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Departure from the centre of the charming village of Saint-Paul-d'Izeaux.
(S/E) Turn your back on the church and head straight ahead (signposted "Le Joland"), due west. At the two forks, take the right-hand branch. The road curves to the left, then makes a sharp right turn. You will arrive at a hamlet.
(1) At the hamlet of Les Franchises, follow the small road on the left. A little further on, ignore the path that branches off to the left. Very soon after, you will come to a fork: take the left fork. 500 metres further on, turn right onto a small tarmac road.
(2) Take the road on the left and follow it for one kilometre through a small wood. When you come to a poplar plantation on the right, take the path that branches off at a 45° angle to the right (yellow markings). Be careful, as you will soon have to leave this path and turn right again (it is easy to miss the path as it descends steeply).
(3) Cross the D504b to take the small road that climbs opposite (Chemin du Polonfrey). Leave it very quickly to take a path on the right that is not entirely marked on IGN maps. After a while, ignore a path on the right and you will soon come to a small road, which you take straight ahead.
(4) Turn onto the first road on the left. Follow it, passing three magnificent ponds covered with water lilies. After the third pond, the road turns left. Ignore the first path on the left. When you see a walnut grove on the left, pay close attention.
(5) After the walnut grove and a forest, take the path that branches off to the left. After a while, ignore a path that comes in from the right at a 45° angle and take the next one. It is not very well maintained. At one point, it is even slightly hidden by a hazelnut tree (if it is hazelnut season, take advantage of it...). When you reach a T-junction, turn right. You will come to a small road, turn right, then very quickly left at a 45° angle. You will enter the village of Plan. Walk past the church.
(6) In the centre of the village, at the crossroads, go straight ahead (signposted "Camp de César"). It is marked in yellow all the way to Camp de César. Ignore the small road on the left (the "Camp de César" sign is for vehicles) and continue straight ahead. Ignore a path on the right. The road climbs steeply (170 m elevation gain in 1.3 km). You will come to a small road; follow it to the right until you reach Camp de César.
(7) At Camp de César, enjoy the view. Take the path on the left as you arrive (north-east). Signposted towards Saint-Paul-d'Izeaux. Follow the path, which very quickly descends steeply. At a fork, take the right-hand path (yellow markings). You will come to a small road.
(8) At a place called Girin, turn right (towards "la Tulière"). When you reach a crossroads, go up to the left (again towards "la Tulière"). Follow this small road to the hamlet mentioned above.
(9) When you reach the centre of the hamlet, turn left (signposted "Saint-Paul d'Izeaux 1.3km"). Follow this path down to the village. You will find yourself back at the central square and the car park (S/E).
A beautiful hike with no apparent difficulty. At the start, after leaving the road, the path is not maintained and the grass is very tall, so watch your step (tick). When you arrive at the ponds, the water lilies are in bloom and very beautiful, but watch out for gunshots very close to the road, which scared us. When we arrived at Camp Sésar, we asked a forest ranger why he was shooting when hunting season was closed. He said it was to chase away the crows that were eating the corn. (The bar at Camp Sésar is closed).
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