Around Laveissière

Coming from Aurillac via Super-Lioran towards Murat, turn left towards “Laveissière”, first passing through the hamlet of Fraisse-Haut, then, in the village of Laveissière, turn right to pass in front of the cemetery, before arriving at the car park by the lake.

Coming from Murat towards Aurillac, after passing the hamlet of Fraisse-Bas (on your right), take the turn-off for Laveissière in the middle of the large bend. Drive past the campsite, through half the village, then turn left to go past the cemetery and reach the lake. Park in the car park in front of the lake entrance.

(S/E) Set off towards the cemetery.

(1) Head up towards the village centre, skirting the cemetery on the left. Walk through the village along its main street, passing the town hall.

(2) Ignore the road leading uphill to the left towards La Chevade, and carry on straight ahead along the main street. You’ll soon look down on Le Vallagnon campsite (bottom right), then you’ll come to a small service area for motorhomes on your left.

(3) Just after the service area, take the unpaved track that climbs up to the left.

Continue along this gently sloping track, passing another track that descends to the right towards Fraisse-Bas. You’ll gradually approach the Route du Meynial, which runs above you.

(4) At a bend going uphill to the left, pass a grassier track on your right which runs horizontally due east, and stay on the path which joins the road after 100 metres. Turn right towards Le Meynial.

(5) In the hamlet of Le Meynial, turn left towards “Les Cheyrouses”. Pass through two small hamlets before reaching Cheyrouze. Stay on the road to the left. At the next hamlet (Les Pindorios), continue along the road to the left, which descends slightly.

(6) About 300 m past Les Pindorios, where the road continues towards private property, take the path that winds down to the left. This path passes beneath the hamlet of Les Pindorios.

(7) After a manure heap (which may no longer be there when you pass by but which seems to have been there for years), the track follows a hairpin bend to the right. Follow it, ignoring a path that heads eastwards into the field, coming directly from Les Pindorios.

You’ll arrive in Laveissière and come out onto the main street. Turn right, walk past the cemetery and head down towards the lake.

(S/E) Before retrieving your car from the car park, you can round off this walk nicely by strolling around the pretty lake, which is dotted with some interesting tree species.

There are no difficulties requiring any special equipment. Just bear in mind that the first part of the route, along the river and the campsite, is often on grass and may be more or less soggy if it has rained.

Furthermore, the descent to Laveissière below Les Pinborios can be slippery in places if the weather is damp.

In very hot weather, the Meynial fountain is a good place to cool off, but not to quench your thirst, as the water is classified as undrinkable.

N.B. In a previous version of this walk, I had the route running alongside the Alagnon river, skirting the campsite. As I have been informed that crossing the campsite is prohibited, I am waiting to check on the ground whether there is a path allowing you to walk alongside the river without encroaching on the campsite’s grounds. For the time being, therefore, to reach the point (3), I have opted to walk through the village, which is still a pleasant option as it is very pretty.

For almost the entire walk, there are lovely views of the Alagnon Valley, one of the valleys radiating out from the centre of the Cantal volcano.

At Le Meynial, it is possible to continue along the road a little further before turning left onto the^GR® 400 (Chemin de Compostelle), which runs along a balcony-like path about a hundred metres higher up before descending to Cheyrouze; however, our aim was to keep the walk short whilst making the most of the blackberries, which were lovely and plentiful in August 2020.

Notable examples of local heritage include the beautiful fountain at Le Meynial, with its four basins which I assume served as drinking troughs, and the restored communal oven at the entrance to Cheyrouse.