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In Vernines, park on Place des Marronniers, which is lined with young chestnut trees, at the entrance to the village coming from Aurières, near the village hall, the communal oven and a blacksmith's workshop with a picnic table. Sign for the Balirando Haute Vallée de la Sioule hike, which is not the same as the one described here.
(S/E) Return to the main road and follow it to the left towards the centre of the village. You will soon arrive at another square with a beautiful carved stone cross. Continue towards the church on Rue des Forges, then turn right onto Rue de l'Église just before the church. At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue de l'École and continue until the road bends to the left.
(1) Continue straight ahead on the path that leads to a street in the hamlet of Bessat.
(2) Continue straight ahead on the road, then take Rue du Four on the right. Follow the bend in the street to the left, pass a fountain-wash house, then turn right onto a grassy path (do not follow the street). You will come to a road.
(3) Follow it to the left, cross a bridge over the Sioule and ignore the path on the left. You will reach the hamlet of Ribeyre.
(4) At the fork in the road, follow the road to the left towards Ribeyre. At the oven and the farrier's workshop, which serves as a wood shed, take Rue des Garettes on the left. Follow it around a right-hand bend, ignoring the path on the left, ignore a street and a dead end on the left, then turn onto the next street on the left, and after the bend, turn onto a path leading off to the left.
(5) Ignore a path branching off to the right, then another further on, and you will come to a road.
(6) Follow it to the right and, at the crossroads with a path just after, go straight ahead. Turn onto the next path on the right, shortly after (red and white GR®30-441 markings). Further on, at a house, the path becomes a small road, descending steeply. You will come out onto another road.
(7) Follow it to the right, cross the D27 carefully and take the street opposite (Rue de l'Ancien Moulin) and cross the Sioulot to arrive in front of the Basilique Notre-Dame-des-Fers, one of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in Auvergne (a visit is highly recommended). You can also stroll around the village, particularly around the Sioulot in the municipal park (village sign), a peaceful park set in a circular loop of the Sioulot, which has children's games, shaded benches and a mini arboretum.
(8) Leaving the basilica, turn left to cross the square with a fountain and, at the end of the square, follow Rue de Corbes on the right, which joins the D27 further up.
(9) Cross it carefully and head opposite towards the Notre-Dame Chapel, following the red and white GR® markings again. At the chapel, which has a fountain in a pretty spot with a view of Orcival below, continue to the left and keep going in the same direction after reaching the road.
(10) At the fork after the houses, at the "La Croix" signpost, turn right towards Voissieux. Ignore the path on the left that leads to the antenna, then ignore another path on the right.
(11) At the fork, at an information sign about the Château de Cordès, which you can see below in the valley, turn right. A hundred metres further on, ignore a path on the right. On your left, enjoy a beautiful view of the Chaîne des Puys. Further on, ignore another path on the right (which is not shown on the IGN map). Further down, at the intersection marked "980 m", turn left towards Voissieux. Shortly afterwards, you will arrive at the hamlet of Juégheat (fountains, wash house, blacksmith's workshop, picnic table).
(12) Follow the road to the right to leave the hamlet.
(13) Turn onto the first path on the right. Further on, ignore a path on the right.
(14) Cross a small road and continue on the path opposite, slightly to the right.
(15) At a fork in the road, keep right and you will arrive at a street in the hamlet of La Pointésie. Turn right and, before crossing a stream called Le Sioulet, take the path that goes uphill and leads to a road.
(16) Follow it to the right, it is not very busy, until you reach Vernines. At the intersection you passed on the way there, turn left (Rue de la Mairie) to pass by a fountain, then turn right (fire station with their mascot), ignore a street on the right and return to the square with the cross. Turn left to return to the car park (S/E).
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