The Montmeyre and Ceyssat ferries

In the centre of Ceyssat, park near the school sports field, opposite the town hall but on the other side of the road.

(S/E) Return to the road and, facing the town hall, cross over and turn right to quickly reach the Foker Spring (information sign). Continue straight ahead.

Red and white^GR®® markings

(1) At the large fountain-trough, cross the road again. Immediately take the street on the right, at the war memorial, following the^GR®® markings^. Pass a small wash house and a fountain-trough. At the intersection, make a quick first turn right then left to follow Rue des Rioux. Follow this street to reach the hamlet of Montmeyre.

(2) At the entrance to the hamlet, ignore Rue du Puy de Côme on your left for now and continue straight ahead, going back and forth, to the large drinking fountain. Retrace your steps.

(2) Turn right onto Rue du Puy de Côme. At the intersection, turn left and carefully follow the D52 for about 30 metres, then turn right onto the small road at the painted iron cross. Pass a farm and, immediately after, leave the road and take the path on the right.

Yellow markings

(3) At the intersection, leave the^GR®® which branches off to the right and follow the path on the left, marked in yellow.

(4) Further on, join a small road and follow it to the right. Cross the D68 and continue on the path opposite (red iron cross, view of the Puy de Dôme). Ignore a path going up to the left.

(5) At the fork in the path, keep to the right. Continue to a crossroads with a yellow sign indicating "Bac de Montmeyre (250 m)" to the right.

(6) Make a round trip to Bac de Montmeyre: a series of drinking troughs, passing in front of the memorial to the Ardents (information panels about these resistance fighters and their maquis).

(7) Retrace your steps to the intersection.

(6) Continue straight ahead into the forest. You will reach a crossroads with a yellow sign pointing to "Bac de Ceyssat (5 min round trip)" to the right.

(8) Reach this beautiful row of drinking troughs (note the aqueduct), then retrace your steps to the intersection.

(8) Continue straight ahead on the wide path, which further on turns into a small road, and continue to an intersection.

No markings

(9) Leave the yellow markings that branch off to the left and continue a few metres along the road, then take the path that branches off to the left.

(10) Cross the D68 and follow Rue de la Croze (abandoned drinking troughs) opposite. Further on, cross the D52 carefully and continue opposite. Pass a fountain and join the main street of the village of Ceyssat at the old public weighbridge. Turn left and head for the large fountain-drinking trough.

(1) Head left to the spring basin, then follow the street to the church, whose bell tower is visible. Pass the church, then take the hairpin left turn down the street to discover, on the right-hand side, a large wash house built on the Ceyssat stream. Then cross the street and walk across the communal meadow to find another large wash house just below the church. Continue straight on towards the town hall and return to the car park (S/E).

Easy hike, standard hiking equipment.

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here and more generally in the Puy-de-Dôme here

Photo album here

The Bacs de Monymeyre and Ceyssat are a series of drinking troughs for the herds that graze in the surrounding area. When they were built, water had to be brought from underground via an buried canal. These troughs are built on the solidified lava flow of the Puy de Côme. This chaotic terrain, often covered with forest, does not retain surface water. There are therefore no streams or ponds on this land, and the troughs are the only source of water in the surrounding area. Rainwater and runoff are stored lower down, below the surface of the solidified lava flow, and many of these water sources are tapped.

In the commune of Ceyssat, there are numerous hydraulic structures, including ponds, fountains, drinking troughs and wash houses, all built from Volvic stone.
The Foker Spring has a very modest but also very constant flow. The water is very rich in iron and slightly sparkling. It contains 6.5 g of mineral salts, including just over 1 g of sulphur and 0.7 g of calcium, with nearly 1200 ml of dissolved carbon dioxide per litre. Don't resist the pleasure of tasting real natural mineral water, but do so in moderation as it is not labelled as drinkable!