From Brudon to Sauze

Departure from the centre of the village of Vaudevant.

(S/E) Follow the signs for Char, leaving the church on your right. Then turn left until you reach a fork.

(1) Turn left to head back up towards Les Combes and Char on a pleasant road overlooking the village.

(2) Follow signs for Brudon. Take the small road on the left and enjoy the superb views.

(3) Head towards Sauze. Go down the path on the left, between the pastures. It is then lined with low walls that mark the boundaries of the plots. Enter a small copse and come out into the meadows. You will arrive at Sauze.

(4) In the hamlet, turn right, then left to descend to the road.

(5) Head towards Vaudevant. Turn left, descend to the right, and take a path that runs alongside the Vivance on the left until you reach Vaudevant. At the end, turn left and right, then left again to return to your car park (S/E).

Access
From Saint Félicien, take the D115 to Vaudevant.

Parking
Village centre

Stone masks
At the side of the church in Vaudevant, a cute little devil smiles and sticks out his tongue, mocking passers-by. Other enigmatic stone masks adorn the walls of some houses in the commune of Vaudevant, as they do throughout the Saint-Félicien region. They are often found on the outer walls of churches, on wealthy bourgeois houses, on mission crosses or embedded in the walls of rural houses. Of all ages and shapes, their presence remains very enigmatic and gives rise to all kinds of interpretations, some of them highly fanciful. Playful practices, stone carvers' fantasies, beliefs and superstitions inherited from our Celtic ancestors, symbols of protection... What do all these human faces staring at us with such distinctive expressions represent? It's up to you to imagine! Source: Le chemin des masques (The Path of Masks), Saint Félicien region, History and Heritage Association.

Vaudevant
The village is mentioned as early as the^13th century. Its name comes from "Val des Avents", "les Avents" being a hamlet located on the heights of the commune. In 1090, the village was annexed to St-Félicien and came under the influence of the chapter of Canons of St-Barnard (Romans-sur-Isère). However, after lengthy negotiations, the village regained its autonomy in 1790.