Water history in the Land of Stones

A hike punctuated by natural and built heritage treasures, from the medieval town of Martel to the Romanesque church of Murel, the mill and the resurgence of the Œil de la Doue.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.07 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 293 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 287 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 329 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 159 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from the Martel market hall.

(S/E) With your back to the market hall, turn right onto Rue Mercière and continue along Rue du Barri-de-Brive, which further on becomes Chemin des Dames.

(1) After the last house, turn right, cross the N140 with caution and continue straight ahead along the small road, which becomes a path. At the road, continue left until you reach a three-way junction.

(2) Take the wide path on the left, pass in front of a house and continue to the Gautries farm.

(3) Turn right onto the path, go around a pidgeon hunting hut and descend through the woods at the bottom of the valley, then climb up the opposite slope. At the house, turn left, then follow the road to the right and head for the village of Murel.

(4) At the church, go down the path on the right and keep right at the fork that follows. Further down, continue right along the road until you reach another road, then continue left (GR®46signposting). At the next intersection, keep left, cross the stream via the bridge, and turn left immediately afterwards.

(5) At Moulin de Murel, continue along the wide path and follow the Doue river upstream (on the left, you may see the "eye of the Doue").

(6) At the fork, take the gravel path on the left, then the grassy path that climbs between two fences.

(7) At the crossroads, continue straight on the main path until you reach the highest point (elevation 323).

(8) Descend to the right, cross the road and head left to reach Le Feyri. At the fork, head right and continue along the road. Follow the D840 on your right for a few metres before reaching a fork.

(9) Take Chemin de Montjoie on the left and pass Croix Mathieu. Continue straight ahead, cross the D840 with caution and rejoin the route taken on the way there.

(1) Continue along the road and head for the Martel market hall (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 236 m - Martel Market Hall
  2. 1 : km 0.56 - alt. 243 m - Chemin des Dames
  3. 2 : km 1.42 - alt. 277 m - Three-way junction, on the left
  4. 3 : km 2.13 - alt. 299 m - La pidgeon hunting hut
  5. 4 : km 3.42 - alt. 260 m - Murel Church
  6. 5 : km 6.16 - alt. 163 m - Moulin de Murel
  7. 6 : km 8.12 - alt. 181 m - Fork to the left
  8. 7 : km 8.81 - alt. 242 m - Criss-crossed with paths, straight ahead
  9. 8 : km 9.86 - alt. 328 m - Turn right at the fork
  10. 9 : km 10.84 - alt. 299 m - Chemin de Montjoie
  11. S/E : km 13.07 - alt. 236 m - Martel Market Hall

Worth a visit

The undulating and hilly Causse de Martel offers a wide variety of geological features. Green landscapes of woods and meadows alternate with rockier causse areas and steep-sided valleys such as the Vignon. Limestone, a reminder of a distant maritime occupation, is omnipresent both in the natural environment and in architectural use. Rainwater does not remain on the surface. It erodes the rock and shapes unique landscapes to be discovered, particularly around the emergence of the Œil de la Doue. This gives rise to the Vignon stream, the only watercourse in the south of the Causse de Martel, which fed the Moulin de Murel and thirteen other mills downstream over 14 km!

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 13 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
Flore46
Flore46
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, undulating walk with varied landscapes.
There are a few short sections on small country roads, but they are not very busy.
We did it in dry weather, but I would not recommend it during periods of heavy rain because part of the path, near the mill, is very similar to a stream bed, which must certainly flow from time to time, and some of the descents must be particularly slippery.
The hike passes through Martel, a very pretty village worth visiting (with its market hall and narrow streets), then winds its way between the Martel plateau and the edge of Corrèze, with small dry stone walls and pretty forests, passing through charming hamlets and offering beautiful views. The section at the bottom of the valley along the river and the wetland is particularly pleasant.
An interesting hike!

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Topogeo
Topogeo

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A varied and enjoyable hike. The Eye of Doue is well worth a visit. In heavy rain it is probably muddy, but we did it in dry weather.

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Gden
Gden

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Once in the woods, there were no signs to guide you.

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c.berangere
c.berangere
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

As mentioned above, the "Œil de la Doue" section is impassable via the marked trail because it is partially flooded due to heavy rainfall over the past two months (or you can wear boots), but with Geoportal you can go over a hill (there is a sort of roughly marked path), then cross the river twice to reach the spring, where there are sometimes divers.
Otherwise, on the way, there is the hamlet/village of Murel with a beautiful church (which we were unable to visit as it was closed) and a beautiful well. It's a shame that the old path, which passed by the Moulin de Murel, has been replaced by 25 minutes of tarmac!
A beautiful hike

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Claude-Meignen
Claude-Meignen

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent hike!
At the end of February, some sections of the trail were flooded. We had to climb up to higher ground (particularly near the Oeil de la Doue, which we didn't see...).

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Claude-Meignen
Claude-Meignen

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Wonderful hike!
Easy, everything is beautiful, especially the site of St Sauveur!

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Vero19
Vero19

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb peaceful hike

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Celineetfrederic
Celineetfrederic

Please note: this route is no longer accessible. The owner of the Murel mill has privatised the passage in front of his property and on the bridge.

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marcgilles82
marcgilles82

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

hello,
a change imposed by the owner of the Murel mill: refusal to cross the small bridge over the Doue stream, forcing us to take the road that goes around the mill, which is inevitably less attractive and adds 1.6 km to the hike.
very beautiful hike.

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Machere
Machere
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike. We went as far as the Eye of Doue and rejoined the route through the fields.
Our GPS showed a much greater total elevation gain than stated, but it was no problem to do.
Thanks to whoever described this hike.

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Lachassinie
Lachassinie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike. The route is easy to follow, with what I think is a minor error that does not affect the itinerary. It seems that the river that rises at the source of the Doue is not the Doue but the Vignon, a tributary of the Tormente, which it joins after 8.2 km.

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feixou
feixou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 09, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb hike, with beautiful landscapes of limestone plateaus, woodlands and streams... We pushed on to the Oeil de la Doue and cut across cliffs and fields to rejoin the route. The village of Muret is very pretty with its church... in short, we loved it. We combined this route with the circular "Boucle entre Martel et Gluges" hike, covering 25 km over the day with a picnic and beautiful spring sunshine. It was very enjoyable.

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sequoia1
sequoia1

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 18, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk. It should be noted that the route is perfectly signposted. It is route No. 9 on the website https://cheminsmartel.wixsite.com/chemin...

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Pat4602
Pat4602

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 04, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

the route was completed in early February, so with all the recent rain, some sections require more attention (the descent after the pidgeon hunting hut and the climb up to Murel). At the Murel mill, you will be greeted by a goose, but if you talk to it a little, it will let you pass.To see the Eye of the Doue, you mustn't be afraid to get your feet a little wet (again due to the recent rains) because the path that leads there crosses the stream. Afterwards, you'll tackle a steep climb (from 176 m to 325 m) over a distance of about 2 km, so bring something to drink in hot weather.The return to Martel is a gentle walk along a small tarmac road with very little traffic (as no one lives there).

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