The Canal aux Moines, the Hermitage and the Cromlech of Puy de Pauliac

(S/E) Head east and walk along the Abbey. Turn left onto Route de Vergonzac. About 130 metres further on, admire the covered wash house, which is the end point of the Canal aux Moines before it enters the convent. Retrace your steps for about 30 metres and turn left into an uphill alley.

(1) At the crossroads, cross Avenue Jean Baptiste Laumond at the pedestrian crossing. Go up the steep cul-de-sac and you will come to a kind of platform at the edge of the Canal aux Moines.

(2) Go through the barriers on the right, which are intended for vehicles. Follow the canal on your left, which is fairly flat, and ignore all the side paths. A passage over a rocky outcrop requires a little caution, even though steps have been carved into the rock. Before crossing, look at the crack in the rock where the water attributed to Saint-Etienne flows (see section "During the hike").

(3) At a wooden bridge on the right, continue straight ahead towards the source of the canal. You will arrive at the water intake point for the Moines canal with its "sluice gate". Retrace your steps.

(3) Cross the Coiroux via a bridge and continue along the path that runs alongside the river on your left, going upstream. The path becomes more uneven and climbs in successive steps to cross the small waterfalls of the Coiroux. Cross the river and you will come to a T-junction.

(4) Turn left onto the small road uphill. At the end, turn right and take the D48 with caution. At the crossroads, turn left towards the village of Rochesseux.

(5) At the intersection, turn right onto a small road uphill. When it turns right, continue straight ahead on a path that climbs gently under trees. Leave the first path on the right and continue downhill. Cross a road and pass through the hamlet of La Roche Bergère. At the end, turn right and then left and head towards the edge of the forest. Continue to a hill with large rocks: this is the village of L'Ermite.

(6) Retrace your steps towards La Roche Bergère. As soon as you enter the woods, take the path on the left that leads to a small paved road at the end of a cul-de-sac (above La Roche Bergère). Cross the turning area for vehicles and go left to see the Pauliac quarry (wagon). Leave the quarry and immediately take the path uphill that starts next to the quarry (to the east).

The forest path goes around the summit of the Puy de Pauliac. When you reach the north side, the path comes to a crossroads. Take the path on the right, which leads to the Cromlech du Puy de Pauliac after a few hundred metres. After visiting the cromlech, take the path heading west and go into the woods until you come to a forest path at a crossroads.

(7) Continue straight ahead on the path that leads to the summit of Puy de Pauliac with its orientation table: the Puy de Pauliac site offers a remarkable panorama of the region, with the Monédières to the north, the Corréze valley to the west and the Causses to the south. Retrace your steps.

(7) Turn left onto the forest road that begins the descent from Puy Pauliac. Further on, leave the dead-end forest road on your right that leads to La Roche. A little further on, the forest road makes a right-angle turn to the left, then to the right, and begins a steeper descent. Continue straight ahead on this forest road.

(8) Turn right onto a path at the end of the fence that runs alongside this road on your right. The path leads to a clearing where you will find the Dolmen de Rochesseux. Go to the dolmen and continue the hike heading south-east. At the T-junction, take the path on the right. After about 100 metres, at a fork, take the path opposite (while the forest road goes to the left). When you reach the first houses, the path becomes a road. Go downhill and turn left. Cross the D48 and take the path almost opposite.

(2) Cross the canal and turn right onto the road you took on the way there.

(1) Cross Avenue Jean-Baptiste Laumond and continue along the alley opposite. At the road to Ségonzac, turn left. Turn right at the next crossroads and return to the car park (S/E).

The car park is located on the Place d'Aubazines (near the abbey) or in the adjacent streets on the pavements converted into parking spaces (Route de Vergonzac on the left just after the abbey)

This hike covers varied terrain and requires suitable footwear.

This route is partly unmarked as it is based on the "Du Puy au canal" route marked in green but deviates from it in several places. It is advisable to follow the directions in the description and on the map, using your own judgement.

Please note: for safety reasons, dogs, motor vehicles, mountain bikes and pushchairs are not permitted on this walk. It is not accessible to people with reduced mobility (rocky sections, narrow path in places).

Hike completed by the author on 30 May 2018.

The Monks' Canal
The Canal des Moines is an irrigation canal located in the commune of Aubazines, in Corrèze, built by the monks of Obazine Abbey in the 12th century.
It is protected as a historic monument.
Drawing water from the Coiroux upstream from Aubazines, it runs along the side of the valley until it reaches the village. In some places, the monks had to cut into the rock (Brèche Saint-Étienne, Baignoires, Bretèches) and support the structure with retaining walls in order to divert the water.

History
As the site only had a few small springs, a canal was created in the 12th century, after 1142, by the monks of the Cistercian abbey of Obazine under Étienne d'Obazine, the first abbot, in order to bring the water necessary for their abbey, for life, hygiene, the operation of mills and workshops, and the irrigation of vegetable gardens and meadows.

