The villages of Payrin and Caucalières via the Causse

Walk starting from Payrin.
Walk through the old village, then head towards the Causse, with lovely views, varied vegetation and a peaceful atmosphere.
A hike of moderate difficulty due to the hilly terrain.

Details

4134484
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.69 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 243 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 241 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 318 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 194 m

Description of the walk

Park in the Payrin stadium car park.

(S/E) Take the street on the right; you’ll soon come to a roundabout. Turn into Rue des Barbaux opposite. Continue to the Y-junction where three streets meet.

(1) Turn right onto Avenue de la Mairie, pass the town hall, then turn left onto Rue Centrale. Continue along Avenue de la Condamine until you reach another roundabout.

(2) Turn right at a 90° angle onto Chemin de Palazy. Follow this path until you reach the junction with Chemin de la Canibelle.

(3) Continue straight ahead to the end of the path, then take the path opposite that follows on from it. You’ll reach a hairpin bend; stay on the path on the right to quickly reach another junction.

(4) Continue straight ahead, ignoring the path on the left, and carry on to reach the Croix de Bonnet.

(5) Start descending to the left, first through the woods then out into the open, until you reach a large crossroads of paths.

(6) Turn right onto the track, which continues to descend, pass under the wooden barrier and join the road leading to the hamlet of Lascours.

(7) Turn left onto this road. You’ll come to a pond and cross the Rieu Favié stream. Stay on the road until you reach another junction.

(8) Turn left to reach the hamlet of La Bernussarié. Then leave the road and take a path on the left which runs along the right bank of the Thoré at a higher level. You will reach a road; follow it for a few metres to reach a crossroads at a wash house.

(9) Turn left towards the cross. You will come to two paths: be careful to take the path on the right, which climbs steeply after a few metres. Enjoy the view over the valley, then pass in front of a telephone relay station. Continue north-east, pass under the power line and return to the large crossroads of paths you passed on the way out.

(6) A few metres before this, take the small path on the right which descends slightly. Be careful: it is hidden by vegetation.
Then climb up to the plateau opposite to reach level ground. Follow the path to the right, which makes a hairpin bend, and take the path in the middle of the U-turn that leads back down to the junction leading to the Croix Bonnet, which you also passed on the way out.

(4) Follow the same route as on the way out until you reach the junction with the Chemin de la Canibelle, which you also passed on the way out.

(3) Turn left onto this path and, at the end, turn right. At the crossroads marked by a cross, take Chemin de Bellefleur on the left. Stay on this path and the next one in its continuation to reach the cemetery. Walk along the right-hand side of it to reach the roundabout.

(10) Turn left onto Allée André Caville. At the next junction, turn right onto Avenue de la Frégère. You will then reach a four-way junction.

(11) Turn right onto Avenue de Payrin. When you reach the La Salvetat neighbourhood, turn right onto Rue des Anciens Combattants and head towards Saint-Michel Church. Turn left to return to the stadium car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 211 m - Payrin Stadium car park
  2. 1 : km 0.38 - alt. 207 m - Y-junction
  3. 2 : km 1.25 - alt. 200 m - Roundabout
  4. 3 : km 1.71 - alt. 218 m - Canibelle crossroads
  5. 4 : km 2.21 - alt. 265 m - Croix Bonnet crossroads
  6. 5 : km 2.72 - alt. 313 m - Croix Bonnet
  7. 6 : km 3.64 - alt. 288 m - Crossroads
  8. 7 : km 4.2 - alt. 243 m - Route to the hamlet of Lascours
  9. 8 : km 6.83 - alt. 197 m - Bernussarié crossroads. Towards the - Thoré (rivière)
  10. 9 : km 7.97 - alt. 199 m - Caucalières wash house
  11. 10 : km 12.82 - alt. 218 m - Cemetery roundabout
  12. 11 : km 13.73 - alt. 213 m - Crossroads
  13. S/E : km 14.69 - alt. 211 m - Payrin Stadium car park

Notes

(S/E) Water point at the start, on the wall of the gym opposite the city stadium, as well as a mini-market open on Sunday mornings at the start.

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
3.8 / 5
trantole
trantole

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Arriving at point 9, we walked the route in reverse once in the village of Payrin – a circular route with little interest and on tarmac – so we had to retrace our steps back to the point between points 3 and 6. More tarmac between points 6 and 8.5 (between 8 and 9), which was equally uninteresting. Ultimately, the most interesting part is between points 8.5 (between 8 and 9), 9, 6, 5, 4 and 3
Disappointed with the route; personally, I find the most beautiful parts of the Causses to be between Caucalières and Lardicou

Machine-translated

Monique P.
Monique P.

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

An interesting route, especially in winter

Machine-translated

Berni81
Berni81

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Thank you for this circular route, which combines footpaths and quiet roads.

Machine-translated

AROC
AROC

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 03, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

This is an interesting route to do when it’s not too hot, as there’s quite a bit of road walking involved. You can get there easily from Castres without taking the car, using the city’s bus route no. 10. What’s more, all buses are free in Castres.
It’s best to have the route mapped out on the app, as there are many paths criss-crossing the Causse.

Machine-translated

jeanmarieeliane
jeanmarieeliane

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 26, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We didn’t complete the entire route, as it was a bit short, involved a lot of tarmac and wasn’t a circular route.
From the Bonnet cross, we descended via Le Nègre. There is also the option of returning via the old Augmontel path to avoid wandering through the housing estates.

Machine-translated

gasceliette
gasceliette

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely walk to enjoy in spring or autumn

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.