The Upper Dourbie Valley

From one side of the Dourbie to the other via the Tayrac footbridge.

Details

182697
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.05 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 599 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 598 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 802 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 517 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park at Place de la Borie, opposite the post office.

(S/E) Go back up to the roundabout, then turn right onto the D341 towards Trèves until you reach the hairpin bend known as "Le Périgoul".

(1) Follow the arrow for "Causse", which will take you along the old rural road from Saint-Jean-du-Bruel to Trèves.

(2) Continue straight ahead on the "Causse" route, ignoring the second arrow leading to Notre-Dame de la Sentinelle on the left. Join the D341, follow it to the right for about 200 m until you reach the path.

(3) Follow it through the chestnut trees on slate soil until you reach sandstone and then limestone.

(4) Leave the path continuing towards Trèves (start of the alternative route) on your left to reach the lime kiln known as "l'Homme Mort" (the dead man).

(5) This kiln was cleverly built using heat-resistant sandstone, limestone for raw material and Barjac coal for fuel. As you pass by, enjoy the beautiful view of the upper Dourbie valley. Join the D341.
(6) Cross over to reach "la Brunelerie" by turning right.

(7) In the hamlet, join the path leading to Le Coulet by climbing between the houses.
Turn right onto this old path from La Brunèlerie to Le Coulet and continue straight ahead until you reach the access road to Le Coulet.

(8) Turn right. Cross the hamlet and follow the path leading to "Mas Aubert", a former mining area of which little remains.
At "Mas Aubert", a small path about 150 metres long joins a wide forest track. Turn left onto this track and continue for about 1 kilometre.

(9) In front of you is a rock that you must climb or go around to enjoy a splendid view of Tayrac and the Dourbie. Caution is advised when accessing this viewpoint, as the rock can be slippery.
Return to the track and continue to the hairpin bend.

(10) This is where the alternative route joins the main trail. Continue to the next fork.

(11) Take the path on the left, which initially runs through the undergrowth, then through a rocky area where you need to proceed with caution, particularly on the last few metres before the footbridge over the Dourbie.

(12) Cross this footbridge and climb the path through the hamlet of Tayrac until you reach the bend.

(13) Turn right onto the D114 and follow it to the Croix du Tayrac.

(14) Opposite this cross, inside the bend, leave the box and head towards "Saint-Guiral" on a very wide farm track.

(15) Leave this road and take a pleasant, wooded track on the right, running roughly parallel to the D114.

(16) At the fork, take another track on the right which descends to join the D114. Instead of following the road, cross it and make a zigzag left-right turn to take a path which then turns left in a hairpin bend and joins "Le Viala". Cross the hamlet and, a few metres before the D114, turn right onto a small bridge that leads back to the road.

Turn right and follow the road to Le Bruel. At the first houses, leave the D114 and turn right to cross the hamlet. Pass the cemetery and continue to Place Neuve. Turn right, cross the Pont Neuf bridge and join Place de la Borie (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 520 m - Place de la Borie
  2. 1 : km 0.78 - alt. 578 m - The Périgoul
  3. 2 : km 1.31 - alt. 625 m - Continue straight ahead
  4. 3 : km 2.15 - alt. 734 m - Leave the road and take the path
  5. 4 : km 2.68 - alt. 795 m - Turn left for the alternative route
  6. 5 : km 2.79 - alt. 787 m - Lime kiln
  7. 6 : km 2.83 - alt. 784 m - Chemin de la Brunélerie
  8. 7 : km 3.73 - alt. 712 m - La Brunélerie
  9. 8 : km 4.27 - alt. 802 m - Access road to Le Coulet
  10. 9 : km 6.44 - alt. 714 m - Viewpoint
  11. 10 : km 7.17 - alt. 674 m - End of the alternative route
  12. 11 : km 7.68 - alt. 621 m - Turn left
  13. 12 : km 7.95 - alt. 581 m - Tayrac footbridge - Dourbie (rivière)
  14. 13 : km 8.59 - alt. 665 m - Take the road on the right
  15. 14 : km 9.09 - alt. 685 m - Take the path on the left at the crossroads
  16. 15 : km 9.84 - alt. 769 m - Turn right
  17. 16 : km 11.71 - alt. 680 m - Turn right
  18. S/E : km 15.05 - alt. 520 m - Place de la Borie

Notes

(4) Alternative route

At point (4), turn left onto Chemin de Trèves. This road splits after 900 m. Leave the main road, which continues towards Barjac, and take the road on the right that leads to the Col de la Pierre Plantée. A wide forest fire track starts from this pass in front of you and rejoins the main route at (10).

