Villages in the Issoire region: Chadeleuf and Sauvagnat

Leave the A75 at exit 7 (Montpeyroux) and follow signs for Coudes. Drive through the village and then Couze Chambon. Just after the bridge, at the roundabout, turn right and park in a small car park on the right-hand side of the road, just after passing the fire station (on the left) and just before going under the A75.
This hike is not marked as such but follows long sections of^{the GRP®®1}"Autour d'Issoire" and the^GR®®300as mentioned in this description.

(S/E) Follow the road and pass under the A75 motorway, then continue on the first street on the right, following the^GRP®®1"Autour d'Issoire" trail markers. Follow these clearly marked red and yellow trail markers until further notice. Continue straight ahead on the road and then on the path that extends from it.

(1) You will come to a quiet road; follow it to the right.

(2) In a wide left-hand bend, leave the road and follow a path on the right. After about 250 metres, look out for a post with red and yellow markings a few metres to the right of the path. Then turn right.

(3) Further on, ignore a path on the right (which is not shown on the IGN map, red and yellow cross), then turn left before reaching a T-junction about 100 metres further on, at a red and yellow marker on a wooden post. Turn right. Turn right again onto a path that descends towards Chadeleuf to reach a road at the foot of the village.

(4) Leave the^GRP®® temporarily and take the path that climbs opposite. Take a few steps and then continue climbing along a low wall on your right. You will arrive at a street in the village of Chadeleuf and find the GRP®® markings^again. Follow them to the right to arrive at Place de la Tour. Pass to the left of a fountain.

Take the next street on the right, then leave the^GRP®® again to turn right and pass under a gate in an old rampart. When you reach the church, walk past its porch (Place de l'Église), then continue in the same direction, go down a few steps to reach a street and follow it to the left, slightly uphill.

(5) Rejoin the^GRP®® and follow it to the right, Passage de la Canche. Arrive at Place de la Canche and head right to pass by a beautiful fountain. At the next intersection, follow the path to the left to leave the village. You will soon see the wash house, a few metres to the right of the path, then continue. Turn right at the next intersection. Pass a cave on your left, then an information panel about Chadeleuf.

(6) At the crossroads, leave the red and yellow markings and turn left to follow a straight path.

(7) Ignore a path on the left and veer right to arrive immediately at a crossroads of several paths at a stone cross. Follow the path furthest to the left. Pass to the right of a pond, ignore a path on the right (which is not shown on the IGN map), then arrive at a crossroads of four paths.

(8) Follow the red and yellow markings of^{the GRP®®1}and the red and white markings of^{the GR®®300}to the left. Pass to the right of a pond surrounded by reeds, then, after a few bends, to the right of a hill topped by a tower. You will come to a road.

(9) Follow it to the left, pass in front of the Château de la Ronzière (lodge and equestrian centre) and continue to the intersection marked with a stone cross. Take the path on the right. Ignore a path on the right.

(10) At the crossroads with yellow^GRP®®1and^GR®®300signs, continue straight ahead, then ignore all the paths on either side.

(11) You will come to a road; follow it straight ahead to enter Sauvagnat-Sainte-Marthe. At the first crossroads, leave the^GR®® and^GRP®® markings and turn right to follow Rue du Magot. Ignore Rue du Pressoir on the left, then take the next left, Rue du Ventadour.

At the next intersection (T-junction), turn left, then right at the crossroads of four streets to arrive at Place de la Fontaine (round fountain in the square). Turn right towards the town hall and church (signposted). Pass in front of the church, on the right of a large cross (Place du Calvaire), then on the right of a dry fountain, at a crossroads.

(12) Continue to the left, then turn left at the fork to find the town hall on the left and a square on the right. Walk along the square on the left, go straight ahead at the crossroads and turn left twice at Square de Verdun.

Follow Rue des Marronniers to the right and continue straight ahead on Rue du Pré. Ignore Rue de la Dray and Rue de la Pialle on the right and continue straight ahead on Rue de la Conche. Pass to the left of a fountain and you will come to an intersection with a path on the right.

(13) Take this path , following the^GR®® and GRP®® markings again^. At the crossroads of four paths, continue to the right. Further on, ignore the path on the left and, at the next intersection, temporarily leave the^GR®® and^GRP®® markings to climb straight up the slope of the small Margédat hill, which has a simple wooden cross on top. When the path begins to descend, follow a short steep path on the left that leads to the top of the hill. Viewpoint.

(14) Descend on the other side via steps, then continue to the right, following the^GR®® and^GRP®® markings again until the end of this hike. The wide path descends towards the Allier Valley and its motorway, which is becoming increasingly audible.

(15) At a T-junction, continue to the right. Further on, pass a green iron cross and ignore the path on the left. Further on, ignore other paths on the left and enter a housing estate.

(16) Continue straight ahead, ignoring the dead-end lanes on either side, until you reach Chemin du Batel (sign a few metres to the left of the intersection). Turn right and don't pay too much attention to the^GR®® and^GRP®® markings, as the construction of new houses has probably removed some of the passages. Continue along this street and then, at the T-junction, turn left. Follow this street around the right-hand bend to pass under the A75 motorway and return to the car park on the other side (S/E).

There are no technical difficulties on this route, which I would not recommend to those who get bored on wide country lanes.

Discover more walks in this area with a description or the Visorando app in Puy-de-Dôme here

Some photos here

Chadeleuf is a former seigneury belonging to the Abbey of Issoire, an old fortified wine-growing village that still bears beautiful traces of its past. The village was fortified around the^14th century to compensate for the chronic insecurity following the Hundred Years' War. Of these fortifications, the tower, the entrance gate to the heart of the fort and the bretèche of the old castle remain today.
From its wine-growing past, the village retains deep cellars, accessed via narrow alleys, covered passageways and steep staircases. Several beautiful bourgeois houses also bear witness to the prosperity of the wine industry at the end of the last century.

Sauvagnat-Sainte-Marthe is an ancient stronghold surrounded by hills and basalt plateaus. The pink sandstone extracted from the subsoil sets the tone for the village. The narrow, adjoining houses in the village are accessed via narrow streets. Some of these houses, dating from^{the 15th} and^16th centuries, have been carefully constructed and feature carved lintel doors and crossbar windows. As in Chadeleuf, other opulent residences with broken roofs and orderly facades bear witness to the wine-growing success of^{the 19th} century.