Departure from the car park in front of the Château de Saint-Cirgues-sur-Couze.
Yellow-red markings (GRP® Autour d'Issoire)
(S/E) Opposite the château, turn left onto Rue de la Tour du Roi, then turn right at the first crossroads onto Rue de la Tour Madame. Ignore the various turnings until you reach a side street. Turn right onto Rue du Mas. Continue straight ahead until you reach the next crossroads.
(1) Leave Chemin de la Garenne on your left, which will be our return route, and enter the village of Saint-Vincent. Pass the first path on your right, then turn right onto the next street, which leads to the church after a crossroads. At the church, turn right onto Place de l'Église, then after a left turn, you will reach the crossroads at Place de la Fontaine.
(2) Turn right and then immediately left, opposite the town hall. The small street soon becomes the Chemin des Jardins, running alongside the Couze river.
(3) Continue straight ahead at the intersection, leaving the path on your left, so as to follow the Couze as closely as possible. The wide path narrows to a winding trail.
(4) Ford the stream, continuing along the Couze. The path crosses a small road and widens as it approaches Saint-Floret.
(5) Leave the tarmac road at the first houses in Saint-Floret and take a barely visible path on the left, which starts at the top of a hill (elevation 492 m) towards the church of Chastel (CRP5 link 500 m). Continue uphill, first approaching the church of Chastel, then crossing the D627 at a place called Les Grangettes. The path passes elevation 600 and then bends to the left near a house, offering a beautiful view of the church of Chastel. The path approaches the D627.
(6) Keep right at the intersection about a hundred metres before the departmental road, continuing uphill. The path ends up following a power line for about a hundred metres, then veers off to the left.
(7) Keep left at the fork, continuing uphill in a south/south-westerly direction until you reach a crossroads (elevation 749).
(8) Continue straight ahead. The path becomes paved as it enters the hamlet of Chazeras. Ignore the side roads until you reach the crossroads at the edge of the village.
(9) Turn left at the hairpin bend and descend at the exit of the hamlet. Pass the first turn-off on the left, then turn right at the next intersection. The path crosses the D28 and then a stream (Chavelle) before climbing up to intersect with a cross path (elevation 770).
(10) Turn left onto the cross road, ignoring the side roads. This road curves to the left before passing under the power line, then becomes paved until it enters Tourzel. Pass the fire station, ignore Rue du Château on the right, and continue along Rue des Sources.
No signposts
(11) At the end of Rue des Sources, keep left onto Rue du Dauphiné d'Auvergne (the village's main street).
(12) At the village exit, turn left onto Chemin du Clos and head uphill. Ignore the paths on the left. The tarmac soon gives way to a grassy path leading downhill. Stay on the most well-trodden path, which heads north and then west at a place called La Croix Blanche.
(13) At the intersection, the grassy lane turns right downhill towards Saint-Vincent and continues north. Continue straight ahead at the crossroads as you approach the village. Chemin de la Garenne intersects Rue du Mas, which you took on the way there.
(1) Turn right onto Rue du Mas, then left onto Rue de la Tour Madame. Turn left at the junction with Rue de la Tour du Roi to return to the Château de Saint-Cirgues, the starting point of the walk (S/E).
