The Allier river in the Puy-de-Dôme region at Pont-du-Château

Access: From Clermont-Ferrand, take the D2089 towards Thiers, cross Pont-du-Château and, just before crossing the Allier, turn right into Rue du Pont and park near the Hôtel de l'Estredelle.

Please note! This route is not signposted as such.

(S/E) Return to the Thiers road and cross the Allier on the right. On the other side of the river, take the first street on the right, then the next right. When the street turns left, continue straight on the path, signposted Les Palisses, towards Cournon. Follow the path marked with a yellow disc, which veers left to run alongside the Allier on your right. Further on, go back up to the road and continue to the footbridge.

(1) Cross the Allier and, on the other side, turn left onto the path that runs along the river on your left, with the sports facilities on your right. Continue along the path closest to the river, leaving the yellow markings further on. Continue along the river to the bottom of the railway bridge.

(2) Then climb up to the right on a steep path towards a small building, then continue up a staircase to the left of this hut to reach a path and rejoin the yellow markings. Continue to the left until you see a sign for Rives d'Allier. Continue straight ahead on the path that continues to run alongside the Allier at a higher level, towards Cournon. At a fork marked with a sign, continue to the left, as close as possible to the river, towards Cournon.

(3) Further on, follow the yellow markings and take the path that leaves the Allier, climbing slightly to quickly reach a wider path. Continue to the left, slightly above the river. Shortly afterwards, you will see an information panel on the Allier mills on your left.

(4) Further on, at an intersection, you will see a signpost. Turn left towards Cournon and Lempdes along the banks of the Allier. Continue along the river on your left, passing under the D1 road and then under a metal footbridge, the Pont de Dallet.

(5) Follow the path that veers to the right and find a staircase that goes up to the footbridge. At the top, turn right onto the footbridge to cross the Allier and enter Dallet. Just across the river, go down the stairs on the right and continue on the path that runs along the Allier on your right. Shortly afterwards, you will see an information panel about the bridge ferry, then continue along the Chemin des Écoliers. From here, you will see information panels about the river's ecosystem embedded in stone blocks along the path. At an intersection, leave the wide path and continue to the right to stay as close as possible to the Allier.

(6) Further on, rejoin the wide path and follow it to the right. Shortly afterwards, ignore a path on the left. Stay on this path, keeping the river on your right. Further on, the path turns right, away from the Allier, to reach the Vaures Sud junction.

(7) Continue to the right towards Les Gravières. Go around a pumping station on the left, then get closer to the river again. Continue straight ahead with the Allier on your right.

(8) At the Les Gravières signpost, continue towards Malmouche, pass under the high-voltage line and then, at the "Au fil de l'Allier" information sign, turn right to reach the banks of the Allier and continue to the left to find yourself facing the Malmouche cliff.

(9) Continue along the path heading south towards Passerelle des Toises. Approach the Allier again, then enter a huge pumping station, pass in front of the Usine des Eaux footbridge on the other side of the river, and continue along the Allier to Passerelle des Toises.

(10) Cross the Allier on the footbridge, then turn left into the field. You will arrive at a small car park (barrier and signpost) and immediately turn right towards Pont-du-Château. Shortly afterwards, turn right, then follow the path which bends to the left before leading to a small road. Continue to the right and, at the crossroads in front of the Usine des Eaux, continue along the path opposite.

(11) At the fork, continue to the right and follow the cliff edge of the Falaise Malmouche. Further on, at the intersection, turn right towards Pont-du-Château and continue along the cliff edge.

(12) Further on, the path moves away from the Allier, heading north-east, passing under the high-voltage line, then approaches the river again, still above it.

(13) Shortly afterwards, on the left, you will see the site of the Ancienne Mine des Rois. Continue with the Allier on your right, ignoring all the paths on the left. You will come to a road with the Pont de Dallet bridge on your right, which you crossed on the way there.

(14) Turn right onto the road and then, immediately afterwards, before reaching the footbridge and the signpost, turn right towards Pont-du-Château. Shortly afterwards, turn onto the path on the left which leads to the bottom of the stairs and below the Pont de Dallet bridge.

