Circular route of the wells and Sainte-Agathe from Blot-l'Église

In Blot-l'Église, park on the grass at the entrance to the "La Coccinelle" campsite. Information boards.
Please note! This hike is not marked as such.

(S/E) With your back to the campsite entrance, take the road on the right to arrive immediately at a crossroads with several local hiking signs (two green^PR®® and one yellow^PR®® ). For now, follow the yellow and green markings. Continue straight ahead, past a Frissons breeding farm (superb horses). Turn onto the first path on the right. Ignore a very grassy path on the right, then pass by a beautiful oak tree. You will arrive at marker 602.

(1) Turn right towards Pery. About 200m further on, at marker 604, continue towards Pery, ignoring the path on the left. Pass a private pond on your right, then at a fork in the path, at marker 591, continue to the right, still towards Pery. Ignore a path on the left.

(2) Immediately afterwards, at a fork in the road, leave the yellow markings (and ignore the circular loop sign) and turn left, following the green markings. Then ignore a path on the right and continue straight ahead on the small road.

At the crossroads, turn left (small green^PR®® sign) to reach Gourlanges. Turn right onto the road that crosses the hamlet, then temporarily leave the green markings by not taking the path but continuing on the road.

(3) At the crossroads with a simple green iron cross, turn right and walk to a well on the right-hand side of the street. Return to the crossroads with the green cross.

(3) Continue straight ahead on the road until you soon find another well on the left-hand side of the road, very similar to the first but lower down. At the next intersection with a path coming from the left, find the green markings again and follow them. Shortly afterwards, follow the small green^PR®® sign and turn onto a path on the left.

(4) At the fork in the road, leave the green markings and turn left. Further on, pass by the Oratory of Sainte-Agathe ⁽¹⁾. You will then arrive at the hamlet of Valmort, at a crossroads in the centre of the hamlet, with an iron cross and a well.

(5) Make a very short round trip to the Sainte-Agathe Chapel.

(5) Back at the well, turn left, pass to the left of the cross, then continue along the path. At the bottom of the descent, with a house in view, you will see a well in the garden on the left of the path. You will then arrive at a crossroads (the well is still visible at the top of the garden on the left), with a cross in the centre.

(6) Ignore the path on the right and follow the road on the right towards "Les Peytoux" (white signs). Follow the green markings again, paying particular attention to the crosses (the route is probably marked in the opposite direction to ours). You will soon come to a fork in the road; take the road on the right. Further on, the road runs alongside a beautiful stream, the Morge ⁽²⁾. You will arrive at the hamlet of Les Peytoux. At the intersection with a road coming from the right, continue straight ahead.

(7) Immediately afterwards, temporarily leave the green markings and follow a grassy path on the left. Walk along the right-hand side of a property with a pretty well and arrive at a road at a bridge over the Morge (stone cross just on the other side).

Do not take the bridge, but go up the street on the right. You will arrive at a crossroads with the road you left earlier, at the "Les Peytoux" signpost. Do not follow any of the directions indicated, but turn left , following the green markings again , into what appears to be a farmyard. At the fork just after, keep left. The path runs along the top of the Morge and the meadows bordering the river.

(8) At a fork, keep left, leaving the green markings, and continue straight ahead on this path to reach a footbridge over the Morge, the Pont de Pery, at marker 504.

(9) Go up to the right, towards "Péry". Ignore a path on the right and you will come to a road, the Route de Périssel. Follow it to the right to reach Péry. At the "Péry" signpost, follow the direction "Blot-l'Église" and the green markings that you will find here.

Pass by a property with an old traditional thatched cottage with a stepped gable, then in front of a beautiful well next to a house with blue shutters. The road turns right at an old blacksmith's shop and a sort of circular area, in the circular part of the road.

(10) Turn left onto Chemin de la Plaine. Note the well in the farmyard on the left. Continue along this small road and follow the green markings, ignoring the paths branching off on either side. You will reach the hamlet of Bort. At the intersection with an iron cross, go straight ahead.

(11) Ignore Chemin de Chabot on your right just after this point, which leads to a short detour into the hamlet. Note the beautiful house with a well in its garden opposite the "Route des Littes" street sign. Retrace your steps and take Chemin de Chabot on your left. At a fork in the road, follow the signs to the right, then ignore a path on the right further on.

(12) At the three-way junction, ignore the path on the right and enter the hamlet of Villemorie. When you reach the main street of the hamlet, you will see a well below on the left. Follow the road to the left. At the small yellow signs, continue straight ahead towards "Route de Peytoux". Notice an old fountain and turn right onto Rue des Entraves.

(13) At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue des Noyers and note a well in a garden, then shortly afterwards another well near a house on the left. Pass an old fountain on the right and continue straight ahead at the intersection, onto a path.

Ignore the first path on the right and continue climbing slightly through the pastures until you reach an intersection with all the paths marked in green. There are also small yellow signs for the Peytoux route. Ignore the path on the right and continue straight ahead in the direction of the truncated "agaud" sign.

Continue straight ahead until you reach a T-junction. Turn left, ignoring the green^PR®® signpost on the right. Then turn onto the first path on the right. The path enters a wood.

(14) At the intersection, turn right. The next intersection is a fork: keep right and ignore the green markings. At the next T-junction, turn left. Continue straight ahead on this path, through a forest of fir trees and some moorland. You will come to a wide path.

(15) Follow it to the right. Ignore a path on the left, then arrive at a crossroads of three paths and a road, at a green^PR®® sign, on the outskirts of the hamlet of Les Berniards.

(16) Turn left. You will arrive at the D50. Follow it to the left for about 50 metres, then cross and take the path on the right. You will arrive at a small road, opposite a beautiful oak tree on the castle grounds (which is not visible). Follow the road to the left, then turn left at the next crossroads to return to the campsite entrance (S/E).

This hike is classified as difficult only because of the length of the route, which is just over 20 km, so it is more of a medium difficulty for a good walker. There are no tricky or steep sections on this hike, which mainly follows paths and quiet country roads.

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here and more generally in the Puy-de-Dôme here

Photo album here

⁽¹⁾ In the hamlet of Valmort, the Sainte-Agathe Chapel is said to have been built by the Lazarists in the^12th century and restored by Abbé Ray in 1833. In a nearby valley, the Sep Valley, north of Valmort, you can see a cave on the hillside where Sainte-Agathe is said to have been born and nursed by a doe. This is why this saint is so popular around Valmort.

⁽²⁾ Despite its proximity here to the Sioule valley at the start of its course, the Morge is a direct tributary of the Allier.