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Start from the village of Les Moulins Cherier, Place de l’Église.
(S/E) Take the road that climbs to the right of the town hall. Walk past the cemetery and continue for about 300 m until you reach the bend to the left of the road, where a path branches off to the right.
(1) Follow the dirt track to the right which descends into a small wood and then climbs back up to the track on the left coming from Les Rivières. This is known as the Chemin du Mort (Path of the Dead) as it was the shortest route for carrying the dead from Les Pras to their final resting place in Vieux Cherier: an 8 km journey on the backs of men, as the steep gradients made vehicles impossible! Continue to the right and descend to the pretty hamlet of Blanchardon on the banks of the Isable.
(2) Cross the small bridge. Take the opportunity to admire, beneath it, a beautiful stone millstone, dating from the time when the Isable powered a dozen mills, which gave the village of Les Moulins its name. Cross the D41 and take the path leading up to Vieux Cherier.
(3) Walk past the 11th-century Romanesque church (where a visit is well worth it to admire the restoration work that has revealed frescoes from the early Middle Ages). Then turn left onto the main street that runs beneath the church and, at the wayside shrine, turn left towards La Croix Trévingt. At the next junction, just before the sign marking the village exit, take the tarmac path on the left towards Rofat, then turn right at the three-way junction and head down to the hamlet. Walk through the hamlet between the buildings, then continue along a path. At the D41, cross over to take the path that cuts across the bend and climbs back up to Bancillon.
(4) At the road, continue left for about a hundred metres, then turn left onto Chemin de la Pertière, which runs alongside and leads to L’Isable (from the Celtic root ‘is’, meaning water), which you cross via a pretty bridge made from a single block of stone.
(5) Head up towards Les Champs, cross a small road and continue straight on along the path which leads to a junction lined with tall fir trees.
(6) Turn left onto the path leading to Point du Jour after fording the Isable near its source (remarkable beech trees). Pass beneath the stopover lodge (15-bed dormitory, table d’hôte featuring farm produce) whilst continuing along the path that climbs to La Murette.
(7) At the road, head right for a few metres then turn left onto the path climbing into the Bois des Fayolles, where you pass the 1,000-metre altitude mark. At the forest track, turn right and reach the Place du Bois Tor at a three-way junction.
(8) Pass the Chemin de la Croix Piouze on your left and, a little further on, take the path climbing to the right, winding its way through firs and beech trees until you reach a fork at the Font du Grand Palot.
(9) Turn left onto the sunken path coming from Croix Trévingt towards Gué de la Chaux. On the plateau, leave the path by turning left and head for the highest point of the commune and of this walk at a place called Signal de Rochefort at an altitude of 1,155 m (the rock is situated slightly off the route, 100 m to the left).
(10) Continue along the path. Note the remains of walls on the right, likely corresponding to charcoal burners’ huts. Continue through the woods and descend to the track known as Grand Chemin. Follow it to the left for a few hundred metres, until you reach the start of a path on the right.
(11) Turn right towards the Bois de Ballichard, then, at the crossroads, turn left. You will reach a four-way junction at the Tour du Canton route.
(12) Continue straight ahead towards the Bois des Fayants. After the water catchment, turn left, cross the Ruisseau de la Cane and follow the path to the hamlet of Les Faux.
(13) Take the path on the left leading to the Davamine house. Then follow the tarmac road downhill to the right, cross the road and continue straight ahead towards La Condamine.
(14) Just after the chalet, take a sharp left, go under the chalet and follow the path which crosses the stream and then climbs up to the Marais Buisson plateau.
(15) At the junction by the pond, turn right; at the next junction, turn right again, then immediately left. Reach the summit of Les Bruyères and enjoy a beautiful view of Roanne.
(16) Continue along the path that descends into the woods and reach the D53. Cross it by first turning right then left and continue along the Chemin du Suit, which leads to the old Saint-Just road. Follow it to the right and, at the three-way junction, keep left to reach a path starting on the left at the Croix Vigouronne.
(17) Follow this path downwards and reach the farm at the hamlet of Vigouronne, keeping to the left. After the farm, leave the tarmac and turn left at the right-hand bend. Cross the stream and climb up until you reach a fork on the plateau.
(18) Turn left and, a few metres further on, turn right. Ignore a path branching off to the right and continue to a fork with two paths on the right at the Croix du Russe.
(19) Take thefirst path on the right, known as the “Route Napoléon” (the old Royal Road from Roanne to Clermont-Ferrand, which was gravelled and widened under Napoleon). After a long 3 km descent, you’ll reach Les Moulins. After the carpentry workshop, cross the main road and head up to the left, then turn right above the sports ground. Head right to the car park between the town hall and the church (S/E).
