Camping le Maury - Bivouac at Vent Haut

Another superb stage combining ancient stone buildings, wild nature, agriculture and breathtaking views of the Dordogne. And the icing on the cake is that you can almost touch the river!

This walk is part of a multi-day hike: Haute vallée de la Dordogne, de villages en barrages

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 25.26 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 8h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Very difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: No
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 556 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 613 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 659 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 343 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐
  • ⚐ City: Liginiac (19160)
  • ⚑
    Start: N 45.390676° / E 2.304905°
  • ⚑
    End: N 45.310787° / E 2.275832°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2333E, 2333O, 2334E, 2334O
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Description of the walk

(S) Leave the Maury leisure centre via the tarmac track that passes above the chalets, reach the small reservoir, cross it to join the D20E2. Turn left onto it, cross the D183 and continue straight on to the hamlet of Labissière on the D20, then arrive at the old Transcorrèzien railway station.

(1) Turn right and walk through the forest. Ignore all turnings to the right and left until you reach a crossroads with marker no. 7, indicating Sérandon 80 km.

(2) Continue straight ahead, pass under the high-voltage power lines and emerge onto a tarmac road. Turn left onto it, leave the forest and then reach the hamlet of Monange.

(3) Turn right under the high-voltage power line and cross the hamlet. Enter the forest again and reach a Y-shaped crossroads marked by a cross. Turn right onto Rue de l’Église and reach the beautiful Romanesque church of Sainte-Radegonde. Continue on to the square in front of Sérandon Town Hall.

(4) Cross the D20E1 and take the Route de la Ganne Bonnet to leave the village. Head back into the woodland, ignore the roads on the right and climb slightly until you reach open ground and the hamlet of Sandère.

(5) Turn left and continue, entering the forest again until you reach a four-way crossroads in the shape of an X.

(6) Turn right onto the tarmac road, then turn left and walk through the woods to reach the D168E3. Follow it to the right on a slight descent, arriving at the Château de Charlane.

(7) Leave the D168E3 here and turn right onto the small road. Cross the hamlet of La Charlane, continue due south, and at the crossroads take the track on the right. Cross the Ruisseau des Ganottes, head down to the left to the D168E3 and stop for a moment at the commemorative plaque for the Méridienne verte.
Before the car park and the crossroads, take a path on the left to go round the rocky outcrop and reach the magnificent view from the Gratte-Bruyère viewpoint (picnic area).

(8) Take the D168 downhill, passing in front of the Louis XVI rock and then under a high-voltage power line at a sharp left-hand bend. Immediately afterwards, you will find a path marked by a post.

(9) Take this path to the left, below the road, and head down to the Nau boat launch (picnic tables).

(10) Continue along the lake shore, rejoin the D168, and follow it to the left until you reach the path junction just before the Ravin du Pendu.

(11) Turn right onto the clearly visible path that winds its way up the plateau to reach the hamlet of Les Ages.

(12) Turn right, follow a high-voltage power line and turn left at a cross to enter the hamlet of La Renaudie. Take a path on the right at the edge of the forest, walk for about a hundred metres to the next junction.

(13) Head downhill along a small path on the left. After a sharp left-hand bend, take the path on the right, pass under a high-voltage power line and continue the winding descent to Moulin de Tony on the Triouzoune at marker no. 8 Neuvic 97 km.

(14) Cross the footbridge then begin the climb, which is quite steep at the start. Reach a road, follow it to the left, walk past the houses of Les Charrières, then arrive at the hamlet of Fontloube.

(15) Turn right onto the Chemin de Pradoula, then right again and quickly turn left. At the three-way junction, turn left into the forest and continue until you come out onto the D982.

(16) Cross it to enter the hamlet of Vent Haut (accommodation available). Leave via the Route de la Vergne des Mottes, pass under a high-voltage power line, and reach the road leading to the old school. Continue on to find the sheltered campsite (E) on the edge of a meadow, today’s stop.

Waypoints

  1. S : km 0 - alt. 609 m - Le Maury Nature Village - Triouzoune (rivière) - Affluent de la Dordogne
  2. 1 : km 2.01 - alt. 639 m - Labissière
  3. 2 : km 3.15 - alt. 644 m - Marker No. 7 Sérandon 80 km
  4. 3 : km 4.64 - alt. 648 m - Monange
  5. 4 : km 6.44 - alt. 602 m - Sérandon
  6. 5 : km 7.43 - alt. 602 m - Three-way junction
  7. 6 : km 8.17 - alt. 590 m - X-shaped crossroads
  8. 7 : km 10.47 - alt. 549 m - Charlane Castle
  9. 8 : km 11.83 - alt. 524 m - Gratte-Bruyère viewpoint
  10. 9 : km 13.04 - alt. 440 m - Signpost
  11. 10 : km 13.63 - alt. 343 m - Launching the Nau
  12. 11 : km 14.77 - alt. 359 m - Ravin du Pendu
  13. 12 : km 17.02 - alt. 565 m - Les Ages - Dordogne (fleuve)
  14. 13 : km 18.4 - alt. 571 m - Path junction
  15. 14 : km 19.89 - alt. 416 m - Tony’s Mill
  16. 15 : km 22.54 - alt. 552 m - Fontloube
  17. 16 : km 24.25 - alt. 543 m - Vent Haut
  18. E : km 25.26 - alt. 552 m - Vent Haut campsite

Notes

(4) Sérandon: supplies available, grocery shop and bar-restaurant.
Between (7) and (8) Alternative accommodation option in Clémensac, Les Maisons de Coline: after crossing the Ruisseau des Ganottes, turn right to reach the holiday chalets.
(15) Cheese supplies available in Fontloube.
(16) Accommodation available in Vent Haut in guest rooms or at the large lodge in the former school.
(E) Please note: there is no water source at the chosen campsite; top up your water supplies in Fontloube or Vent Haut.

Worth a visit

(1) Former route of the Transcorrézien, a steam tram.
Before (4) The Romanesque Church of Sainte Radegonde.
(4) Sérandon: see the analemmatic sundial, Town Hall square next to the War Memorial
(7) Château de Charlane.
Between (7) and (8) Green meridian commemorative plaque in Clémensac (marking the Paris meridian).
(8) Gratte-Bruyère viewpoint overlooking the Retenue de l’Aigle, the confluence of the Dordogne and the Sumène.
(10) Launching point of the Nau (former crossing between Corrèze and Cantal before the dam was filled).
(14) Fontloube cheese dairy, where you shouldn’t miss a quick trip to the GAEC Chez Raymond farm for a tasting and to buy some cheese.

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