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By car: park in the large car park at Thurins Town Hall, Rue du Rampeau.
(S/E) Return to the car park entrance and walk up Rue du Rampeau to the left, following the yellow-marked route. Pass two streets on the left and head towards a junction where the slope becomes less steep.
(1) Ignore the road that veers off to the right and take the signposted path opposite. It runs alongside an orchard, then descends to cross the Ruisseau de Vallière and, immediately afterwards, turns left and climbs, first through woodland, then across open ground, where it joins a road at the Matillon farm. Follow the road round the farm to the left and continue straight on for 100 m until you reach a crossroads. At the unmarked signpost, ignore the road opposite and the one on the left. Head up to the right for 300 m along the road towards Le Jaricot.
(2) At the ‘Le Jaricot’ sign, leave the path towards La Picolette on your left. Continue towards La Croisée des Chemins. At the start of the hamlet of Le Jaricot, take the lower path on the right, which soon joins the upper path; continue straight on. After 100 m, ignore the road leading up to the left towards Le Rat and reach a Fork in the road. Take the left-hand fork; the right-hand one leads to Servigny. The road continues as a path that reaches a crossroads.
(3) At the sign for “La Croisée des Chemins”, ignore the paths to the left and right. Continue straight on (north) towards La Haute Bruyère along a level path through the woods, then down a muddy and stony slope. Further on, you’ll come to the Route de la Bruyère. Follow it downhill straight ahead, go round a bend to the right and arrive at a junction at the entrance to the hamlet of La Haute Bruyère.
(4) At the ‘La Haute Bruyère’ sign, leave the road straight ahead. Take the path on the left towards Piragoy for 60 m. When you reach a large building, turn left onto an uphill track marked with a yellow marker on a fallen tree trunk on the right. After a 500 m climb, you’ll come to a road.
(5) At the “Piragoy” sign, cross the road and take the path towards Goutte-Lais. The road reappears 100 metres further on; follow it for 50 metres before turning off to the right at a bend. The path passes a high point (altitude 574), then descends along the edge of a wood for 150 m, where it reaches a Fork in the road. Take the right-hand branch, marked in yellow, and head towards the Goutte Laïs stream.
(6) At the ‘Goutte Laïs’ sign, continue downhill until you reach the road to Saint-Laurent-de-Vaux.
(7) At the “Pierre Folle” sign, leave the road ahead. Take the road leading down to the right towards Saint-Laurent-de-Vaux Le Bourg. Follow it for 300 m to reach a square.
(8) At the “Saint-Laurent-de-Vaux Le Bourg” sign, carry on towards Clavigny. Cross the square, go down the steps and turn left onto the Route de la Pommeraie. Cross the bridge and, at the junction, leave the road going uphill opposite. Turn right onto the Chemin de la Chicane. In the valley, cross the bridge over the Yzeron and turn right onto the Route de la Planche Billée.
At the unmarked signpost, 50 metres after the bridge, continue towards Clavigny along the first path on the left, which climbs away from the road. Initially steep and stony, the path curves to cross some meadows and joins the Route d’Yzeron D489. Follow it to the left for just under a hundred metres until you reach a junction.
(9) At the “Clavigny” sign, turn right onto the steep Chemin de Clavigny towards Combe Fusil. At the fork on leaving the hamlet, ignore the path on the right. Head up the sunken lane on the left. Walk past an isolated house and, 50 metres further on, reach a junction.
(10) At the “Combe Fusil” sign, do not take the road on the left towards the Combe Fusil car park. Continue along the path opposite towards the Col de la Fausse. Cross a path 200 m further on, and reach the junction at the Col de la Fausse.
(11) At the “Col de la Fausse” sign, ignore the path on the right towards Le Chana. Turn onto the path on the left towards La Milionnière and, after 150 m, ignore the ascending track on the right. Continue along the Chemin de la Milonnière straight ahead until you reach a crossroads (elevation 609).
(12) At the “La Milionnière” sign, ignore the road straight ahead and the one on the left. Climb the path on the right towards the Croix de Garde. At the top of the hill, turn left to reach a fork in the path.
(13) At the “Croix de Garde” sign, ignore the path on the right towards Le Barthélemy. Take the one straight ahead towards Les Jumeaux. A good kilometre further on, you’ll reach a junction with a road.
(14) At the “Les Jumeaux” sign, ignore the road leading down to the left and the path to the right. Follow the road to the right towards the Col de Malval via the GRP®®. After about a hundred metres, ignore the path straight ahead and continue along the road curving to the right. Cross the Route des Crêtes D113 (elevation 776). Continue for about a hundred metres along the path opposite, which is almost level, until you reach a fork. Ignore the path on the right and follow the one on the left, which leads to the Col de Malval.
(15) At the ‘Col de Malval’ sign, head towards La Garine by taking the first road on the left (the D50) down towards Courzieu. After about 200 m, leave the road and follow the signposted path up to the left. At the Fork in the road, 200 m further on, ignore the flat path on the right and continue climbing to the left for 500 m until you reach a junction. Leave the path on the right and take the one climbing to the left (south-west). Keep heading in this direction, ignoring any side paths. Join the Route des Crêtes D113 (elevation 817) and follow it straight on for about a hundred metres until you reach a Fork in the road.
