Walking in the Auvergne

Guidebook to the Auvergne describing 42 walks between 5 and 20km in the quiet volcanic hills of central France. Five areas are covered: Cantal, Chaine des Puys, Mont Dores, Haute-Loire and Montagne Bourbonnaise. The volcanic geography provides a stunning backdrop to routes suitable for all walkers. Bases in Vichy, Clermont-Ferrand and Puy-en-Velay.

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Overview

This walking guidebook describes 42 day routes exploring the stunning Auvergne region in central France. The walks are ideal for day walkers and hikers, with routes ranging from easy 5km outings to more challenging 20km hikes. All are illustrated with clear mapping and colour photographs. The guide focuses on the best routes in five different areas, including Cantal, the Chaîne des Puys (Monts Dômes), the Monts Dore, the Haute Loire (Livradois and Velay) and the Montagne Bourbonnaise, with bases including Vichy, Clermont-Ferrand and Puy-en-Velay. The routes in this guidebook offer walking on truly spectacular volcanic landscape, with grassy domes and volcanic bowls and long, rambling ridges, yet the walking is generally suitable (nothing over 1,900m) for all walkers, and the area is both accessible and provides a wide range of cultural and historical (and geological) interest. The guidebook also provides a wide range of practical information for visiting the Auvergne, with accommodation transport, and preparation advice, as well as providing a wealth of detail on the many places of interest along the walks.

Table of Contents

Contents
Introduction
History
Volcanoes
Plants and wildlife
Food and drink
When to go
Getting there
Getting around
Accommodation
Difficulty
Equipment
Maps
Waymarking
Hazards and emergencies
Using this guide
1 The Cantal
Walk 1 Puy de Niermont
Walk 2 An Ascent of the Puy de Peyre Arse
Walk 3 Puy Mary with Optional Excursion to Puy de la Tourte
Walk 4 Traverse of the Brêche de Rolland from Puy Mary to Peyre Arse
Walk 5 Around Medieval Murat
Walk 6 The Plomb du Cantal
Walk 7 A Rombière Ramble
Walk 8 Puy Griou
Walk 9 Up the Usclade
Walk 10 The Elancèze
Walk 11 Puy Violent and the Shadow Rock
Walk 12 Roches Taillade and Roc d’Hoziéres
Walk 13 Circuit of Puy Chavaroche
Walk 14 St Cirgues de Jordanne A
Walk 15 St Cirgues de Jordanne B
2 The Châine des Puys (Monts Dômes)
Walk 16 Puy de Dôme
Walk 17 Puys Lassolas and de la Vache
Walk 18 Around Orcival
Walk 19 Puy des Gouttes
Walk 20 The Crater of Puy Pariou
Walk 21 The Water of Volvic
3 The Monts Dore
Walk 22 The Grand Horseshoe: Puy de Sancy from Mont-Dore
Walk 23 Up the Chaudefour Valley to Puys Sancy and Ferrand
Walk 24 Around Lake Pavin
Walk 25 Connecting the Cascades of Puy d’Angle
Walk 26 The Tuilière and Sanadoire rocks
Walk 27 A Tour of the Curiosities of St Nectaire
Walk 28 Lake Guéry and the Banne d’Ordanche
4 The Haute-Loire: Livradois Forez and Velay
Walk 29 Around Chaise-Dieu and the Senouire
Walk 30 The Gorges of the Loire
Walk 31 A Circuit of Allègre
Walk 32 Mont Bar from Allègre
Walk 33 Domeyrat and the Senouire
Walk 34 Vieille Brioude and the Ceroux
Walk 35 Lavaudieu Abbey and the Senouire
5 The Montagne Bourbonnaise
Walk 36 The Ruins of Montgilbert
Walk 37 Milling around the Mills
Walk 38 Around Châtel Montagne and the Puy de Roc
Walk 39 Rocher St Vincent
Walk 40 The Cascade de la Pisserote
Walk 41 The Plateau de la Verrerie and its Tourbière
Walk 42 Pierre Châtel from St Nicolas des Biefs

Appendix A Route summary table
Appendix B Glossary of French walking terms
Appendix C Further reading
Appendix D Useful contacts

Maps

For all but the Grade 1 walks in this guide a map is recommended. Detailed topographical maps are available for all the areas covered. A Series Bleu IGN map at 1:25,000 incorporates the entire Cantal section, two cover the Châine des Puys and Massif du Sancy. The Montagne Bourbonnaise walks are mainly covered by the Mayet-de-Montagne map and the Haute-Loire by the Allegre/La Chaise Dieu maps. The full names of the IGN 1:25,000 sheets, if you are ordering online or by phone, are shown below.

