The Auzon and the Allier

At Le Cendre, park in the station car park.

(S/E) Leave the car park and find the signpost for "Le Cendre gare". Follow the Allée des Marronniers on the left towards the sports complex (follow this direction until you reach the tennis courts). At the end of this street, continue straight ahead through the courtyard of the building to cross the Auzon.

(1) Continue to the right into the Parc de la Voie Verte, keeping as close as possible to the Auzon on your right.

(2) Cross the D8 and continue on the path opposite. You will come to Avenue du Stade: follow it to the right.

(3) Just before the bridge, take the path on the left to continue along the Auzon. Further on, you will find a footbridge on the right that provides access to the tennis courts and sports complex.

(4) Stop following the signs for the "sports complex" and continue straight ahead (sign for "Orcet Puy Marmant"). You will soon reach the D979. Cross it and take the path opposite, which veers left and then quickly heads south. Continue along this path, ignoring the road and path on the right.

(5) Continue along this path, which turns eastwards to pass below the Puy de Marmant. Ignore all the paths branching off to the right (in season, you can pick cherries on the left side of the path). Further on, at a T-junction, turn right. You will end up facing the travellers' site.

(6) Turn left. Just before reaching the road, turn left onto the picnic area, then continue along the grassy path alongside the road for a few metres until you see another picnic area on the other side of the road. Join the road on the right, cross it carefully, and follow the path opposite, which leads north-northeast from the picnic area. This path runs alongside a railway line. At the bridge, cross the railway line.

(7) Shortly afterwards, ignore a path on the left, which you will follow on the way back. Further on, the path turns left and enters the undergrowth to reach the Auzon.

(8) Cross the Auzon on the footbridge, then turn right to continue between the stream and the water treatment plant. You will come to a housing estate. Turn right onto the lawn to find a marker post (be careful not to step into a gaping hole at the foot of the lamppost) and follow the signs for "Pont de Cournon". Follow the road to the right until you reach the D212. (About 500 metres away, a path between two houses leads down to the confluence of the Auzon and the Allier, but it is closed due to a landslide).

(9) Cross the D212, turn right along the road and cross the Allier via the bridge.

(10) Take the ramp on the left that descends towards the river. You will then find a signpost marked "Pont de Cournon" and a yellow disc marker. Turn right towards Pont de Dallet, taking the path that runs along the Allier on your left. This bank of the Allier is very wild. You can watch birds here.

(11) Further on, you will come to a water catchment field. Continue along the path that goes around the field on the right. Further on, turn right, following the yellow disc markings, across the field to rejoin the Allier, then follow the river again on your left.

(12) When you reach a small car park, follow the road to the right to pass between two gates in the pumping field. A few metres further on, the road passes between two more gates. Leave the road and turn left to pass to the right of the gate, then follow the path along the field. At the end of the path, pass between the sides of another gate.

(13) Shortly afterwards, at the fork in the road, at a huge water catchment field, continue to the left. Further on, the path heads north to join the Passerelle des Toises footbridge. Cross the Allier river on the footbridge.

(14) On the other side, turn sharply right to reach the riverbank and follow it to the right. At the car park, you will find a signpost marked "Les Praclos". Continue straight ahead, following the yellow disc markings, staying as close as possible to the river.

(15) At a circular bend in the Allier, walk alongside a campsite. Continue along the river until you reach the Pont de Cournon bridge. At the foot of the bridge, take the stairs on the right up to the D212. Follow this road to the right for a few metres.

(9) Take the same path as on the way out.

(7) Turn right onto the grassy path to rejoin the Auzon further on.

(16) Continue along the path that runs alongside the stream on your right. After crossing the railway line, you will come to the Parc de la Voie Verte. Continue along the Auzon on your right.

(1) Take the footbridge on the right, then the Allée des Marronniers to the station car park (S/E).

Medium difficulty hike, standard hiking equipment required.

At the start of the route, follow the signs for "complexe sportif" (sports complex) to the footbridge leading to the tennis courts.

Between (8) and (9), past the water treatment plant, the section that you have to do on both the outward and return journeys is, unfortunately, not the most pleasant. An alternative is therefore to split this route into two variants:

"Auzon" variant: at (7), turn left towards (16).

"Allier" variant: Start at (9), at the Cournon Bridge.

Between (9) and (14), the right bank of the Allier is wild.

Between (14) and (9), on the other hand, the left bank of the Allier is more like a Sunday stroll.

The fields andthe Allier groundwater collectionplant.