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(S) Start this trail at the little church in Cheylard-l'Evêque. Take the D71 to the right as you approach the church. After 150m, follow the D71 as it turns left to cross the bridge over the stream. Follow the D71 upwards for around 300m, and at the bend in the road (shortly after the last house), leave the D71 to take the track on your left. This gradually rises into the valley of the Ruisseau de Rapouncho, which you follow on your right; you've gone deep into the forest. After 850m, you gradually move further and further away from it, leaving a path on your left and another on your right. 500m further on, you reach the top of the climb by joining a path.
Turn left and continue for 450m, again leaving a path on your left and another on your right. You leave the first path on your left, but at the next Y-intersection, take the right-hand branch which immediately twists to the right to go back down. At the next Y-junction, just after a bend, you take the left-hand branch (this forest has a number of tangled paths); you continue downhill, taking the left-hand bend where you leave two paths on your right; this is followed by another right-hand bend. Continue downhill for a further 1km until you come to a small road which you turn right onto.
(2) After leaving a track on your right, you come to the bridge over the Langouyrou, which you cross. Continue on the road, which rises sharply, leaving a first path on your right, but 200m after the bridge, take the path on the right, which climbs up into a wood, cutting across the twists and turns of the road. You rejoin the road to climb a gentler slope, leaving a path coming up on your right. Continue along the road as it comes out of the trees and curves to the right as you reach the summit; the village of Espradels appears on your left.
(3) Before the first houses in the village, at the start of a bend, you come to a track which you take to the right. Immediately afterwards, you'll come to a grove on your left; 350m further on, you'll come to a Y-intersection and take the left-hand branch. Continue along this path for 1.3km, ignoring the farm tracks to your left and right. During this stretch, you cross a small wood which you then follow on your right to join a track as it bends; you take it on the right. This curves to the right, still at the edge of the wood, and just as you enter the forest, a Y-shaped path appears on the left, which you take.
(4) Just as you reach a forest hut on your right, turn left to discover L'Étang de l'Auradoux (pond). Continue along the pond until you reach a track which you take to the left; you're still in the forest. Less than 300m further on at the Y-junction, you take the right-hand branch, which then bends sharply to the right; you leave the paths on the right and left; you come to a road which you follow in the same direction for 550m. As the road bends to the left at right-angle, you leave the first track on the right, but immediately take the path which also goes off to the right. This will take you down the steep slope for 1.3km, successively cutting the bends in the road.
(5) Cross the road one last time and continue straight ahead. At a crossroads, you'll see the ruins of the Château de Luc. Take the path in front of you, which passes to the right of the château and descends in a half-loop to the village below. Keep to the right, do not take the paths on your left. After one last little left-hand bend, you come to a small street; turn right, then immediately left into a small alleyway to reach the main street near a small square where the retirement home is located.
(Please note: at this point, a new GR®70 itinerary via Labrot - on the other side of the Allier - is proposed; this lengthens the route by around 5km, avoiding around 600m along the relatively busy D906. It may be worth considering this route with a donkey, but it's not really useful otherwise, so we've indicated the old route of the GR®70).
(6) Don't choose this new route, but turn right. 100m further on, you come to a crossroads with a cross on your left; take this street on your left and go down it for 800m (leaving a small street on your left). You'll pass through the Mas district with its church, then, at the exit, you'll see a calvary on your right and the cemetery on your left. 400m further on, you'll reach the D906.
(7) Take this road to the right. The shoulder is neither wide nor comfortable, but after 600m, you come to a Y-junction where, by taking the left-hand branch (direction Pranlac - Laveyrune), you leave the D906 and enter Pranlac. Cross the railway level crossing and turn right at the next crossroads. 300m further on, after a drinking trough on your right, the road curves to the left; take this direction, leaving the small road in front of you.
(8) Leave Pranlac and cross the bridge over the Allier; immediately afterwards, turn right into Laveyrune. Follow the D154 for 2km through the village, leaving all the streets and lanes to your left and right. You'll pass the former Sainte-Barbe colony and a cross next to the small town hall. The church is also set back on your left, and you leave the village after the long building of the "L'Espoir" colony, also on your left; the road begins to rise gradually. You pass under a high-voltage power line and continue along the road. About 600m further up, the road curves to the right and you have a path in front of you.
(9) Leave the road and take the path; at the next crossroads, continue straight on, following the small path which gradually descends to the right to reach a Y-intersection of small roads. Cross the road and turn left at the right-hand junction of the Y-junction, which is signposted "prohibited for vehicles over 12 tonnes at 4km". Drive on for 300m, ignoring the paths to your left and right, but once you've gone a hundred meters or so under the trees (shortly after passing under the high-voltage power line), take the path that rises to your right and immediately twists to the right. You begin a significant ascent; after 2 switchbacks and around 700m, you come to a Y-intersection and take the left-hand path which takes you back to the same track 300m further on. You continue on the track (having left two rising paths on your right and a little further on another path on your left); you follow the high-voltage line to some extent; you come to a slightly open area with a high-voltage line pylon on your right.
(10) You're at the top of Espervelouze; turn right to pass under the high-voltage line. After descending about 400m, a path takes you to the left, going back a little and more or less following the contour line (up a little, then down a little). You come to a Y-junction, where you take the right-hand branch, which stays more or less on the contour (while the left-hand branch rises). As you leave the forest, you come to another crossroads and continue straight ahead to enter the wood again. 600m further on, after leaving the first path on your left, you come to another path which you take on your right.
(11) You can see the buildings of the Abbaye Notre-Dame-des-Neiges 300m below, which are the finishing point of this route (E).
Walker
