From Roussayrolles to the Laussière via Grézelles and the Fourcou dolmen

Park near the Roussayrolles cemetery.

(S/E) With your back to the cemetery and the picnic tables, head towards the town hall and follow Rue des Fontaines. Continue along the road, ignoring a path branching off to the left. Walk past a wayside cross. Walk past a house and, just after it, turn onto the wide dirt track on the left: the^GR® de Pays Cordes-Penne-Coustous. You’ll come to a reservoir and the Fontaine Mère de Dieu.

(1) Cross the stream, which is channelled underground. It is near this point that the Ruisseau de Bonnan has its source. Climb a short, grassy slope. The GRP® continues gently until it meets the Soubirol access road. Continue to the left until you reach the junction with the cross-road.

(2) Turn left and leave the GRP®. At the next junction, turn left to walk between Les Fontanelles and Les Peyrouses. Pass the 443-metre mark and descend about 300 metres. Keep an eye out for the signposting.

(3) Before Viou Noble, turn right onto the yellow-marked Bonnan path. Pass a junction, keeping a north-north-westerly direction. Reach another junction 350 m further on. Continue descending northwards towards the ruins of La Forêt. Cross a meadow after this hamlet. The path follows a wide bend to the left, along the edge of the forest, and descends further. After rounding the first hairpin bend to the right, go through a small gate. At the hairpin bend to the left, cross a ford at the foot of large granite boulders. You’ll come out onto a wide dirt track in front of the Ruisseau de Bonnan.

(4) Turn left. Cross the stream. Follow the yellow-marked path, which climbs gradually, winding its way through the woods. Walk alongside a cattle enclosure, then a wooded pasture. You’ll come out onto a wide track suitable for vehicles, at an elevation of 367.

(5) Turn right. Take the first path you come to on the left. Keep heading generally west. Ignore the side paths and find a wide, flat track.

(6) Turn left onto the track. Look out for a passage on the left, about 600 m on, to enter the woodland in search of the dolmen.

(7) The Fourcou dolmen, the entrance to which has been sealed off. Continue along the narrow path until you reach its exit, marked by a cairn, on the left. Back on the track, head left towards the junction with the GRP^®.

(8) Turn right to follow the^GRP®. Very quickly, the track descends significantly. The descent is over stony, unstable ground which only ends as you approach the Ruisseau de la Laussière.

(9) Just before the Laussière, leave the^GRP® and turn left. This track is not signposted. Follow the Laussière upstream along its right bank. Continue along this wide, gently sloping path. Along the way, you’ll come across the ruins of a few mills here and there.

You’ll come to the hamlet of Laussière and pass it by. Stay on the same side of the stream. You’ll notice further ruins and mill wheels. Further on, the path narrows into a narrow track, passes to the right of the Ruisseau de la Laussière, and climbs gently until it joins the road to Peyralade.

(10) Follow this road to the left for about 150 metres. Ignore the first path on the left. Take the second small path on the left, which does not appear on the IGN map. Walk behind the house known as Les Vignals.

(11) At the road, continue straight ahead. At the T-junction, head towards the centre of Roussayrolles to reach its cemetery (S/E).

Water point and toilets, to the left of Roussayrolles town hall.

Roussayrolles Church, decorated by Nicolaï Greschny
Ask for the key and a (free) guided tour at the ‘Maison Fleurie’, on the left, just past the town hall.
All the ceramic plaques in the village (street names, information boards, etc.) were created by Marie Costes

A little background on the two frescoes in this church, painted in 1950.
N. Greschny’s work had to be carried out on fresh plaster, hence the term ‘fresco’.
Each of the frescoes was therefore completed, from the first pencil stroke to the final brushstroke, within a fortnight.

Remains of mills along the Laussière.