The summit of Merdelou via St Méen

(S/E) Village of St Méen

(1) From the hamlet of St Méen, follow the D109 for 200 metres towards Couffouleux.

(2) Leave this road and turn right onto a track. Continue along this shaded, winding forest track, which features a few hairpin bends.

(3) You’ll reach an open spot at an altitude of 1,082 metres known as ‘Les Quatre Chemins’. Continuing straight on, there are 600 metres left to the summit (orientation table).

(4) For the return journey, head back to “Les Quatre Chemins” and turn right onto the track that descends towards the Rance valley. At first, the gradient is quite steep with a few tight bends, then levels out as you reach the farmland.

(5) You’ll reach the D109 in the middle of a bend. Turn left and head uphill along this road to St Méen, which is 700 metres away. (S/E)

How to get there:
From Camarès, take the D51 then the D109

Car park:
Car park in the hamlet of St Méen

Saint-Méen Chapel
On one of the roads linking Camarès to Lacaune, at an altitude of 800 metres, lies a small hamlet called St-Méen. A spring gushes forth amongst the houses. Born in England in 540, Méen – whilst passing through Rouergue on a pilgrimage to Rome – is said to have caused a spring to gush forth at the foot of the Merdelou to heal those suffering from the plague. In the Middle Ages, there was a hospital and a church here, both of which have since disappeared; however, the chapel, built in 1919, attracts large crowds on 24 June, the day of the pilgrimage. People come from far and wide to collect holy water from the spring, which is reputed to cure skin diseases.