Two citadels on the Couze Chambon

When arriving in Ludesse via the D28, park in the car park on the side of the road, just after the bridge.
Please note! This hike is not marked in its entirety, nor as such.

(S/E) Continue towards the village and turn left onto Rue du Chazelet. At the crossroads with a beautiful turreted house on your right and an oil mill on your left, look for the yellow and red markings of^{the GRP®®} "Autour d'Issoire" trail. Follow these markings until further notice.

(1) Turn left, cross the D28, take Chemin du Creux opposite and follow it, ignoring the paths on either side.

(2) Pass close to a small castle, La Martre, which can be seen on your right. Continue on the GRP®^®. Cross a small stream, cross the D28 again and continue on the path opposite. Turn onto the first path on the left and you will soon come to a menhir standing in a field on the right-hand side of the path, the Pierre-Fichade (yellow sign).

(3) Continue along the path. Further on, continue along the tarmac road to quickly reach the first houses of Champeix.

(4) At the fork, turn left, pass in front of a façade with a large carved wooden door and, a few metres further on, on the left, a first façade listed by the Fondation Patrimoine. Leave the^GRP®® markings^. Cross the D996, veer slightly to the left and take the street that crosses the Couze Chambon.

(5) Turn onto the first street on the right (before reaching Place de la Barreyre). Immediately take a passage on the left, at a lodge and a Saint-Jacques sign with a cross through it. Take the stairs on the right to arrive in front of a sign for "La Buissonière". Note the signpost depicting a woman's head wearing a hat, which you will follow for part of your visit to Champeix. Continue up the steps of Rue du Fort, noting the Jardin Communal on your right.

(6) At the intersection, follow Chemin des Remparts to the left to reach the South Terrace, a viewpoint and a cul-de-sac. Turn around, turn left and immediately take a narrow passageway in a wall. Follow the steps to a terrace at the foot of the Church of Saint-Jean du Marchidial.

Go through the gate in the wall to reach a terrace (viewpoint, information panel), and follow the "Suite de la visite" (continue the tour) sign to go through a gate and then climb a few steps on the right to reach another terrace, where the ruins of the fortified castle are located. Go back down the same way to the first terrace at the foot of the church.

Turn left. At the Jardin des Femmes, ignore the alley on the right and take the stairs opposite (the path on the left of the steps leads to the Jardin des Amourettes). Go around a house, arrive at a street and follow the signs to the village on the right. The path joins Rue du Fort.

(6) Follow it to the left. At the next intersection, turn left again.

(7) Turn onto the first street on the right (at a sign for Saint-Jacques barré) and after a few metres take the path that continues along it (motorcycle prohibition sign). Further on, join a wide path and follow it to the right. The path runs alongside the Couze Chambon river to Montaigut-le-Blanc. Note the Montaigut campsite on the other side of the river and arrive at an old oil mill (a millstone is still visible inside, information sign).

(8) Continue to the road and turn right to cross the Couze Chambon. At the crossroads, look for the yellow and red^GRP®® markings and follow them to climb up opposite, and slightly to the right, Rue du Pont.

(9) At the first intersection, leave the^GRP®® markings and turn left towards the village. Ignore the steps of the Traverse de Paul Boever on the right (information board) and, at the fork, keep right onto Rue du Four. Ignore a street on the right (Rue des Hospitaliers), pass to the right of the Maison des Vignerons and arrive at a crossroads with yellow signs.

(10) Continue straight ahead (towards Puy de la Rodde) for a short return trip to the fountain-watering hole. Turn back to reach the intersection with the yellow signs.

(10) Turn left (towards Route Tour de la Pinière). You will see an information sign about the Corps de Garde on your left, then arrive at the church and climb up to its terrace (viewpoint). Go back down and turn left onto the street (yellow sign, towards Champeix), to quickly descend a road and find the yellow and red^GRP®® markings, which you will now follow to Lunesse.

(11) Turn left. At the bend in the road, follow Chemin des Moines to the left, cross Ruisseau des Moines, and pass between the two cemeteries. Continue along this path.

(12) Further on, ignore a path on the left and then, at the crossroads shortly afterwards, continue to the left.

(13) You will come to a road; follow it straight ahead. Back in Ludesse, take the first street on the right (Rue de l'Église) to return to the crossroads you took on the way out, at the oil mill.

(1) Turn left to return to the car park (S/E) via the same route as on the way there.

Moderate difficulty hike, standard hiking equipment required.

No particular difficulties. However, be careful in villages when it rains, as the cobblestones can be slippery.

Photo album here

Built on a bend in the Couze Chambon, between hillsides planted with vineyards and terraced orchards, the village of Champeix has a southern, wine-growing atmosphere. The winegrowers' houses are brightly coloured and the red-tiled roofs are highlighted with Genoese tiles.
The different neighbourhoods highlight the town's history. The Marchidial neighbourhood, terraced at the foot of the castle, is the historic district. On the right bank of the Couze, the opening of the road from Besse to Clermont in^{the 18th} century encouraged the development of the Place du Pré and Quai d'Aubary neighbourhoods. In^{the 18th century}, Champeix became the capital of the Marquisate of Tourzel. Mme de Tourzel, who was governess to the children of Louis XVI, is well known.
Today, the multitude of gardens, both ornamental and vegetable, have earned the town the title of "city of gardens": source

In Champeix, you can follow a short marked trail in the footsteps of Madeleine, a local woman who was involved in maintaining the small gardens that dot the hillsides above the village, at the foot of the Marchidial.

Montaigut-le-Blanc.
Formerly fortified (city gate), the village clings to a slope and is dominated by an imposing castle (^{12th-15th century). In the 13th}century, two Montaiguts were born in this castle, one of whom was elected Grand Master of the Order of Jerusalem, while his brother attained the same dignity in the Order of the Knights Templar.
The fort (private) has retained its large square keep, a stair tower, an ogival door and the remains of the old chapel (^{12th century}). The church of Saint-Blaise, partly Romanesque, has beautiful capitals and an interesting baptismal font. There is a beautiful view from the top of the village: source

The Couze Chambon, or more precisely the Couze de Chaudefour, rises at an altitude of around 1,580 metres in the Puy-de-Dôme department, in the Monts Dore, on the slopes of the Puy de Cacadogne, in the Vallée de Chaudefour national nature reserve. It flows through the village of Chambon-sur-Lac and empties into Lake Chambon at an altitude of 875 metres.
Under the name Couze Chambon, it then flows through Murol, passes through Saint-Nectaire, falls seven metres at the Saillant waterfall and then flows through Verrières and Montaigut-le-Blanc. It then crosses Champeix, flows through Neschers and empties into the Allier at an altitude of 347 metres, on the left bank, at Coudes.
It is 39.7 kilometres long and its catchment area covers 195 km (source: Wikipedia).