Chastel viewpoint and Violon valley

In Antignac, park in the car park of the Salle polyvalente, which is signposted from the village.

(S/E) Follow the road westwards, with the Sumène on your left, and at the T-junction, take the road on the left and cross the bridge. Continue to the junction with the D3.

(1) Cross carefully and turn right onto the C1 (towards La Monselie). In the hairpin bend to the left, take the path on the right through the woods (mountain bike signposting). Join a road at a place called Vignon.

(2) Follow it to the left and, at the end, at a fork in the road, take the left-hand path. Ignore the path on the right further on (optional: climb to the Chapelle du Roc Vignonnet chapel) and continue to a road (D15).

(3) Follow it to the right for a few metres, then take the small road on the left, towards La Valette. When you reach the hamlet, follow the bend in the road to the right, ignoring the path leading off to the left, then, just before the first house on the right, turn right towards another house, leave it on your right and continue along the path. Join the D15 and follow it to the left, cross the bridge over the Violon, enter Vebret, then ignore two streets on the left.

(4) At the next street on the left (mountain bike sign), with a beautiful cross, continue straight ahead through the hamlet to the church, then retrace your steps to the intersection with the cross.

(4) Follow the street to the right and leave the village, ignoring two streets on the left. Further on, at the fork in the road, take the left fork (signposted La Monthelie, mountain bike signposting). Ignore a yellow-marked path on the right and continue along the very small road towards Belvédère de Chastel for another 200 metres.

(5) At a field closed by a gate, turn right onto a path starting to the left of the gate (mountain bike signposting). After a long, gradual climb, join a street in Chastel Marlhac and continue a few metres to the right to reach a crossroads (information panel on the Chastel Marlhac plateau).

(6) Turn right for a return trip to the viewpoint: picnic area, orientation table.

(6) Back at the crossroads, continue straight ahead, go around the church on the left, then keep left at the successive intersections (follow the mountain bike signs). Leave the village. Further on, ignore a road on the left and you will soon come to an intersection with the D36. Follow it carefully to the left (very little traffic for a departmental road; do not take the small road opposite).

(7) At the junction with a road branching off to the left, in a hairpin bend, towards La Robertie, follow a path branching off to the left in the opposite direction to this road, marked with mountain bike signs. At the junction shortly afterwards, turn right.

This section should be marked^GRP®® in 2024, even though it was not in 2020 when this file was created.

Join a stretch of road at a place called La Grange.

(8) Continue straight ahead, following the yellow markings towards Vallée du Violon (leave the^GRP®® markings). The path descends into the valley; follow the markings, ignoring the side paths.

(9) Further on, be careful to stay on the marked trail, which turns left. It crosses the Violon 150 m further on, then climbs back up and joins a path. Follow it to the right and, shortly after, in the hairpin bend to the right, leave the path for a trail leading off to the right (yellow markings). It climbs up to join a road.

(10) Follow it to the left. After 50 m, at the left-hand bend in the road, ignore the path branching off to the right, continue for another 30 m or so and take the path on the right. It climbs into the woods, then descends and joins a road at a place called La Buge.

(11) Follow the road to the right.

This section should be marked^GRP®® Sumène Artense in 2024, even though it was not in 2020 when this file was created.

At the left-hand bend 100 metres further on, ignore the path on the right and continue along the road.

(12) Before reaching the hamlet of La Fage, turn left onto a path. It joins the end of a street in Arfeuilles. Follow it for about 50 metres and take the path on the right to join another street.

(13) Turn right, then at the next intersection, near a series of drinking troughs, continue straight ahead (towards La Buge). Continue for about 250 metres, then, before the wide right-hand bend in the road, turn left onto a driveway leading to a house, then continue along the path. You will reach a road near the Monselie cemetery.

(14) Turn left (mountain bike sign), reach the village of La Monselie and turn left at the intersection (D15) towards the village centre. Take the first street on the right, pass the town hall, the picnic area and the church, then ignore the street on the right and go back down to the D15 and follow it to leave the village. Ignore the next street on the right. You will come to an intersection with a cross in a grove of trees and a picnic table. Original field gate, unobstructed view.

Outside^GRP®® signage

(15) Continue left on the D15 (very little traffic). Further on, leave the D15 on the left and follow the road on the right to reach the hamlet of Chazelles. Cross the hamlet, staying on the only street and ignoring the paths on the left, until you reach the end of the street. Then continue on the path that extends it.

^GRP®® markings

(16) At the T-junction, continue downhill, turning left. Stay on this path, ignoring the paths branching off to the right. Further on, you will come to the junction with the D3, which you passed on the way out.

(1) Take the reverse route of the outward journey to return to the village of Antignac. After passing La Sumène, instead of returning directly to the car park of the village hall (S/E), the route takes a circular loop through the village: continue straight on to the crossroads with the circular fountain. Turn left and walk back to see some "bourgeois" houses. Back at the fountain square, follow the street to the left of it, ignore the street on the left, and continue to the church with its beautiful bell tower. Go around the church on the right, ignoring the street on the left, and return to the main street. Follow it to the right, then turn onto the first street on the left to return to the car park of the multi-purpose hall (S/E).

This hike is of medium difficulty but quite challenging due to its length. Standard hiking equipment is required.

Please note! There are many sections of road on this route. These are very quiet, even when classified as departmental roads.

Since this hike was created, the^GRP®® from Sumène to Artense has been created and marked. I have indicated the markings in the description, but I do not know if they are reliable. In any case, I recommend using the Visorando app (or a GPS) on several sections of this route, particularly in the Violon Valley.

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here

Photo album here

Circular route, beautiful view from the lookout point and picnic tables.