(16) At the sign for “La Garine”, leave the D113 and head down the marked path on the right towards La Grande Vernay. About 500 m further on, you’ll reach a crossroads.
(17) At the sign for “La Grande Vernay” (elevation 755), ignore the paths on the right – both the one leading down towards Courzieu and the next one. Turn left towards La Petite Vernay. You’ll reach a Fork in the road 100 m further on. Ignore the path on the left and take the one on the right for 60 m to reach another Fork in the road.
(18) At the sign for “La Petite Vernay”, ignore the path on the right towards Biternay. Take the path on the left towards the Chapelle Saint-Clair. After a good hundred metres, cross a path and take the climb opposite. Leave the paths to one side to reach a crossroads about one kilometre further on.
(19) At the sign for “La Chapelle Saint-Clair”, ignore the path and the road to the left, as well as the first track on the right towards the Croix de Pars. Take the road straight on towards Pimongon (south-west). Ignoring the side roads, after a descent, you’ll reach a crossroads in a right-hand bend.
(20) At the sign for “Pimongon” (elevation 816), leave the road and ignore the two paths on the left. Take the path leading uphill opposite, towards the Crêt de la Madone. About a hundred metres after a left-hand bend, ignore the path on the right and head for the Crêt de la Madone (elevation 861) near the start of a long zip line.
(21) At the “Crêt de la Madone” sign, follow the sign for La Rivière. Descend the path which passes by the imposing statue of the Virgin Mary, then, after a few hairpin bends, reach a junction further down. Turn onto the path on the left. Climb slightly, whilst gradually veering to the left, before descending back onto the D113 road. Take the road on the right, and leave it 100 m further on, just before it bends to the right, onto a path leading down to the left. After a stretch through the woodland, turn left onto a path heading down the hillside. Turn left onto the D489 road and continue to a junction.
(22) At the sign for “La Rivière”, head towards Yzeron-Village. Cross the D489 and walk up the Chemin du Chatel opposite. At the fork, ignore the road opposite and take the one on the right. At the top of the street, turn left towards the square. At the end of the square, you’ll arrive in front of the town hall.
(23) At the “Yzeron-Village” sign, head towards Le Planil by leaving the main road and taking the Montée de la Chazière on the right, which leads onto the Chemin du Planil.
(24) At the sign for “Le Planil”, turn right towards Le Phily. After 50 m, head down the Chemin de la Cornelière on the left and continue to a junction.
(25) At the “Le Phily” sign, leave the Chemin de la Cornelière and turn right onto the Chemin du Phily towards Le Garon. After 100 m, at the first fork, ignore the road straight ahead and continue along the grassy path on the right which runs alongside a house. Go round the Garon valley in a wide arc, passing its source, and head up onto a road at the hamlet of Le Servet. Walk down the road opposite for 200 m until you reach a Fork in the road. Ignore the lane on the left and continue along the road to the hamlet of Le Garon.
(26) At the sign for “Le Garon”, ignore the path on the right and head towards Le Biternay via the one on the left. It winds for about 500 m through woodland before meeting a path coming from the opposite direction on the left. Ignore this and continue straight on for another 500 m until you reach a road junction.
(27) At the sign for “Le Biternay”, ignore the grassy path leading towards the dam and the D628 road descending to the left. Head up the D628 on the right towards La Goutte de Bellevue (yellow markings). At the right-hand bend, leave the D628 and turn left onto Rue de Bellevue. At the fork in the hamlet, ignore the path on the left and continue along the one opposite. Head down towards the bottom of the valley, cross the La Goutte de Bellevue stream and continue up the opposite slope until you reach a junction.
(28) At the sign for “La Goutte de Bellevue”, ignore the path on the right leading uphill in the opposite direction towards Le Bayard. Continue straight on towards Les Trèves, ignoring the paths leading down to the stream, until you reach the end of the road leading to Les Trèves.
(29) At the “Les Trèves” sign, ignore the road to the left. Take the track on the right towards the Bois de la Vourne. At the Fork in the road 100 metres further on, ignore the track ascending to the right and continue along the one on the left for one kilometre, until you reach a junction.
(30) At the “Bois de la Vourne” sign, leave the path on the left heading towards La Rontalonière. Head towards the Croix des Barons opposite. After 800 m, you’ll reach a road and, 50 m further on, a stone cross.
(31) At the “Croix des Barons” sign, leave the path and the road on your right. Continue straight on towards Le Plat du Mont.
(32) At the “Plat du Mont” sign, ignore the path on the left. Stay on the road straight ahead towards La Herse, ignoring any side roads and paths.
(33) At the “La Herse” sign, turn left onto the road leading down towards the village of Thurins. Cross the Garonne over a pretty stone bridge, then head back up towards a junction.
(34) At the “Le Bourg” sign, take the steep climb to the left towards Thurins Village. At the next junction, turn right onto the Chemin de la Plaine. In the left-hand bend, leave this path to cross an arched passageway opposite.
(35) Pass through the narrow Place de Verdun, which leads onto Rue du 8 Mai 1945. Walk up this street to the left, cross Rue du 19 Mars 1962 and, at Place Dugas, walk alongside the main façade of the church, then follow a footpath to the right which passes in front of the town hall and leads back to the car park (S/E).
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