Towns and Villages: Around Lantriac

This page introduces a couple of small towns and villages around Lantriac: Lantriac, Saint-Germain-Laprade, and Servissac.

About the Towns and Villages

Lantriac

We knew Lantriac (943 inhabitants, 750 m) for a long time, but only because a butcher who attended the market in Saint-Julien-Chapteuil for years until he retired had his shop in Lantriac. Afterwards, we visited the former station of the railway line La Cevenole, which was never put into operation, for several times in order to hike on the railway track from there. Later, we also visited other destinations in the area south of Lantriac in order to hike from there - partly also on the former railway track.

But one day we actually mangaed to visit the old town center of Lantriac and the church. Both are slightly elevated. As "peculiarities", however, things outside of Lantriac are also mentioned:

The glass windows of the church
The former railway station (Cevenole); today a large sports center is located next to it...
The caves of Couteaux which are worth seeing.

One passes Lantriac by driving from Saint-Julien-Chapteil via the D15 and D36 to Lausonne or via the D28 and later D535 in the direction Le-Monastier-sur-Gazeille (and possibly further to Les Estables). Direct access to Lantriac is best via the D36, but it is also possible via the D28. The caves of Couteaux can be accessed via the D28, from where you have to leave in the direction of Couteaux. We already visited the caves (they are at the beginning of a PR).

Saint-Germain-Laprade

Saint-Germain-Laprade (3,631 inhabitants, 677 m) was for a long time "outside" of our horizon, which does not extend far west from Saint-Julien-Chapteuil. Once, I got lost in the village and found it quite large, but had to revise this when we visited it again to see Madame Morembert in the temporary home. During this time, we also took a closer look at the place. According to Wikipedia, the sightseeings of the commune are among the most interesting:

Château du Bourg (private)
Église du Bourg (11th-12th century)
Abbaye de Doue Abbey Church
Château du Villard

The most conspicuous is the rustic church tower, which overlooks the village. Around the church there are old streets and a private castle, which is not accessible. Not far away there is a redesigned town hall and a new cultural centre and a new shopping arcade.

From Saint-Germain-Laprade you also have the best access to Servissac, which is described below.

Servissac

The castle hill of Servissac (it belongs to Saint-Germain-Laprade) with its cross on top is visible from many higher places in the west. Servissac is close to the Cevenole railway line, which was built but never put into service. It can now be walked on and from which the mountain can also be seen and reached. However, we drove to Servissac by car when we explored the castle hill there. The castle seems to be more of a "self-built ruin", and as we learned, Monsieur Girard, our campsite host, helped with the building there. But there are probably documents from 1280, which show that it is an old castle...

Servissac is not easy to reach. There are two hidden exits from the D15 in the south and two exits from the D150 in the north. The best way to get there is probably to take the D150 from Saint-Germain-La Prade; probably we drove like this...

Mountains

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Additional Information

Curiosities

Lantriac: Church
Lantriac: The former railway station (Cevenole), today a large sports centre stands next to it
Near Lantriac: The caves of Couteaux which are very worth seeing
Near Lantriac: The private castle Le Villard at the Gagne near the village of the same name
Saint-Germain-Laprade: Old church and castle (private)
Near Saint-Germain-Laprade: Abbaye de Doue (Abbey ruin)
Servissac: castle ruin and castle hill with cross

Facilities

Boissy shoe shop in Lantriac

Specialties

The former railway line La Cevenole, never used, passes Lantriac (direction Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille to the southeast).

Towns and Villages Near-by

Brive-Charensac, Saint-Julien-Chapteuil, Lausonne, Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille

Road Connections

D15 from Saint-Julien-Chapteuil in the east to Lex Pandraux in the west, where the D28 and D36 branch off and pass Lantriac, and further northwest towards Brives-Charensac, where it merges into the D535 and as this leads to Brives-Charensac and further to Le Puy.
D28 from Les Pandraux past Lantriac to the south, where it meets the D535, which continues south towards Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille. It continues southeast towards Freycenet-la-Cuche and ends as D535 on the border with the department of Ardèche. D28 and D36 start at Les Pandraux and fork shortly before Lantriac at a roundabout.
D36 from Les Pandraux past Lantriac to Lausonne in the southeast and on to Les Estables. D28 and D36 start at Les Pandraux and fork shortly before Lantriac at a roundabout.
D150 branches off the D15 and runs in northwestern direction to the N88, at which it end. It passes east of Saint-Germain-Laprade, to which there are two access roads (the old D150, which runs through the village).

Curiosities in the Environment

Saint-Julien-Chapteuil with its Romanesque church and other curiosities

Map

Map showing Saint-Germain-Laprade (and Abbaye de Doue), Servissac, Lantriac, and Noustoulet (where the straight Roman road passes by...); further on the top right there are marked villages, which belong to the closer surroundings of our camping site in Sumène, which is also marked.

Map showing Lantriac and details around Lantriac: old railway station of Lantriac, caves of Couteaux, castle of Le Villard

Photo Album

In preparation

Hiking Tours

	Starting Point			Length	Duration	Altitude
Number	Recommended	Alternative	Name	(km)	h:min	min	max	References
PR514	Lantriac	Gare de Lantriac	Rochaubert	13.5	3:45	716	941	Le Pays des Sucs et du Meygal … à pied (10)
Magenta: Older version (Randonées pédestre et VTT au pays des sucs - Yssingeaux)
*Blue (italic number)*: Older version (Itineraires Pedestres en Haute-Loire)
Red: New

Details:

Respirando - Les sentiers de Promenades et Randonnées (PR) Respirando: www.respirando.fr/index.php/apied/les-sentiers-de-petites-randonnees-pr-respirando.html

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