The canal starts from a remote location upstream of the village, where the waters of the Coiroux are diverted. At the point where the water is taken, there used to be a mill and a fishpond, which have now disappeared. The canal runs along the side of the mountain to the village, with a gradient of 0.5%, leaving the stream downstream to become a torrent.
To complete this construction, the monks had to bypass or cut into the granite rock in places (Saint-Étienne breach, bathtubs, bretèches) and support the structure with thick, waterproof retaining walls in order to carry the diverted water some 40 metres above the precipice.
Legend has it that construction of the canal was halted by the presence of a huge block of granite. Étienne then raised his hand, blessed the rock, which was then cut, and a breach appeared.

Despite the sale of the monastery during the Revolution, the canal has been maintained and continues to supply a large number of plots in the commune. It was listed as a historic monument on 12 April 1965 and then on 24 January 1966, but the storm of 1999 and the heatwave of 2003, combined with the passage of tourists and climbers, greatly weakened it, leading to a restoration operation carried out between 2006 and 2010.

The canal is accessible along its entire length via a path that runs alongside it for almost 1.4 km. The water picks up speed due to the steep slope, arriving under the building of the former abbey mill and ending its course in a large rectangular basin, the former fishpond, built under the windows of the refectory.

The Shepherdess's Leap (legend)
"A majestic, arrogant rock stands above the Coyroux. And on the rock, close to the precipice, you can see a footprint, that of a shepherdess.
Legend has it that, pursued by a miscreant, she preferred to take her own life rather than be dishonoured. Our man was about to catch up with her as she climbed onto the large rock. To escape him, she jumped into the void. But just as she was about to crash into the bed of the Coyroux, the shepherdess felt herself being carried by invisible arms, which gently laid her on the moss of a rock, while her attacker disappeared into the turbulent waters of the stream . . . "

The house of the hermit of Puy de Pauliac
Several postcards from the 1900s, most of them from the series "La Corrèze Pittoresque", are devoted to what they call "l'Ermitage" and "l'Ermite" of "Puy de Pauliac" in Aubazine in Corrèze. Was it the proximity of the village and its Cistercian architectural heritage that influenced the choice of these names by the publisher of the cards? In any case, our hermit did not live alone but with his wife, with whom he poses in one of the cards in front of the entrance to their home. The couple, who are elderly at the time of the photo, are wearing clogs and peasant clothing of the period: the man is dressed in a smock and hat, while his wife wears a pocketed apron and a wide-brimmed straw hat. Their home does not look particularly comfortable and, with the various outbuildings visible in the cards, is clearly self-built: rough gneiss stones, probably bound with earth mortar for the house, and rough stones assembled without mortar for the outbuildings.
To find out more about the hermit and his works, we must turn to Abbé F. Brousse, author of a 1953 booklet on the history, monuments and sites of Aubazine:
"On the same slope, the Rochesseux dolmen at Puy de Pauliac: the Hermitage, a curious construction, or rather a group of constructions made of flat stones placed on top of each other without cement or mortar. There is a dwelling house, a stable, a hayloft, an oven, two dovecotes and rabbit hutches, all of which create a curious effect. This Lilliputian hamlet is the work of a disillusioned man who managed to clear this corner of land. It is a pity that brambles and broom make it very difficult to visit."
Editor's note: this is no longer the case today. The site is remarkable.
Abbé Brousse's description and explanations are just what we need to shed light on the hermit. But there's more: our man had a name, Verlac, as we learned during an investigation and survey carried out on site in October-November 1980. We were also told about the circumstances of his death: towards the end of his life, he was living solely on the charity of his compassionate neighbours. One of them brought him a loaf of bread fresh from the oven, and Verlac, who was literally starving, ate it all, while it was still hot. He couldn't resist, and was found dead the next day.
To see the postcards
and photos, visit michéle87's blog

The Cromlech of Puy de Pauliac
The cromlech is located on the north-eastern flank of the Puy de Pauliac, a few dozen metres below the summit. It occupies a small, gently sloping plateau. It is located on the edge of the steep slope that forms the north-eastern flank of the Puy de Pauliac.
The cromlech, with a diameter of 40 m, is composed of 59 menhirs, naturally standing rock blocks, 0.2 to 1 m high. The south side of the cromlech is the best preserved with 38 menhirs.
In the centre of the cromlech is a menhir, currently lying on its side and broken into two pieces. It was over 2.50 m high.

The Rochesseux Dolmen
The Rochesseux dolmen is a simple dolmen consisting of two orthostats and a capstone. The capstone was replaced in 1944.
The chamber is oriented east/west with the headstone on the west side. The two orthostats form the north and south sides. It is 1.90 m long, 0.82 m wide and 0.95 m high. The capstone is triangular in shape with the tip pointing east. It is 2.5 m long and 1.50 m wide at the base of the triangle. It is estimated to have been built in the 3rd millennium BC.