1 The Cantal 2435OT Monts du Cantal
2 The Châine des Puys (Monts Dômes 2531ET Châine des Puys
3 The Monts Dore 2432ET Massif du Sancy
4 The Haute-Loire: Forez and Velay 2734O Allègre/La Chaise Dieu2735E Le Puy en Velay2634E Paulhaguet2634O Brioude
5 The Montagne Bourbonnaise 2730O Mayet de Montagne2729O Lapalisse2730E St Just/Monts de la Madeleine

Each map is widely sold in the area which it covers but unlike in Britain it can be infuriating getting them elsewhere: you may, for example, encounter problems getting hold of a map of the Cantal from shops in the Monts Dore, despite being so nearby. Indeed, the authors spent an entire afternoon and failed to find a single shop selling maps of the Monts Dore in the major town of Vichy. Supermarkets, hypermarkets and bookshops are usually a good bet for stocking maps of the wider region, but there are no guarantees. Tourist information offices and newsagents usually sell IGN maps of their near area. The IGN maps are available prior to departure in the UK from Amazon, Stamfords, the Map Shop and other good reatilers on and offline.

A word of caution about the IGN maps of this region. Partially due to the lack of a rights of way system which we have in Britain, but also clearly as a result of some lazy mapping, some of the tracks and paths appearing on the 1:25,000 maps in the Auvergne do not exist on the ground. They have probably fallen into disuse, but in some instances we have found ‘disuse’ to equate to decades of absence. Similarly, many other good and long-established paths on the ground are not marked at all on the maps. Added to this, the distinction between paved roads and tracks is often not made. We have tried to clear up this issue and others in our route descriptions.

Updates

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November 2019

Route updates included in 2020 reprint

651 Reprint 2020 (275.465 KB)

September 2019

Route updates and corrections

Sept 2019

The map for Walk 16 - Puy de Dôme on p.103 has been rotated to be read in landscape form. It is therefore oriented to west, not north as mistakenly suggested in the book. All the other maps in the book are oriented correctly to north.

Aug 2017

The authors are grateful for the following suggested updates to Walking in the Auvergne:

Walk 41, page 232.
"Go straight across the road and up the left side of the café to find a path."
Can now read: "Go straight across the road and up the left side of the (new) community hall to find a path at the rear."

Walk 38, page 220.
As of 2017, disappointingly trees obstruct the view from the Puy de Roc making its observation table redundant. The trees may well be cut back in future.

Walk 40, page 227.
Route finding in the woods may prove a little challenging as you leave the valley floor on the obscure path opposite Le Moulin du Mas. It is helpful to keep in mind your position relative to the river, even after it goes out of sight. You should initially be heading in a roughly south westward and then westward direction before turning northeastwards on your descent to the river. The circular outing that extends the route is not a long one; if in any doubt about your route simply retrace your steps.

Reviews

Invaluable for the guidance it gives

My wife and I have recently spent eight days walking in the Auvergne and would like to commend this book. It’s well written (as you would expect of Bradfordians!) and invaluable for the guidance and signposting it gives.

Here is a picture of my wife proudly holding your book near the Madonna in Murat.

With best wishes

Martin H, by email.

Img 1942 2 (484.758 KB)

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'Walking in the Auvergne by Rachel Crolla and Carl McKeating is a comprehensive guide to this fascinating and beautiful region and is up to the usual high standard of Cicerone guidebooks. The authors have clearly spent a lot of time exploring the Auvergne’s mountains, valleys and villages and there is a wealth of background information on each part of the region as well as maps, photographs and detailed information on each of the 42 walks described.

A must for any walker planning to visit the Auvergne.'

Read the full review.

Pete Buckley, petebuckely.wordpress.com, July 2013

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