Fromagerie A. Dorthe at the beginning of the old town. Master cheesemaker Pierre-André Freymond "invented" the Brigand du Jorat in 2009. Its rim is reminiscent of a fir tree. The Brigand du Jorat owes its name to the famous thieves who once populated the forests of Jorat in the heart of the canton of Vaud. The cheese cellar is impressive and is often compared to a cathedral or, by cheese lovers, to heaven.

The village of Moudon has slightly more inhabitants than district 1 of the city of Zurich, but less than 10% of the population density per km2 of the city center. However, the town tower and the mighty houses are worth seeing, which apparently already impressed Mozart on his concert tours through Europe. We continue along the hiking trail, now in the forest, along the steep slope at a distance from the river La Mérine. We continue to climb through the forest until we reach the open field. The vast fields are mainly used to grow maize, sunflowers and often cereals. Hence the name Rando des Blés. An annual joint wheat hike or bike tour, with views across the countryside as far as the Alps and the Jura chain.

Continue in the direction of St-Cierges to "Le Brigand du Jorat" cheese

Above Chapelle-sur-Moudon, again through a wooded area to St-Cieges. You pass a cemetery, which is so called because it is enclosed, i.e. fenced in, and not, as you might expect, a place of peace. As the two villages have just under 400 inhabitants, there is neither a store nor a restaurant. Cheese from a rucksack is the order of the day. Or stock up on Le Brigand du Jorat from the cheese dairy of the same name in St-Cierges, for example.

As our route is also used for farming, some stretches are paved. We appreciate the descent into a wooded valley to l'Oulaire all the more, which we encounter further down with la Menthue. But before that, we walk along mighty trees to the Château de Bercher on a high plateau. This is typical, as all châteaux were built in places with great views.

For a longer stretch, the path now leads sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right of the river through the Bois Dessous to the height of Bioley-Magnoux and the tributary of la Greyle. Once again, soon within sight of Yverdon les bains, the route leads through fields, small wooded areas and along the edges of the forest. The destination is famous for its sulphurous springs, from which water at 29° C gushes out of the ground. If the tour seems too far, you could take a short detour and spend the night at the Restaurant/Hotel du château des Vuissens. Or, slightly modified, do it by bike.

The following QR code will take you directly to the hiking route:

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