The source of the Corrèze

In Bonnefond, park in the town hall car park. There are several signposts along this route. Follow the description carefully.

(S/E) Take the road (southbound) and pass behind the town hall. The road makes a sharp left turn. Turn onto the first road on the right (marked with a blue disc and further on with yellow and red and white^GR®® markings). Pass the cemetery and then turn onto the first road on the left (marked^GR®®), at the Croix Petite.

(1) The road passes behind the cemetery and then turns right. At the crossroads with another road, at the Croix du Goutardon, follow the yellow markings straight ahead towards the menhir. Further on, leave the road and take a path on the right towards the menhir. The path enters the undergrowth.

(2) A sign saying "Menhir 80m" invites you to make a round trip to this small Christianised menhir (they are all quite small in this region). Return to the path at the "Menhir 80m" sign.

(2) Continue left, following the yellow Randonneur markings (which you will follow until otherwise indicated). You will arrive at a road (the D119, but with very little traffic) at the Étang d'Anglard (a beautiful marshy area).

(3) Continue left on the road until you reach the access road to the hamlet of Anglard. Follow it to the right towards Pont de l'Eau. At the end of this road, continue along the path on the left to reach Pont de l'Eau, on the Corrèze^(a), which is still only a stream (this bridge is a plank bridge, made of a single carved stone; these bridges are common in this granite region for crossing small streams).

(4) Cross the river and continue along the path. Ignore a path on the right (which is not shown on the map) and then, at the crossroads of four paths, turn left. You will come to a small road, the D119.

(5) Cross and follow the road opposite for a detour (also marked Randonneur Jaune) through the hamlet of La Naucodie. Ignore a street on the left at a 15th-century cross. Then keep to the left. At the T-junction, turn left again and return to the junction at the cross. Turn right to return to the junction with the D119.

(5) Follow it to the right. Cross the Corrèze river again (on the Pont du Mier bridge).

(6) Leave the road and take the first path on the right. At the next junction, continue straight ahead on the path that crosses a moorland of broom and ferns and then climbs between moorland and meadows.

(7) At the junction with a small road, leave the Yellow Hiker trail and take the wide path on the right. Follow it, ignoring all the cross-country ski trails on the right and left (smaller paths), indicated by markings. The path crosses a few small streams, the first being a tributary of the Corrèze, the second being the river itself.

(8) At the T-junction with a path marked with red and white^GR®® signs, turn left (follow these signs from now on until the end). At a fork with a path (not shown on the map), keep left.

(9) Ignore a vague path on the right as the path turns left and continues through the pine forest, sometimes skirting small moors. At the T-junction, turn left and, about 50 metres further on, you will see a sign on the left indicating the Source de la Corrèze.

(10) You will need to descend a few metres to the left to discover this spring: a small pool bordered by ferns from which a thin stream flows. Then return to the path and continue to the left. About a hundred metres further on, at the crossroads, turn left.

(11) Pass by a pine tree remarkable for its circumference (which appears dead, but whose highest branches still have needles). Continue along this path, ignoring all the ski trails on either side, until you reach the village of Chadebec ^(b). You will immediately notice a sign about the Resistance, then join the road that crosses the hamlet. Opposite, slightly to the right, is an information panel about the village.

(12) Turn left and walk a few metres to see a swing well ^(c). Return to the road and turn left again to pass the information board about the village.

(12) Make a short detour to the left to a small medieval cross indicated by a sign.

(12) Back at the information board, note the yellow Randonneur markings, which you will now follow, as well as the^GR®®, until the end. Follow the road to the left, then a path to the left towards the mill (sign). Arrive at the Moulin de Chadebec site ^(d) (pond, information board).

(13) Continue straight ahead on the path to reach a small road.

(14) Follow it to the left and you will soon come to the Espace Saint-Médard ^(e) on your right, a site dedicated to this saint who is very popular in the region, with a beautiful fountain ^(f), sculptures and ancient tombstones (free entry, the information board is at the back and at the top of the site).

Return to the small road and follow it to the right to rejoin the D18. Follow this road to the left to return to the village of Bonnefond. Head towards the church and follow the sign for "Tilleul de Sully" to discover this beautiful tree (information panel; also note the beautiful cross on the side of the church).

(15) Follow the street on the far right, then cross the D18 and take the path down to the medieval fountain ^(g), following the direction indicated by a sign. Return to the D18 and follow it to the right to reach the town hall (S/E).

Moderately difficult but slightly long walk, with standard hiking equipment.

But be careful! Some long stretches of (quiet) road on this route.

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here

Photo album here

^(a) The Corrèze (Corresa in Occitan) is a left tributary of the Vézère and a sub-tributary of the Dordogne. At 94.6 km, the Corrèze is the longest tributary of the Vézère. Its 1,158^km² catchment area, entirely within the department of Corrèze, represents 20% of the Corrèze territory and nearly a third of the Vézère catchment area.

^(b) Chadebec and the Cistercians. It was the monks who invented the ingenious swing beam well ^(c), which is now collectively owned by the village and still in working order.

They also built the mill ^(d). This mill is unique in Limousin because of its stepped dyke, which also serves as a wall for the mill. The pond was stocked with trout, as the monks did not eat meat. The mill was used to make flour.

Bonnefond, formerly spelled with a T at the end, owes its name to the "two good fountains": the Saint-Médard Fountain ^(f) (on the Saint-Médard site ^(e)) and the medieval fountain ^(g) at the bottom of the village. Saint-Médard is the patron saint of the parish of Bonnefond. He was born in 456 in Salency, Picardy, and is known in Limousin as Saint-Merd.