Gerd Waloszek       

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Towns and Villages: At the Meygal Massif

About the Villages | Additional Information | Map | Photo Album | Hiking Tours | Links

This page introduces a couple of villages on the west slope of the Meygal massif (and on the D152): Bard, La Faye, Le Villaret, and Monedeyres.

About the Villages

When discussing the villages on the west slope of the Meygal massif, I follow the D152 from Saint-Julien-Chapteuil to Queyrières.

Bard

Bard (968 m) is the second village (behind Chaumard) on the D152 from Saint-Julien-Chapteuil to Queyrières. It gives its name to the Suc Peyre de Bard (1200 m), although the mountain is actually closer to La Faye. A little off the road there are the villages of Bourgneuf (béate/assemblée, public oven, iron rack) and Les Ardennes. Behind Bard you have a beautiful view to the west.

La Faye

La Faye is the next village on the D152, it is situated a little higher up (1008 m). Closer than the Peyre de Bard, the Suc de la Faye (1106 m), which we don't really know, is located east of the village. Behind the village, the road runs through a forest and to the left, to the west, is the upper reaches of the Sumène, called Combe Noir, because the Sumène valley is wooded here. On the left, there are paths leading down to the Moulin de Guerin, a watermill; once a year there are demonstrations at this restored watermill.

Le Villaret

After the forest has ended on the left side, you will come to Le Villaret (1082 m), which is located a little higher up on the right side of the slope. It is the access point to Mont Mounier (1407 m), a round, stony mountain at the top, one of the larger ones in the Meygal massif. If you walk the PR around the Mont Mounier, you will directly pass through the village. From the road, the village is just a stone's throw away.

Monedeyes

The road now runs through meadows with beautiful views to the right, that is, to the east, to the Meygal massif, especially to Mont Chabrier (1230 m), and to the left, that is, to the west, to the Mont Chanis (1233 m, several peaks), Peyre de Bard (1200 m) and Mont Rouge (1159 m), which is "glued" to the Mont Chanis. The D152 passes the long village of Monedeyres (1011 m) on the right side, but at a crossroads a road leads into the village; it is probably the old road. The church of Monedeyres is a particularity, because it was built by the inhabitants "wildly" and at their own expense and was never consecrated; consequently, there is no worship in it.

The D152 continues towards Queyrières. First, it falls down to the bridge over the Sumène river and then climbs steeply up to Queyrières. Just behind the bridge in Les Hautes (1072 m) there is a snail farm, which we visited in 2017.

Mountains

First of all, the Meygal massif in the east is to mention here, with the Testavoire (1436 m) as the highest peak of the massif, as well as the freestanding Mout Mournier (1407 m) and the Mont Chabrier (1230 m) opposite Monedeyres.

To the west is the large, multi-peak Mont Chanis (1233 m), attached to it is the Mont Rouge (1159 m, with a signpost), isolated and south of it, the Peyre de Bard (1200 m), and even further south the Suc de la Faye (1106 m), which we actually don't know.

In the north is the Montivernoux (1371 m) and behind it, even further north are the Sucs of Yssinggeaux.

Additional Information

Map

Photo Album

In preparation

Hiking Tours

Details:

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

Links

• Saint Julien Chapteuil (site de la commune, F): www.saintjulienchapteuil.fr
• Bienvenue au Pays du Meygal (F): www.auvergne-paysdumeygal.com