De la Faye à la Sep

Guidebook with maps/step-by-step :

Étape 1 : From the start sign in the car park (shoe loom), head straight ahead on a wide track. At the T-junction, turn left onto a gravelled track. Ignore the side paths and go past the pond. At the fork in the road after 100 m, turn left and continue straight ahead on the main track until you reach the D122 near Gourlanges.

Étape 2 : Follow the road in front of you for 100 m and turn left onto the track (with views of the Puy de Dôme and the Puy de Pariou). Turn left onto the first track which, at the corner of a meadow, descends into the woods as far as a T-junction. Turn right. Stay on the main path through the Bois du Faux, overlooking the reservoir. At the fork in the road, turn left towards the Sep dam. Follow the track to the road.

Étape 3 : Turn left over the dam (views of the reservoir and the Sep valley) and follow the reservoir closely for more than 2 km. At the fork in the road after the invert, turn left. Cross the Sep 20 m further on via a wire-meshed footbridge. Follow the path to the left as far as the La Faye signpost.

Étape 4 : Take the right-hand track for 50 m to the junction of four tracks in the Merlanche woods. Take the third path, going clockwise between two gated forest paths. At the next crossroads, head in the opposite direction. At the fork in the road 15 m further on, turn right. Ignore the side paths until you reach the D50, which leads back to your starting point on the left.