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Coming from the south, after the Lafarge cement works, at the first roundabout, take the second exit, drive through the La Violette neighbourhood and, just before the Frayol bridge, park on the hard shoulder on the right.
(S/E) Cross the road carefully and take Chemin Joseph Lapierre, which climbs up to a war memorial.
Walk past the Frayol cemetery, keeping to your left at the junction with Chemin de Peyrouses, and continue to the hamlet of La Rouvière.
(1) Over 50% of the hamlet of La Rouvière was destroyed by the earthquake of 11 November 2019.
Walk past the old buildings that have been demolished, leaving the road that descends to the right at a cross.
At the next junction, turn left until you reach a three-way junction.
(2) Turn right onto the road leading uphill towards Font Laval (markings: Red and White –GR® 42 / Yellow and White).
The tarmac road quickly turns into a forest track.
Pass a track on your left that leads back down (Font Laval cul-de-sac) and continue climbing through stands of white oak.
Once you reach the summit at an elevation of 290 metres, there is a beautiful view to your left, over Viviers and the Rhône Valley.
Descend slightly to a three-way junction.
(3) Ignore the track on the left and theGR® 42 towards Saint-Thomé, and turn right towards Alba-La-Romaine (yellow and white markings). Thanks to recent tree felling, there is a beautiful, unobstructed view of the Sablière plateau, the Pic du Chenevarie, Rochemaure and the Rhône Valley. Continue along the main track, heading due north (yellow and white markings), which descends rapidly after the 326m mark. After a hut with a large table on your left, you’ll reach a junction beneath the power line.
(4) Take the track on the right under the high-voltage power line until you reach the small tarmac hairpin bend that climbs to your left towards Serre Girard (water reservoir). Continue to the right down the slope, cross the Pélican bridge alongside the Fauron stream.
(5) Continue straight on, passing a road on your right and then another on your left. Pass under the power lines and reach the hamlet of Mélas.
(6) At the entrance to the hamlet, just before a ford on the Frayol, turn right onto Rue Paul Guillermont, which runs alongside the stadium and joins Rue de la Liberté. Turn right, pass an old mill and, opposite a large tree in the bend, turn left onto Chemin du Moulin.
(7) After a war memorial on your right, the path runs along the right bank of the Frayol to a small concrete bridge, which you cross.
(8) Turn right onto Rue Alphonse Daudet until it meets Avenue Matteotti (RD 86). Turn right, cross the Frayol bridge and return to the car park where you started (S/E).
It’s fine, though – lovely views over the valley – a bit (too much?) tarmac. The directions provided are good, but to find the start of the trail, you really need to spot the path, which shares the same ‘entrance’ as a cul-de-sac with a different name; at first, we’d only seen the name of the cul-de-sac!
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