(5) Continue along the same path as on the way there until you reach the Pradelle railway bridge. In summary: Pass under the footbridge, then under the D1 and continue.

(4) Turn right. Further on, veer right towards the river.

(3) Continue as close as possible to the Allier river on your right until you reach the Pradelle railway bridge. Cross the bridge and immediately afterwards, on your right, you will see the staircase you took on the way there.

(15) Ignore these steps and continue straight ahead behind the houses in the Pradelle neighbourhood. When you reach the sports complex, ignore the yellow markings that invite you to continue to the right and continue straight ahead.

(16) When the road ends, at a small vineyard on the right and an information panel about the old mine, continue along the footpath that climbs to the right, running alongside the Jardin Côte de la Mine, which is currently being renovated. You will come out onto Rue du Docteur Chambice and continue in the same direction.

(17) Note the church and its belfry on the right and continue along Rue du Docteur Chambice.

(18) Further on, turn right onto Rue de l'Hôtel de Ville towards the Château-Mairie. Opposite the château, turn left onto Rue de l'Ente. At the end of this short street, continue left and follow Rue Jacques-Antoine Dulaure until you reach Rue des Remparts.

(19) Turn right onto this street and then, further on, turn left onto Rue Sainte-Martine. Continue straight ahead on this street until you reach Sainte-Martine Church.

(20) Opposite the church, go down the street on the right to Rue du Pont. Follow it on the left to return to the beginning of the street and the Hôtel de l'Estredelle (S/E).

This is a moderately difficult but fairly long hike, requiring standard hiking equipment.

It is best not to do this hike when the Allier is in flood, as a large part of the route follows the river banks.

(9) The Malmouche cliff is the result of erosion by the Allier of the foothills of the Puy de Bâne. It differs from the usual river cliffs, made up of sand and gravel, as it is formed from clay-limestone sediments deposited when the oceans covered the region 20 to 25 million years ago. The erosion of this 15-metre-high cliff continues today, with a retreat of 25 metres in places between 1992 and 2004. This explains why the top of the cliff is now closed to the public. The cliff is home to swallows, bee-eaters and kingfishers, which dig holes in it to build their nests, far from predators.

Between (9) and (11) The Cournon water pumping station. Collected from the alluvial aquifer on the banks of the Allier, the water is treated and sent under pressure to the Bâne reservoir, higher up the hill. Eight million cubic metres of water are pumped each year and transported to the water tower, 140 metres higher up, hence the name "elevator" for this plant. There are 71 filter wells covering 200 hectares. Seventy-five per cent of Clermont's water comes from this plant. The remaining quarter comes from springs located to the east of the Chaîne des Puys. The water collected on the banks of the Allier is relatively unpolluted as it has not yet passed through the agricultural land of the Limagne. It is also free of limestone as an impermeable layer of gravel protects the alluvial aquifer.

(13) The Old Kings' Mine. A few years ago, in Pont-du-Château, a house disappeared, as if sucked into the ground. This phenomenon was caused by the collapse of a gallery in the Rois mine, which had been in operation for a century in Dallet. For a century, from 1884 to 1984, the Société des Mines d'Asphalte et de Bitume du Centre (Smac) dug more than 5 kilometres of 4-metre-wide galleries to extract bitumen, which it used to manufacture flexible and waterproof paving stones at its factory in Pont-du-Château (see also the information panel in (16)), which were used, among other things, for Parisian pavements. A total of 830,000 tonnes of bituminous limestone were extracted from the Rois de Dallet mine, yielding 58,000 tonnes of pure bitumen.

Between (17) and (20), Pont-du-Château is a town with a rich historical past. It was a major river trading town along the Allier in centuries past. It was the main port for Clermont-Ferrand. Wood, coal, wine and Volvic stone passed through its quays. It also marked the boundary between the navigable Allier downstream and the floatable Allier upstream, with logs being floated down the river.