The Paris-Orléans-Corrèze trail and the Maison du Loup dolmen

A very beautiful walk, well signposted in yellow, passing close to the Vézère and over the castle mound of Château L'Abbaye. The Maison du Loup is a shelter, incorrectly named a ‘dolmen’, which was used to watch over the ford across the Vézère on the precious metals route.

Details

2850002
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.08 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 155 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 146 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 365 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 290 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at Espartignac Town Hall, opposite the hairdresser’s.

(S/E) Turn right as you leave the car park, then right again to head down the road towards Ceyrat.

(1) Take the old route of the Paris-Orléans-Corrèze railway line on the right. Cross a road leading to a bridge over the Troh (route 6) and continue straight on along route 5 to the D142.

(2) Cross the road and continue along the Paris-Orléans-Corrèze route on the road opposite.

(3) Leave the path on your right (which you will take later) and head to the bridge to admire the view of the Vézère.

(4) Walk back to the path that climbs up to the left.

(3) Ignore routes 1 and 2, which descend towards the road bridge over the Troh, and follow route 5 to the left. First, take the path on the left, which offers a view of the bridge over the Vézère. Turn back and continue left along the other path, which climbs through the woods and joins a road. Walk for about 150 m.

(5) Take the path on the left signposted towards the dolmen. Once you reach the site of the motte-and-bailey castle, take a small path that descends to see the Maison du Loup dolmen and then to the banks of the Vézère.

(6) Climb back up to the motte and return to the village by following the same path as on the way there.

(5) Continue left towards the village, then turn left to visit the church. Turn back to return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 355 m - Espartignac Town Hall
  2. 1 : km 0.49 - alt. 331 m - Former Paris-Orléans-Corrèze railway line. Towards the - Troh (ruisseau) - Affluent de la Vézère
  3. 2 : km 1.48 - alt. 313 m - D142 road
  4. 3 : km 1.78 - alt. 305 m - Junction
  5. 4 : km 1.96 - alt. 290 m - Bridge over the - Vézère (rivière)
  6. 5 : km 3.32 - alt. 362 m - Dolmen Path
  7. 6 : km 4.55 - alt. 294 m - Maison du Loup
  8. S/E : km 6.08 - alt. 355 m - Espartignac Town Hall

Notes

Caution: the path leading down from the mound to the Vézère is steep and can be slippery in wet weather.

Reviews and comments

4 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
User 26369678

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

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JF Gourseyrol
JF Gourseyrol

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 25, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route, but there’s plenty of room for improvement when it comes to signposting – sometimes it’s missing, and often it’s obscured...

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ORO2b
ORO2b

Overall rating : 2.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The map showing the route is very inaccurate in its second half. The path that then leads down towards the dolmen and the Vézère is quite steep and even caused me to fall! You can’t spot the dolmen on the way down (it isn’t even signposted, is ‘hidden’ in the vegetation on the right and is shown on the map as being by the river...which is wrong!). On the way back up, fortunately, two other passing hikers pointed it out to me...

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Nadalie
Nadalie

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

An easy, well-signposted walk. Compared to the walk around the puys and wash houses in Ayen, we felt it offered less to discover.
Same comment as Randonnanie
Two comments:
a) specify in point 3 of the description that the path to take later on the right is the one with the wooden steps and handrail.
b) Add the option of an alternative route for the return journey to avoid taking the same path: you can take a forest track (elevation 347). It leads to the cemetery and the village centre.

And be careful not to go down too quickly, or you risk missing the ‘dolmen’ without seeing it.

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chipie33290
chipie33290

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

a lovely little walk
A lovely path to discover this dolmen tucked away in the forest
thanks for the route

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randonannie
randonannie
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 18, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk, as it’s quite varied: an old railway line with a few information boards, views of the Vézère, and a climb up to the dolmen through lovely woodland.
Two comments:
a) specify in point 3 of the description that the path to take later on the right is the one with the wooden steps and handrail.
b) Add an alternative route for the return journey to avoid taking the same path: you can take a forest track (contour 347). It leads to the cemetery and the village centre.

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