The Ségala: the Marsende Stream

From the D911 (Baraqueville–Rieupeyroux), follow signs for Boussac. Before reaching the village, follow signs for the stadium. At the cemetery, turn right and continue to the stadium, where there is a car park.

(S/E) From the stadium, take the road leading up towards La Sicarie, passing the entrance to the arboretum on your left and the Route de Membre on your right. Continue to the farm.

(1) Opposite, take a path leading down towards a small stream. Pass the first path on your right, then a second on your left; go round a pasture and head downhill to reach the Ruisseau de Marsende.

(2) Cross a concrete footbridge and take a sunken track to the left for 100 m. Then turn left onto a stony track which continues as a sunken track – sometimes damp – towards the road leading to La Sarrette.

(3) Opposite, take a grassy track which leads into a pasture. Cross the small stream and take the path which, through woods and pastures, climbs towards Mas Viel, keeping to the left at all times.

(4) At the entrance to the hamlet of Mas Viel, after the first farm, turn left, walk downhill for 300 metres and then turn left onto a dirt track leading down into the valley. Follow a small stream, a tributary of the Marsende stream. Cross this tributary and then cross the Marsende stream three times (via footbridges). Before the third footbridge, walk past the ruins of the old mill.

(5) Cross the footbridge and follow the stream to the right for a short while, then head up to the left through the woods, before skirting a pasture towards the arboretum. As you climb, turn right onto a steep path, head into the woods and follow a forest path to the arboretum and the stadium (S/E).

Picnics are possible in Boussac.

Along the way:

Marsende site.
A very comprehensive arboretum featuring species from the Ségala region.

Nearby:

The church and altarpiece at Boussac.
The royal bastide of Sauveterre-de-Rouergue
16th-century Pietà and Oratory at Gramond
Val de Lenne Lake in Baraqueville