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In Royat, park in the large car park at the sports complex.
There are no dedicated markings for this hike, but there are many yellow disc markings (urban trails) which often point in too many different directions to be useful.
(S/E) Walk down to the fountain roundabout, go around it on the left to cross the D68 and take the path opposite, to the left of the house with the balustrade, no. 98. Walk up to join the Chemin des Crêtes.
(1) Turn left and continue straight ahead, ignoring a few paths that branch off to the right, until you reach a road in Fontanas.
(2) Continue along the road, turn left onto Rue de la Cascade, turn right onto the first street, Rue de la Tiretaine (canal, fountain and small waterfall), then turn right again onto Rue du Tourne-Roue.
At the top of this street, at the T-junction, turn left and then, at the fork shortly after, keep right uphill onto Rue des Montagnards. Continue straight ahead at the crossroads with Rue des Sources (note the fountain-wash house on the right-hand side of the street).
(3) At the end of Rue des Montagnards, at the crossroads, continue straight ahead onto Rue des Fauvettes, walk past a carpenter's workshop and you will arrive at the main street that crosses Font de l'Arbre.
(4) Follow it to the right, then take the stairs on the left, Rue du Maréchal Ferrant, to reach the square with the fountain-wash house. Then turn right, ignore the street on the right that joins the main street and go left. Leave Rue Blaise Pascal on your right, continue along Rue de la Combe and reach the next fork. Keep left on Rue de la Tour and at the next crossroads, turn left onto Rue de la Côte Folle. This becomes a path before reaching an intersection. Continue straight ahead.
(5) At the next crossroads, when you reach Montrodeix (Roman milestone topped with a cross on the right), turn left, pass in front of the large fountain-trough, Rue des Fonts Vieilles, and ignore the street on the left. At the crossroads (large fountain-wash house on the square on the left), turn right, pass in front of the bus shelter and then, a few metres further on, take Chemin du Château Fort on the left.
(6) At the yellow directional signs, turn left for a round trip to Puy de Montrodeix. Basalt columns at the water catchment.
(7) Go back down to the directional signs.
(6) On your return, continue to the left. At the fork in the path, keep to the right. At an intersection with a path that is not shown on the IGN map, follow the path as it curves to the right.
(8) At the T-junction, turn left, ignoring a grassy path on the left, then a path on the right that is not shown on the IGN map. Further on, follow the right-hand bend in the path (which is not shown on the IGN map), ignoring the path that continues straight ahead. Join a road when you reach Manson.
(9) Follow it to the left and reach a fork at a circular fountain. Turn left towards the "cemetery" and at the crossroads in front of the church, go right, then left at the next crossroads onto the D767. Continue for about 150 metres and find a path that branches off to the right.
(10) Follow this path, cross one road, then another, pass the entrance to the route and go around the roundabout on the right. Cross two roads and turn right onto the third (Route de Manson). Shortly afterwards, ignore a path on the left.
(11) Take the next path on the left, alongside the house, then rejoin the tarmac road. At the intersection, continue left then turn left to cross a car park and head towards the directional signs.
(12) Continue along the path towards Royat via the arboretum. Further on, at two successive forks, keep left (towards the arboretum), then take a hairpin bend to the left at the Forêt Domaniale de Royat sign (ignoring a path that goes straight ahead). Further down, take a hairpin turn to the right, leaving a path that goes up to the left. At the next intersection, turn left again at the hairpin bend to quickly reach a small road.
(13) Follow it to the right, then take the first path on the right (closed to vehicles by a barrier). The path descends, running more or less alongside the Tiretaine. Ignore the paths branching off to the right, as well as the footbridges that join the road on the left. Further on, note the small irrigation channels running to the right of the path. After leaving the woods and passing between sports fields and gardens, you will return to the car park (S/E).
Visorando Member
Easy 