If you take this alternative route, the total distance is 17.5 km.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 31 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
Pierrot1704
Pierrot1704

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Pleasant hike in superb weather.
Markings a little unclear in some places.
Hike completed with GPS.
Overall, delighted with this route. Thanks to the author.

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escapadestjean
escapadestjean

Thank you for letting us know. We will take the necessary steps.

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tytinn
tytinn

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike with the Dourbie river in flood.
WARNING! We took the alternative route and encountered the owner, who informed us that this path is completely off-limits (private property). He requested that we post here to advise others that the alternative route should no longer be taken.
Otherwise, beautiful autumn colours, chestnuts and mushrooms. We couldn't cross the Dourbie, as the footbridge was inaccessible, we were 2 metres short of reaching it. So we turned back and took the original path we hadn't done, as we had taken the alternative route on the way there. The hamlets are very pretty, time has stood still there!
We will come back to do the whole circuit, without the alternative route.
Thank you to the author of this hike for clearly mentioning that the alternative route is private and access is prohibited.

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Gilles H
Gilles H

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike, but quite long. The directions are not very clear in the hamlet of La Brunelerie. The crossing of the Dourbie is definitely worth the effort, it's really lovely.

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escapadestjean
escapadestjean

Hello,
The 5-hour duration corresponds to option b, which goes through the Col de la Pierre Plantée and is 2.2 km longer, passing through La Brunellerie. The estimated time is only 4 hours with 200 m less elevation gain.
We are delighted that you enjoyed the hike.

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Viapal91
Viapal91

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

A beautiful hike, especially the first part to Tayrac. The end is less interesting. We really enjoyed arriving in the village of La Brunelerie. We regretted not taking the alternative route from point 4 to better enjoy the view. Overall easy to follow, we occasionally checked the app to make sure we were on the right track. Shorter than indicated. Approximately 5 hours.

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chy
chy

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very interesting and beautiful hike with yellow markings.

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Christine PER
Christine PER

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 18, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant, varied hike without encountering anyone except deer. Shorter than indicated, it took us 5 hours, hiking at a leisurely pace.

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Nadège12
Nadège12

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

In the hamlet of Le Coulet, it's difficult to find your way around, so you need to pay attention
Then be careful , at point 15, the sign isn't visible, luckily we had the app
The end wasn't great for finding your way around

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Doremi 13
Doremi 13

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with a varied route, including wide tracks and narrower paths
crossing a fast-flowing river and, above all, magnificent chestnut forests.
a quiet route with few other hikers, peace and quiet guaranteed
personally, I use GPS software, so I don't pay much attention to the explanations. I just follow the red line that turns blue (paid version) as the route progresses
I recommend this ride

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Chipie21
Chipie21

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 13, 2024
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 no difficulty, done this Ascension weekend under beautiful sunshine. Pretty trails amid flowering broom, passing through small remote hamlets and a picnic at the footbridge over the Dourbie. Thank you for sharing this discovery of the region.

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BUBU33
BUBU33

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello,
Today's hike
Pros: very shady, which was nice given the temperature...
Lunch break + swimming in the Dourbie
No technical difficulties, lots of beautiful trails
Passed through some fairly remote villages
Cons: signage was a bit sparse at times, especially between points 8 and 9
Too much road walking for our liking, even if there were some nice little paths at times
However, we agree with all the other reviews: we didn't see anyone else except during our swim break. It's as if no one else hikes in this beautiful corner of France! One last tip: check out the Escapade Saint Jeantaise website, as they offer free guided hikes on certain days!
In short, the whole family's legs are sore tonight!

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escapadestjean
escapadestjean

We are delighted that you enjoyed our tour. Have a wonderful stay in Aveyron.

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pseudoe
pseudoe

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant,
Not difficult,
We didn't see anyone else, which suited us fine :-)

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escapadestjean
escapadestjean
• Edited:

We are delighted that you enjoyed our tour. Have a wonderful stay in Aveyron.

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