The 31 km of the Route 31 starting from Saint Lys

Park in the car park by the Saint-Lys playgrounds

(S/E) With your back to the playgrounds, cross the car park to the D12, turn right, cross the bridge and cross the D12 at the pedestrian crossing, arriving at the junction of the D12 and Boulevard de la Piscine.

(1) Leave Boulevard de la Piscine on your left (return route) and, using the left-hand pavement and then the footpath, stay on the D12, carefully crossing each junction until the road bends to the left. Continue for another hundred metres until you reach the start of Chemin du Guiraoudeou, near a crucifix.

(2) Leave the D12 and continue straight on along the Chemin du Guiraoudeou, which becomes the Chemin George et Georgette Marty shortly after leaving Saint-Lys.

(3) Carry on, ignoring the Chemin Perroye, the Chemin Marcel Della Nora and then the Impasse de l'Hoste. The path ends at the junction with the Route de Fontenilles (D53B).

(4) At the junction, turn left and follow Route de Fontenilles down to the bottom of the descent after the left-hand bend.

(5) Take the^first street on the right, Chemin du Mescurt, which leads into Saiguède, and continue to the next junction.

(6) At the crossroads, turn right onto Rue du 11 Novembre and head up to the junction with the Voie Romaine.

(7) At the top of the hill, turn left onto the Voie Romaine; it meets the^GR® 86 after about 500 m. Follow it straight on to its end, where it meets a bend in the tarmac Chemin de Bellegarde (over 3 km). After about a hundred metres straight on, you’ll reach a junction with a container site at a place called Les Graouats.

(8) Turn right onto the D19, enter La Marquise, which you must leave to take the^first tree-lined path on the left.

(9) The path on the left is open at the start, then forms a tunnel of greenery. The path descends and reaches a tarmac road after crossing the Ruisseau d’en Bachet. Follow this road to its end at the junction with the Route d’Empeaux (D58).

(10) At the junction, turn left onto the D58, then take the^first right and immediately left onto the path running parallel to the D58, which joins a road.

(11) Take this road to the left towards the centre of the village of Saint-Thomas. Go round the square anti-clockwise, passing in front of the church.

(12) After the church, turn left. At the bend, leave the road and take a path down to the right, until you reach a lake and the road leading to the hamlet of La Cabane. Turn right and follow the road to the D58 Route de Bragayrac. Turn left at the crossroads and follow the lake to the next crossroads.

(13) At the crossroads, turn left onto the road heading east towards the Ranch Equi Punch. Pass the ranch on your left, then turn left and then right until you reach the crossroads at the bend to the left of the access road to the ranch.

(14) Turn right onto the^GR86; after the left-hand bend, head east again, following the Ruisseau de la Galage. Continue along this path to the hamlet of En Pouillac. The path becomes a small road and very quickly reaches a junction.

(15) Continue straight ahead, still heading east along the road and then the track until you reach the embankment at the end of Lac de Saint-Thomas, which is a reservoir.

(16) At the end of the lake, turn right onto the path on the embankment, which is joined on the right by the path that goes round the lake along the other bank. Turn left and follow the path eastwards to the Saiguède road (D53B). Take this road, keeping to the right as it climbs towards the village, until you reach the first path on the left just before the entrance to Sainte-Foy-de-Peyrolières.

(17) Take the track on the left and climb until you reach the tarmac road and then a crossroads.

(18) Take the road on the right, Chemin du Barrat, and ignore the road on the left, Les Vignes de la Côte, which you will take on the way back. Turn right at the junction with Avenue du 19 Mars 1962, then take the^first right onto Allée des Platanes. Go behind the church and the town hall, cross Rue du 8 mai 1945 with care and continue straight on to the foot of the water tower.

(19) When you reach the water tower, take the path on the right which descends towards Le Trujol. Cross the small wooden bridge over the stream and head back up towards the hamlet of En Castagné.

(20) As soon as the road replaces the path and a few metres before a crossroads, take the dirt track to the right, turning your back on the path to the left which you will take on the return journey. Continue to the Chemin d’en Caillaouet, which you should take on the left until the next crossroads.

(21) Turn right onto the Chemin du Moulin de Rouaix, then immediately left onto the Chemin de Bourrieu until the road bends.

(22) Leave the road and take the path opposite. It descends southwards to the Ruisseau des Secs. Ford the stream, then head back up to the antenna tower at the junction with the D7D.

(23) Pass the antenna tower and turn left onto the D7d. After a bend, leave the^GR® which continues along a dirt track and carry on left onto the D7d until the junction with the D7, Route de Rieumes. Cross with care and continue straight ahead, following the La Galage stream and then the shore of Lac de La Saudrune until the vegetation thins out enough to allow a full view of the lake.

(24) About halfway round the lake, take the path on the left. Ignore the warning sign at the start of the copse, go through the gate and continue straight on towards the north. We are close to the fireworks manufacturer’s premises, hence the warnings. Cross the Ruisseau des Secs at the ford, then leave the woods and continue along the tarmac road until you reach the D7 Route de Rieumes.

(25) Cross the D7 again, taking care, and take the path opposite which climbs through the small wood to the hamlet of En Castagné.

(20) When you reach the tarmac road at the edge of the woods, turn right to follow the path taken on the way out, which takes you back to the water tower after passing Le Trujol.

(19) After the water tower, turn left onto the road taken on the way out, go past the town hall and the church, take Rue de 8 Mai 1945 and take the^first left, Chemin du Barrat.

(18) At the bottom of the street, turn right onto Les Vignes de la Côte and head downhill until you cross the bridge over the La Galage stream, then head back up to the Route de Saint-Thomas at a place called Guérin.

(26) When you reach the road, turn right for a few metres then immediately left onto Chemin de Bajoly heading north. After passing through a wooded area and then fields, you’ll reach the edge of a wood; leave the road before it bends as you approach Countiérou.

(27) Leave the road and take the path on the right which follows the edge of the woodland, then bends and continues towards Ferme Laurent.

(28) Turn right when you reach Ferme Laurent and follow the Ruisseau du Bajoly. At one point, the path crosses over the stream and follows the Ruisseau de la Galage after it joins the Bajoly. Continue along the path until you reach the tarmac road.

(29) Continue north on the Chemin Laurent Pontala, passing the swimming pool. At the crossroads, take the Boulevard de la Piscine straight ahead and continue to the junction with the Route de la Gascogne.

(1) Turn right, cross with care and head back to the entrance of the playground car park (S/E).

On Saint Thomas Square, near the boules club, there is a drinking water tap; a little further down, by Saint Thomas Lake, there is a picnic area.

The ranch after point (13) has a bar with a terrace.

Just before the church of Sainte-Foy, there are public toilets with a drinking water tap.

Enjoy the views from the ridge before (10), from the embankment of Lake Sainte-Foy, after the antenna tower (23), and over Lake Parayre.

(18) It is possible to return directly to Saint Lys without completing the circular route around Lac de la Parayre; the route will then be just 22 km.

Places of interest include the region’s typical churches in Saint Lys and Sainte-Foy; the market halls in Saint Lys and Sainte-Foy; and the fully restored mill in Saint Lys.