Date of your route : Mar 18, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No
We loved this hike.
You’ll be charmed as soon as you arrive in Chambres: this village is magnificent!
You’ll probably reach Chambres via the D38: in fine weather, enjoy the view, particularly of Mazerolles Castle – it’s superb!
I agree with Yves Noizet in his comment dated 06/10/22: a route “that’s easy to follow once you realise that ‘Chambres-bas’ is higher up than ‘Chambres’, which gives you the right sense of the direction of this circular route”!!! That’s exactly right!
Fafou notes: “When you see the three crosses, leave the road and take the path that veers slightly to the right”.
Well, upon seeing the three crosses, we were above all very surprised to find a replica of Mount Golgotha here!!!
The man who founded the parish and the church (explanatory plaque in the square) was very pious: take notes or a photo of the sign, as we couldn’t find a single thing about him online, not even the start of his name... ...which we’ve, of course, forgotten!
At point 3: Fafou notes: "Watch out for the noisy dog at the entrance to the hamlet (usually kept on a lead)"...
Well, we didn’t hear any dogs barking... But a dog (a Border Collie type) greeted us on our arrival in Mazerolles (without barking) and accompanied us for the rest of the walk right back to Chambres, walking ahead of us and showing us the way!!!!
We managed to go astray at point 6: charmed by a small herd of young cattle making their very first outing outdoors, we did indeed turn left when leaving the road, but we ended up at the gate to the meadow! In fact, once you’ve turned left to leave the road, the “stone-lined path that climbs to the left towards a small farm” does indeed climb... ...but – Fafou’s directions on this point can be misleading – once you’ve turned left, this path climbs to your right...! We’d walked right past it without noticing...
Well, our four-legged canine guide, for his part, hadn’t got it wrong!
And when it was time to get back in the car and leave, we were very worried that the dog would follow the car too closely, afraid of hitting him whilst driving... ...well, he’d vanished into thin air!
Anecdotes aside: to pick up on the previous comments, YES, there is a bit too much tarmac, from point 3 to point 6.
As long as we’re in Mazerolles – between points 3 and 4 – it’s fine.
But from point 5 onwards, it goes uphill, it seems to go on forever and the best of the scenery is... behind us!!! The Cantal mountains...
So...
It would be interesting to do this hike in the opposite direction. One thing we don’t know is whether it’s as well signposted going the other way. But, armed with a good GPS and the map that comes with this guide, it’s worth a go! The tarmac section would be more interesting as it offers a lovely view of the Cantal mountains, and would be quickly forgotten as it’s at the start of the hike.
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