Circular walk of the castles and fortified towns of Alleyras

Preliminary note: To follow the route, look out for the engraved wooden signposts, the small white-painted castles and the white arrows.

(S/E) Park at the SNCF station at Pont d’Alleyras.
Leave the bridge and head up towards Alleyras, following the carved wooden signs. Stay on the D40 until you reach a crossroads after a cross.

(1) Turn right onto the footpath, walk past the cemetery, go past a fountain and you’ll reach the centre of the village of Alleyras.

(2) Turn right again onto the D40; you’ll reach a hairpin bend at the Tré Breuys orientation table. Stay on the road to quickly reach the Croix des Tourettes crossroads.

:3:: Leave the D40 by turning right, then immediately turn left onto the gently ascending path through the woods. Continue along this path and, after passing under a power line, rejoin the D40.

(4) Follow it to the right for about a hundred metres, then turn right off it onto a wide track and follow it down a gentle slope to a path junction.

(5) Follow the white arrows to the left until you come to a path running at right angles.

(6) Turn right onto this path and enter the woods. Follow a circular path to the left, heading downhill, until you reach the crossroads by the Château de la Taillide.

(7) Turn right to reach the foot of the castle.

(8) Head back up the same path to return to the previous crossroads.

(7) Continue to the right, following the path uphill to reach the village of Anglard.

(9) Walk through the village, and after the drinking fountain and the communal bread oven, turn right towards the sawmill.
Walk past the sawmill on your left and cross the D40, then turn left onto the small path leading uphill. Follow the field on your left until you reach a path running at right angles to it. Take this path to the left until you reach a four-way junction with a tarmac road.

(10) Turn right onto this road, continue straight on and you’ll reach the hamlet of Le Moulard.

(11) Turn left and continue along a footpath. You’ll reach a Y-junction.

(12) Turn right and continue through the woods, reaching and crossing the Ruisseau de Malaval. Leave the stream by turning left to reach the foot of Agrin Castle.

(13) Continue left towards Alleyras, still heading downhill, and cross the Ruisseau de Malaval again. Keep a distance from its right bank until you reach the confluence with the Ruisseau de Séjallières.

(14) Cross these streams, then turn left and begin a gentle climb. You’ll come out onto a road; take the one opposite and follow it alongside a large meadow. At the end of the meadow, you’ll reach a crossroads.

(15) Turn right to re-enter Alleyras. Here you’ll rejoin the D40 a few metres from the crossroads you passed on the way out.

(2) Turn right onto the D40, pass a cross and reach the junction with the old road that linked Alleyras to Le Puy-en-Velay.

(16) Turn right and head downhill, then cross the bridge over the Malaval. Head back uphill, turning left, staying in the woodland and, after two hairpin bends to the left, you’ll reach the D33. Cross it and enter Aussac.

(17) Turn right onto the track, following a field and then some hedgerows. You’ll end up on a small road before crossing the D33 again.

(18) Cross it and continue straight on down the slope to return to the car park at Pont d’Alleyras station (S/E).

The route is signposted and well marked. The signposting starts at the station and the route is one-way for greater comfort in sunny weather. Head therefore via Alleyras – La Croix des Tourettes towards Rochefort d’Anglard Castle. You’ll first follow the River Allier and the railway line of the Cévenol train.
Preferably in the morning during the summer. In cooler, cloudier weather – in spring or autumn – the time you set off is less important.
After the ruined castle of Rochefort, head back up towards Anglard, where you can have a snack halfway along the route at a pretty drinking fountain, then on to Le Moulard, which also has a lovely refreshing fountain, before heading back down towards Agrain Castle, the Séjallières waterfall, the Malaval stream, etc.
The route also takes you past five of the six communal bread ovens in Alleyras, all of which are still in use.
A guide leaflet is available to download from the website below.
Further information here.
What to bring: sturdy walking shoes, a bottle of water, a snack for halfway through the walk…
Facilities in the villages along the route:
- Pont d’Alleyras: SNCF railway station, drinking water point, grocery shop, bars, restaurants, campsite, holiday village, communal bread oven
- Alleyras: communal bread oven, drinking fountains, café
- Anglard: communal bread oven, drinking water fountain
- Le Moulard: communal bread oven, drinking water fountain
- Aussac: communal bread oven

Between (2) and (3) there is a viewpoint overlooking the Château de la Beaume, in the distance behind Alleyras. It is still inhabited and has been owned by the same family for seven centuries. You’ll only be able to see it from a distance. To get closer, you’ll need to cross the Alleyras bridge again and head up towards Saint-Préjet. There’s also a lovely view of the wild Allier gorges and the Cévenol railway line.
(8) Château de la Taillide: the vegetation makes it difficult to see from the path; look up to the right to see the huge remaining section of wall. If you climb up a little, you can get a better view. A splendid panorama of the wild gorges and the Cévenol railway line.
(14) Alleyras Waterfall.

- 6 traditional village bread ovens
- The beaches along the River Allier
- The Poutès dam
- The six fortified sites on this walk
- Vabres, its castle and its^12th-century church
- Alleyras, with its^12th-century church
- The Cévennes railway line (150 years old)
- The waterfalls
- The roosts of Daubanton’s pipistrelles at the Pont d’Alleyras
- Large birds of prey such as the white-tailed eagle
- Fishing
- Canoeing and kayaking