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In Chanonat, park in the large car park next to the cemetery, located north-east of the village, accessible via the D52.
No signposts
(S/E) Take the steps down to the right of the bus shelter, go around the school-media library complex on the left, in a three-quarter circle. Turn left towards the centre of the village.
(1) Ignore a street on the right at the Croix Saint-Étienne and continue for a few metres until you reach the stop sign. Turn right. Before reaching the fountain, turn left onto Impasse des Templier for a round trip to a beautiful old house façade at the end of the cul-de-sac.
Back at the previous intersection, continue left, leaving the fountain on your right, then turn left onto Rue de la Mission, pass in front of the large mission cross, then go down the steps on the left (sign indicating the direction of Commanderie). Further down, pass in front of the gate of the former commandery of the Knights of the Order of Malta and you will immediately arrive at the banks of the Auzon, facing a bridge (wash house on the left, at the foot of the ramparts).
Saint-Jacques and Yellow markings
(2) Do not cross the bridge but turn right onto Rue de la Fondette. Ignore all the streets on the right. At the crossroads of four streets, turn left and cross the bridge over the Auzon.
Yellow markings
(3) At the "Chanonat" signpost, do not cross the bridge (leave the Saint-Jacques signpost) but follow Rue du Sault Guillaume to the right, towards Nadaillat. Further on, pass behind a covered wash house. At the T-junction, turn left and note the strangely restored chapel on the hillside to the right. Cross the Auzon river via a bridge and immediately take the path on the right. Further on, pass above the Château de la Batisse. Ignore a path on the left. Arrive at the La Bughe signpost (name partially erased).
(4) Follow the sign for Chadrat on the left and begin the climb towards the crest of Montagne de la Serre on a beautiful path through the woods. At the intersection further up, signposted Coutolas, turn right towards Moulin de Flory on a wide, rutted path which then becomes easier. Ignore a path branching off to the right.
(5) At the "La Vernède Haute" signpost, continue in the same direction towards Observatoire de la Serre. The path makes a wide left turn. Then, on the right, you will see a chaotic terrain typical of a solidified lava flow. As you approach the ridge, the path runs alongside meadows, turns right and arrives at the Paquette signpost.
(6) Follow the path to the right towards Observatoire de la Serre. Pass to the right of this observatory, which is actually a water catchment, but whose site is popular with astronomers and ornithologists who come here to observe the night sky and migratory birds respectively (the site is surrounded by a fence with a gate). Further on, you will reach the Observatoire de la Serre signpost.
There are no signposts, except for a few directional posts (there are various signposts but they are of no use for this route).
Turn left towards Chadrat, note the information panel on the left about Montagne de la Serre, cross the small road carefully, and follow the stone path opposite which descends the southern slope of Montagne de la Serre. On the descent, ignore a vague grassy path on the left. Further down, you will reach a crossroads at the Sainte-Anne Chapel (picnic table).
(7) At the "Chapelle Sainte-Anne" signpost, turn left towards Chadrat. Further on, the path becomes tarmac as you reach the village of Chadrat. At the T-junction, turn left and continue straight on to the Fontaine Gazemme (information boards). Join the road a few metres further on and follow it to the right into the village. Shortly after the Ferme de la Pereire, pass in front of the Fontaine Pereire.
(8) Immediately turn onto Rue de la Pougère, which branches off to the left. Pass the Fontaine Pougère fountain, keep right at the fork, pass the Fontaine Coues fountain, ignore a street on the left, pass the church and its stromatolite (information panel), then ignore Rue de la Cure on the left. At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue de Champs Grand, then at the next fork, go up to the left. Pass the Champs Grand fountain (on the gable of a house with a decorated façade). Soon, the tarmac gives way to cement, which then disappears in favour of gravel.
(9) At the crossroads, continue straight ahead . About a hundred metres further on, on the left, you will see an information panel indicating a site where terraces that were once used to grow fruit trees are being renovated (it is worth making a detour to visit the site).
Further on, at a fork, go left and immediately ignore a vague grassy path on the left. Join the "Creux de la Cerfette" marker.
(10) Follow the signs to Le Crest via La Serre on the right.
(11) At the fork in the road (sign for "ACCA Saint-Aman" on a tree on the right), keep left to begin the descent on the northern slope of Montagne de la Serre on a beautiful stone path. Reach a crossroads and follow the wide path on the left. Further on, ignore a path on the right.
(12) At the "Les Crorètes" signpost, continue to the right towards Chanonat. Ignore a path on the left and then, at the fork in the road, turn right. Further on, ignore a path on the left and you will come to a T-junction.
(13) Follow the path on the left. At another T-junction, with an iron cross mounted on a high stone base on the right, turn left. Further on, rejoin the tarmac road near the first houses of the village of Chanonat, then arrive at the bridge over the Auzon river that you crossed on the way there (signpost "Chanonat").
(3) On the other side of the river, continue straight ahead, ignoring all the streets on the left and right, until you reach the Place de la Mairie. Pass in front of a lion-headed fountain, leave the town hall on your left, cross Rue de Chasteauneuf (note the interesting architecture of the building on your left, behind the town hall), and continue straight ahead along Rue Derrière les Murs. You will come to an intersection with a cross, which you already passed on the way there.
(1) On the left, head to the car park near the cemetery by retracing your steps (S/E).
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