In the Notre-Dame de Parlatges State Forest

Red and white signposting

(S) From Place de l’Ormeau to La Vacquerie-et-Saint-Martin-de-Castries, take the main street southwards. At the church, take the path on the right between the houses (Rue de l’Ancien Cimetière). Climb up into the Combe Roujal via a footpath, following a wire fence through the pine forest. At the pond, turn left. Go through a small gate and reach the Bergerie de Tédenat.

(1) Turn right onto the track that winds its way through the boxwood. At the fork in the road just before a left-hand bend, take the path on the left heading south-west. You’ll come out onto a wider path; take it to the right.

(2) At the Fork in the road, turn right and head for the Col du Jouquet (signpost for the GR® 7: “Col de Mélanque 9 km, Fozières 12.5 km”).

(3) Head straight on along the Forest Fire Defence Track (D.F.C.I.). Descend into the Notre-Dame de Parlatges State Forest. You’ll reach a water tank at a T-junction.

(4) Turn left and, at the Fork in the road, continue right along the track. Cross the Courcol Plateau, ignoring the paths branching off to the left and right.

(5) Leave the plateau, following the Ruisseau de Pioch Haut. At the Fork in the road, ignore a path branching off to the right and head down to the left along the track. At the Fork in the road, continue the descent to the right and reach a crossroads.

(6) Head up to the left along the track. At the Fork in the road, continue uphill to the left and, after a flat section, reach the Col de Mélanque.

(7) Head down the track to the right. At the fork in the road, take the path to the left. You’ll reach a second fork in the road.

(8) Take the grassy path on the left, which winds its way down into a steep valley. You’ll come out onto a footpath.

(9) Head down the winding path.

(10) You’ll come out onto a road; turn left onto it (Route de Fozières). After a bend to the right, then to the left, you’ll reach some vineyards. Head up to the left along the track beside the vineyard and, after a bend to the left, look out for a footpath on the right.

(11) Head down the path. You’ll come out onto the D149 at Fozières cemetery.

(12) Turn left onto it and walk through Fozières. At the crossroads, head up Rue de la Mairie, then turn left at the town hall (Chemin du Malpas). At the Fork in the road, take the path on the right and enter a wood.

(13) Cross the Fozières stream. You’ll come out onto a track; follow it to the left and you’ll reach the D149E2. First turn left then right, cut across a bend in the road and come out onto a road opposite the cross at the entrance to Le Thérondel.

(14) Head up the path on the right at the edge of the woods. Heading due south, you’ll reach a crossroads at a pass between Serre Bau and Le Brandou (cross).

(15) Head down the opposite slope, turn right at the edge of the woods, then cross the fields. You’ll come out onto the D153; cross it and continue down to a path at Serre de la Prade.

(16) Follow it to the right for 20 m (signpost for the GR® 7 “Soumont 1 km”), then turn left. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead, skirting a pond, and reach a picnic area.

(17) You’ll come out onto a road. Follow it straight ahead for 50 metres and, after passing a cross just before the sign marking the entrance to Soumont, head up the path on the right. Go round a reservoir on the left and come out onto a track. Turn left, walk past a refreshment kiosk and head down to the orientation table overlooking Soumont.

(18) At the wayside cross, leave the track and head down to the right along the path through the woodland. You’ll come out onto the D153E3; take it to the right. At the Fork in the road, ignore the road on the left and carry on straight ahead. Before a right-hand bend, turn left onto the road towards the Fignols equestrian centre.

(19) At the entrance to the hamlet, carry on straight ahead along the road (ignore the track heading right towards the mobile phone masts and the road leading left to the equestrian centre). At the crossroads, carry on straight ahead along the track. Head downhill towards the south then south-west until you reach the D153E3. Turn right onto it and follow it for 50 metres (signpost for the GR® 7 “Lodève 2 km”).

(20) Head down to the left along the path through the woodland, then follow the A75 along a track.

(21) Pass over the tunnel on the A75. After two hairpin bends, you’ll emerge onto Chemin des Tuilières in Lodève and reach Place du Grand Soleil. Turn right onto Avenue Denfert Rochereau (D609), then cross the bridge over the Lergue to the left (E).

Walk completed by the author on 31 August 2020.

This route follows the GR® 7. A description of the route can be found in the TopoGuides published by the French Hiking Federation:
- ‘Crossing the Massif Central through the Parks: from La Bastide-Puylaurent to Castelnaudary’, reference 7002,
- ‘Crossing the Haut-Languedoc’, reference 716.

There are several discrepancies between the map and the actual terrain:
- at the fork in the road after the Bergerie de Tédenat (1), continue south-west, whereas the route on the IGN map heads due south before joining a wider path. Follow the signposts.
- at the fork in the road at (2), turn right to avoid entering the private grounds of the Cantercel experimental architecture site. Follow the signposts.
- The Soumont orientation table (18) is situated about fifty metres lower down than shown on the IGN map. Furthermore, the woodland path you take shortly afterwards leads to the car park on the D153E3 on the west side of Soumont Town Hall.

The descent towards Fozières along the winding path is exposed between (9) and (10).

La Vacquerie-et-Saint-Martin-de-Castries (S): hotel, restaurants, guesthouses.

Fozières (12): water.

Soumont:
- picnic area at (17),
- refreshment bar between (17) and (18).

Lodève (E): hotels, cafés, restaurants, guesthouses, stopover lodge, all shops.

Cantercel, experimental architecture site between (2) and (3).

Notre-Dame de Parlatges State Forest from (3) to (10): the pine trees in the Parlatges Forest were planted at the end of the 19th century by the Eaux et Forêts department as part of a policy to restore mountainous terrain. In total, 2,400 hectares of the state forest were replanted with this species of pine native to Austria.

Courcol Plateau from (3) to (6): Type 1 ZNIEFF.

From (7) to (15): panoramic views of the cliffs bordering the southern edge of the Causse du Larzac, in particular the Cirque du Bout du Monde and the Pas de l’Escalette,

Col (15): panoramic views of:
- the valley of the Lergue, a tributary of the Hérault,
- Lake Salagou,

Soumont orientation point (18): panoramic views of:
- the Escandorgue Plateau,
- Lake Salagou,
- Mont Saint-Baudille,
- the Gulf of Lion (from Mont Saint-Clair to Sète).