La Gresinhóla

Park in the car park at the Salle Communale in Milhars.
The yellow markings form part of 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 onto the D600. Turn left towards the Place de la Mairie. Opposite the community café, cross the road and walk up a few steps opposite.

Yellow markings for the Gresinhòla

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

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

(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 the Pézatgé. You’ll come to a road; walk 50 metres to the right. In front of Mayrin, turn left. Continue until you reach a T-junction with a dirt track. Turn right to reach the junction with the^GRP®® Cordes-Penne-Coustous, at an elevation of 376.

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

(6) Carry straight on along the^GRP®®. Ignore two paths on the left and one on the right. You’ll come to a second path on the right.

Yellow markings for the Gresinhòla

(7) Take this path straight away, leaving the^GR®®. You’ll reach the road at elevation 281.
At the road, walk 200m to the right. Turn onto the path on the left. Ignore a narrow track 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 until you reach 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 and red markings for^{the GRP®®} Cordes-Penne-Coustous

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

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

(10) Turn onto the track on the left. Continue along the track, which descends gradually towards the Fontaine Mère de Dieu and the reservoir.

(11) Cross the ford via an earthen bridge. You’ll come out onto Rue des Fontaines. End of the GRP®^®.

Yellow signposting for the Gresinhòla and the Bonnan Valley

(12) Follow the street to the right to reach the centre of Roussayrolles. Walk past the town hall and then past the cemetery.
A visit to the church is a must. The church at 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. Do not forget to close the pasture gates behind you.

(13) At the road, cross over and continue straight ahead. 100 metres further on, at the Fork in the road, keep to the 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 its way 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. Cross the ford just before a Fork in the road.

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

Yellow markings – Bonnan Valley

(16) At the bridge and in front of the signposts indicating the trails, follow the PR® Vallée de Bonnan 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 when it freezes. It is possible to walk right up to its source.

(17) Tuff waterfall. Continue along the stream until you reach the next bridge and cross it (you can see the Bonnan waterfall a little further downstream). As you pass, just before the bend towards the bridge, note 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 along the route you took on the way there to return to the Salle Communale car park (S/E).

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

This route is featured in FFRP guide sheets.
Alternatives
1 – Option to extend the route by continuing from point (7) towards Marnaves, then returning to the crossroads at elevation 281 and rejoining the route.
2 – You can 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 exactly as described in the FFRP guidebook, which includes stops at the villages of Marnaves, Vaour and Saint-Michel de Vax.

The village of Milhars.
Tuff waterfall.
Bonnand waterfall
Garenne Mill.
Larroque Chapel.
Numerous walking trails starting from Milhars.

Roussayrolles Church, decorated by Nicolaï Greschny
Ask at the town hall for the key and a guided tour (free of charge).
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 carried out on fresh plaster.
Each of the murals was therefore completed, from the first pencil stroke to the final brushstroke, within a fortnight.