16 January - Walk in the Woods

Today, I met a couple of classmates and we went to an exhibition as research for a project we are working on.  It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, so when I got home, just after noon, I had a bite to eat, then looked at my maps for a place to walk. 

I found a place on a bus route that runs on Sunday, so packed my camera and water and headed out.  I took the #4 bus from the Gare SNCF toward Ceyrat, getting off at Ceyrat Boissejour Monument. 
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Avenue+de+Clermont,+Ceyrat,+France+and+Avenue+Jean+Baptiste+Marrou&sll=45.745306,3.062525&sspn=0.012369,0.024462&g=Avenue+de+Clermont,+Ceyrat,+France&doflg=ptk&ie=UTF8&hq=and+Avenue+Jean+Baptiste+Marrou&hnear=Avenue+de+Clermont,+63122+Ceyrat,+Puy-de-D%C3%B4me,+Auvergne,+France&ll=45.744506,3.058247&spn=0.000719,0.001529&t=h&z=19

To find the start of the hike, turn left as you exit the bus, cross Avenue de Royat (D944), then turn right and walk to the next block, Rue Pierre Curie.  Take a left, then left again and around a horseshoe shaped curve on Chemin de Preguille.  The path up is on the right - it is marked in red on the map below, to the left of Beaumont and north of Ceyrat. 

Parcours de Sante Ceyrat, France

This is what the path looks like after a few minutes.

Walking Trail Ceyrat, France

Then it starts to rise - I knew it would as I was following the contour lines on the map.  Here is another photo, showing the drop off on the right.

Walking Train Ceyrat, France

 The rock formation below indicates we are about up to the larger path, the Parcours de Sante. 

Ceyrat, France

This is a very nice, wide almost paved path with "health" stations from time to time for various exercises.  There were a number of people, including families out for a walk this nice Sunday afternoon.

Parcours de Sante, Ceyrat, France

This is looking down on the city of Clermont-Ferrand.

Looking across the Allier Valley

There is a "typical" craft here in the Auvergne of painting with enamel on the dark lava stone.  There are several places along this path where you can step just off the path to view a small "field" of enameled stones, pertaining to the area.  This is one of the first I saw:

It is demonstrating the Chataignier or Chestnut tree in both summer and winter.    This next one lists the trees that are the choice of carvers:  Spruce, Scotch Pine and Basswood.

The next one is the game Snakes (or Chutes) and Ladders in the forest context:

Toward the end of the Parcours de Sante, I crossed this small stream:

I will include a few more photos I took on the walk back down to the bus stop, so you get an idea of what the arrounding Clermont is like.