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The walk starts from the north car park of the Clinique de la Châtaigneraie in Beaumont. Please note that the car park gets very full during the week, so on weekdays I recommend starting from another point along the route: the car park at the Stade de l’Artière in Beaumont. Otherwise, the nearest bus stop to the start is ‘Châtaigneraie’ on line 8.
Street names are only included in the route description where they are visible on the ground.
No signposting
(S/E) In the car park, opposite the clinic’s north entrance, turn right and take the path leading into the Bois de la Châtaigneraie (sign prohibiting vehicles). Carry straight on, ignoring the more or less distinct paths on either side. You’ll come to a wide track. On the left is a former pozzolan quarry.
Yellow Disc signposting
Follow the track straight on – do not take the path on the left – and look out for a Yellow Disc marker. At the crossroads where four tracks meet, continue straight on. Further on, the track becomes tarmac and leads to a roundabout.
(1) Go round the roundabout on the right and take Rue de la Pommeraie opposite. Do not follow the path marked ‘Sentier Jean-No’. At the first junction, cross Rue Léonard de Vinci then immediately follow the concrete path that leads diagonally to the right. Go straight on at the junction with another path, then straight on again at the junction with a street. You’ll reach a junction with a street, near a cross.
Unmarked
Leave the yellow markings and follow this street straight on. At the traffic lights, cross the road, walk a few metres to the right and look out for a Yellow Disc marker.
Yellow Disc markings
(2) Immediately turn left at the hairpin bend onto Rue de Gravenoire to enter the centre of Boisséjour, a neighbourhood of Ceyrat. Continue straight on, ignoring the side streets, until you spot Rue Blaise Pascal on your right. Take this street and keep right at the next junction. You’ll arrive to the right of Boisséjour Church. You’ll notice a covered fountain in the square on your right. Turn left, walk past the church and immediately turn right onto Rue Gabriel Péri. At the crossroads, take the street opposite, cross the Artière and join Avenue de l’Artière, a busy road.
(3) Continue along the footpath to the right until you reach the pedestrian crossing; cross carefully, then head back to the left for a few metres before turning right onto the street. In front of the water intake, follow the path to the right. Shortly afterwards, let the path continue straight ahead and take the footpath to the right. At a fork in the road, take the one on the right (both are marked in the same way and join up further on; the one on the right has a steeper gradient).
Pay close attention to the signposting from here onwards so as not to get lost on the numerous side tracks. The path climbs, then descends and joins another path near a beautiful chestnut tree (the path that branched off to the left at the Fork in the road). Turn right, pass a bench, ignore the path branching off to the left and, further on, ignore the path branching off to the right at the entrance to a campsite. Leave the forest and come out onto a road.
(4) Continue straight on, turn right at the junction, ignore the streets on the right and you’ll reach Avenue Jean-Baptiste Marrou (a busy road). Note an old cross on the right. Follow the avenue to the left (pavement). At the next junction with traffic lights, go down the steps on the right and cross the road to take the street leading past Ceyrat Town Hall. Continue to the junction with a painted wall on the right-hand side of the street, a beautiful circular fountain on the left and the ‘Place du Mas’ walking signpost on the right.
(5) Turn right onto Avenue du 11 Novembre. At Place de l’Ancienne Mairie, keep right and ignore three streets on the right before turning right onto Rue de l’Église. Shortly afterwards, climb the steps in front of the church entrance, then go through the wooden gate on the left to enter the garden. Note the two bas-reliefs on either side of the gate on the other side. Cross the garden and exit through a wrought-iron gate onto a street.
No signposting
Follow the street to the left, leaving the yellow signposting behind. You’ll immediately notice, on the left at the corner of the garden, the fountain-oratory built into the wall. At the crossroads, look out for the fountain-chapel on the right, then follow Rue Vercingétorix to the right, before turning left into Rue Blaise Pascal. At the T-junction, turn left, join a busy road and turn right (on the pavement) to cross the bridge over the D2089.
(6) On the other side, at the large roundabout, keep left to cross two access points (take care), then take a path on the left. It descends to join a track suitable for vehicles, which you should follow to the right. The track runs alongside vegetable gardens, then past the Moulin de la Tranchère site (access is prohibited from this side), and then a horse paddock. Just past the horse shed, turn left onto the path (marked with a Yellow Cross). You’ll arrive at the Moulin de la Tranchère site, at a footbridge over the Artière.
(7) Pending the renovation of a second footbridge, access to the mill is via a narrow path branching off to the left, just before the footbridge. Please respect the site. Return to the footbridge.
(7) Take this path to cross the Artière, then continue straight on, passing at the foot of a beautiful poplar tree and heading uphill to reach the Arténium car park. As soon as you reach the tarmac, turn right and follow the road, then the tarmac path that runs behind the building. Pass the picnic tables on your right, then head down the grassy embankment to join a track suitable for vehicles. You’ll come across the Yellow Disc markings again.
Yellow Disc signposting
Follow the track to the right. Further on, ignore the Chemin de Champ Blanc on the right, go through the tunnel under the D2089 and arrive at a crossroads.
(8) Follow the path on the right. At the Fork in the road, keep to the right. Just after a short, steep descent, make sure you spot the path branching off to the left.
Unmarked
Leave the yellow markings and follow this path, which leads to the banks of the Artière. Turn left and walk alongside the small river; further on, cross a footbridge, continue along a wall and join a path. Follow it to the right to reach the Stade de l’Artière car park (alternative car park). Note the beautiful weeping willow (recent developments, not yet completed as of early 2023, featuring a pond).
(9) Follow the access road to the car park until you reach a street at the ‘Stade de l’Artière’ hiking signpost.
Yellow Disc signposting
Turn left, note the Yellow Disc signposting, and cross the bridge over the Artière. At the Fork in the road, keep to the right and, at the end of the street, take the (discreet) passageway that runs under a house. Climb the steps, come out onto a path and follow it to the left to reach Avenue du Mont Dore (a busy road). Cross carefully at the pedestrian crossing and, opposite, slightly to the right, enter the narrow passageway in the wall. Climb a few steps and follow the path to the end of a street; turn left here to reach a junction. Cross the road and walk a few metres to the left to find a discreet path near an electricity pole.
Unmarked
Leave the yellow markings and follow this path. At the junction with a path, turn right, then ignore the path branching off to the right and head downhill to reach a road. Continue straight on; at the Fork in the road, keep to the right, then ignore Rue de la Châtaigneraie on the right and veer left. At the crossroads, go straight on to reach the north car park of the Clinique de la Châtaigneraie (S/E).
Visorando Member
Difficult 
Moderate 
