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Start at the car park of the Cressensac multi-purpose hall.
Yellow signposting
(S/E) Take the path opposite the community hall and follow it to Rue de la Fontaine Chaumont. Follow this road to the right until you reach the D820, where you’ll see the 1865 Mission cross opposite.
(1) Head right to reach the pedestrian crossing, cross carefully, then turn left. Leave Rue de la Vicomté on your right, continue for about fifty metres and veer right onto Rue de la Paternerie. Walk down this street, keeping to the right past the detached house, and follow the motorway until you reach the first crossing.
(2) Turn left to go under the motorway, turn left onto the first road, then right – about a hundred metres further on – onto the road called Chemin de l’Orupt. Pass the houses at Combe du Pech Montat and follow the path as it continues until you reach the three-way junction.
(3) Keep to the left, continue to the end of this track and join a wider track. Turn right and you’ll come out onto the road from Cressensac to Turenne: note the Lot/Corrèze inter-departmental boundary marker.
(4) Cross over to take the path opposite until you reach the next road, then take the path on the left which runs alongside it. You’ll be following the boundary between the Occitanie region on the right and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the left.
(5) At the end, turn left, then immediately right onto a path that leads onto a track. Keep going in the same direction, following this track for about 700 m, going straight on until the end.
(6) Take the track on the right. As this is private land, an agreement with the owner allows walkers to pass through: so please take extra care not to cause any disturbance. As you pass, note the remains of a barn, a magnificent lime tree and a bread oven. This is the Maquis camp, one of the Resistance fighters’ hideouts during the Second World War. A plaque pays tribute to two of them. Carry on until you reach the D87 at a bend.
(7) Cross the road carefully and carry on straight ahead to reach La Garnaudie. At the three-way junction, keep left until you reach the hamlet, noting the bread oven as you go.
(8) Turn left and follow the path for about 250 m. At the three-way junction, turn right and carry on to the T-junction.
(9) Turn right, walk past the solar farm and you’ll reach the crossroads at the Cieussac cross.
(10) Turn left, then take the first path on the right to reach the hamlet of Martignac. After the first few houses, turn left (note the porch on your left) until you reach the cross.
(11) Turn right onto the road heading towards the motorway, cross the bridge over it, then take the path on the left which runs alongside the motorway until it joins the D840.
(12) Crosscarefullyand take the Route du45e Parallèle opposite, which initially runs alongside the motorway, then veers off to the right and leads to the hamlet of Peyre Levade. At this point, you are on the45th parallel, i.e. halfway between the equator and the North Pole. Carry on until you reach the D820.
(13) Cross the road with care, then carry on along the road opposite to reach the Pech de la Castagne junction. Continue almost straight ahead for about 500 m, then turn right and head up the hill.
(14) At the top, turn right. Further on, on your left, you’ll see the triangulation point indicating the precise altitude of 324 m; take a moment to enjoy the view of the village of Cressensac. A windmill once stood on this spot.
(15) At the junction, take the path on the left – which becomes quite picturesque in the second half – until you reach the tarmac road near Meyrignac.
(16) Turn right and follow this road until you reach the junction with the D87.
(17) Turn right and follow the road for two hundred metres; cross carefully as there is no designated crossing point, then turn left again until you reach the pedestrian crossing. Cross back over to return to the car park where you started (S/E).
Visorando Member
Easy 
Association / Club / Walk leader
