The Saint-Bonnette: over hill and dale

Start from the car park at the Saint-Bonnet-Avalouze cemetery.

(S/E) Turn left until you reach the junction, then head up the small path on the right between the meadows: a good warm-up to start this walk. You’ll come out onto Rue des Écoles; follow it to the right.

(1) Turn left onto the path towards Le Marreau. First turn left then right to cross the hamlet and continue on to Charlu.

(2) Turn left along the Salabert stream and follow this path to Saint-Agnol.

(3) Follow the road to the left towards Malimont. Ignore another road on the left.

(4) At a sharp right-hand bend, take the path down to the left. Join the road you left earlier, follow it to the left for about fifty metres, then leave it to take the path on the right which crosses over a stream.

(5) Take the path on the left and continue straight on until you reach the pond.

(6) Carry straight on, ignoring the path on the right, and rejoin the road at a hairpin bend. Turn right and head uphill for about 900 metres: this is the least pleasant part of the walk!

(7) At the bottom of the right-hand bend, turn left to follow a path downhill which leads to a crossroads near a pond.

(8) Turn right to walk alongside the pond and carry on to the hamlet of Le Bech: a stream sometimes crosses this path, so don’t hesitate to take the higher route on the left!
At Le Bech, follow the road to the right for about 200 m, turn left into a cul-de-sac and continue along the path to the right, which will take you to Bois Lafarge.

(9) Turn left and continue along the Chemin des Crêtes, which takes you to Bussière. Head down to the road (D29).

(10) Follow the road to the left for about a hundred metres, then take the path on the right which descends towards the P-O-C route. Follow it through the Bois de l’Hort and past the Moulin du Bech to a picnic area with toilets.

(11) Then turn right between the rocks and then left onto the road. A few dozen metres further on, turn right to cross the bridge over the Saint-Bonnette and return to the cemetery car park (S/E).

Toilets at point (11).

You can park at point (11) and start the walk from there, which allows for a short warm-up before the climb to Saint-Bonnet-Avalouze

Yellow and red markings are visible along the route; these mark out local walking routes.