La Gresinhóla

Park in the car park at the Milhars Community Hall.
The yellow markings belong to the Gresinhòla PR®. They are sometimes combined with the Bonnan Valley PR®.
A section of the route follows the^GRP® Cordes-Penne-Coustous, marked in red and yellow.

(S/E) With your back to the community hall, head towards the D600. Turn left towards the Town Hall Square. In front of the community café, cross the road and climb a few steps opposite.

Yellow markings for the Gresinhòla

(1) Turn left immediately to follow Ruelle de Carguemech, between the café and the large stone cross of Alric. This Garmiech hill leads onto the D9.

(2) At the D9, walk a few dozen metres to the right, then, before the Grailhettes campsite, take the grassy track on the left. After 50m, ignore the track on the left and continue straight on along the narrow path opposite. This runs parallel to the D9, climbs steadily and joins the main road at a bend, at an elevation of 282m.

(3) Cross the road and continue climbing through the woods. Pass through two gates halfway between the bend and Grézelles Basses. Reach the access road to Grézelles Basses.

(4) In front of the farm access road and to the left of the road, there are two PR® signposts. Follow the signs for Gresinhòla. Keep heading south then south-west. Pass Grézelles Hautes. Cross the Pézatgé. Approach Les Fontanelles. You have reached the highest point of the route.

(5) Turn left onto the path beneath Pézatgé. You will come to a road; walk 50m to the right. In front of Mayrin, turn left. Continue to a T-junction with a dirt track. Turn right to reach the junction with the^GRP® Cordes-Penne-Coustous, at an elevation of 376m.

Yellow and red markings of^{the GRP®} Cordes-Penne-Coustous

(6) Continue straight on along the^GRP®. Ignore two paths on the left and one on the right. Reach a second path on the right.

Yellow markings for the Gresinhòla

(7) Take this path immediately, leaving the GR^®. Reach the road, elevation 281.
At the road, walk 200m to the right. Turn onto the path on the left. Ignore a path coming up from the left in a hairpin bend. Reach the pumping station at the side of a road. Walk past the pumping station. Zigzag along the path to the next road. The path from the pumping station to this road is not shown on the IGN map but does exist on the ground.
At the road, continue along the path opposite. Pass the Gamas and join a tarmac service road.

Yellow-red markings of^{the GRP®} Cordes-Penne-Coustous

(8) Turn left towards La Beuze. Enter and exit La Moulette. Leave the Route des Vazières. Find a path 50m further on.

(9) Turn onto the path on the right. Head west under Les Guillaumots. Cross the D9. Head towards Soubirol. Turn in front of the farm. The road turns into a track 200m after the right-hand bend. Walk alongside a wood on your right. Cross a small copse. Approach a large farm building and stay to the left of it.

(10) Turn onto the track on the left. Follow the track as it descends gradually towards the Fontaine Mère de Dieu and the reservoir.

(11) Cross the ford via a dirt bridge. You will reach Rue des Fontaines. End of the GRP^®.

Yellow markings for the Gresinhòla and the Bonnan Valley

(12) Follow the street to the right to reach the centre of Roussayrolles. Pass in front of the town hall and then the cemetery.
A visit to the church is a must. The church in Roussayrolles dates from the^13th century.

On leaving the cemetery, turn left. Take the first dirt track on the right. At the T-junction, turn left. The track runs alongside the Touron farm, where cows graze freely. Please ensure you close the pasture gates behind you.

(13) At the road, cross over and continue straight ahead. 100m further on, at the fork, keep right onto the gravel track. Pass a tree that has swallowed up a small signpost (on your left).

(14) Turn right onto the dirt track. Follow the yellow-marked path, which winds through the woods a few times, passing a wooded pasture. Walk alongside the cattle enclosure, then follow the path until you reach the Ruisseau de Bonnan, at an elevation of 258 metres. Cross the ford just before a fork in the path.

(15) At the fork, take the wide track on the right. Follow this track to the right of the stream. Halfway along, you will come across the ruins of the Madeleine sarcophagus. You will reach a bridge.

Yellow markings – Bonnan Valley

(16) At the bridge and in front of the signposts, follow the PR® Bonnan Valley trail by turning left and crossing the bridge. Continue to the right towards the petrified waterfall. In summer, the waterfall is dry, but in winter, the spring flows abundantly or becomes covered in stalactites if there is a frost. It is possible to walk up to its source.

(17) Tuff waterfall. Continue along the stream until you reach the next bridge and cross it (see the Bonnan waterfall a little further downstream). Note, as you pass, just before the bend towards the bridge, a huge, centuries-old elm tree on the right.
At the T-junction, turn left.

(18) At the road, head up the hill opposite. Stay on this road, ignoring the one you cross after the bend, in front of the white wrought-iron cross. Walk gently downhill to the bottom of the village.

(1) At the Alric cross, retrace your steps to return to the Salle Communale car park (S/E).

Water points and toilets in the villages of Milhars and Roussayrolles.
Picnic tables in Roussayrolles.

This route is listed in the FFRP guides.
Variations
1 - Option to extend the route by continuing from point (7) towards Marnaves, then returning to the junction at elevation 281 and rejoining the route.
2 - Option to shorten the route by going directly from point (6) to point (8)

This route was walked by the author on 24 June 2018.
The author did not follow it as described in the FFRP guides, which include stops at the villages of Marnaves, Vaour and Saint-Michel de Vax.

Village of Milhars.
Tuff waterfall.
Bonnand waterfall
Garenne Mill.
Larroque Chapel.
Numerous hiking trails starting from Milhars.

Roussayrolles Church, decorated by Nicolaï Greschny
Ask for the key and a guided tour (free of charge) at the town hall.
All the ceramic plaques in the village (street names, information boards, etc.) were created by Marie Costes
A little background on the two frescoes in this church, painted in 1950.
N. Greschny’s work had to be done on fresh plaster.
Each of the frescoes was therefore completed, from the first pencil stroke to the final brushstroke, within a fortnight.