Mountain bikingModerateBoucle

12 - The Druidic Rock of Crouzilhac

Start: Tence

Temporarily closed: the Papeterie bridge is impassable. You can return via the yellow-waymarked PR 69, after La Brosse.

From the historic village of Tence, on the banks of the Sérigoule, head into the mysterious forest of Crouzilhac, returning along the Lignon, past the Château de la Brosse.

Distance: 15.7 km
Elevation gain: +317 m
Elevation loss: -317 m
Duration: 1 h

Route on the map

Base map © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA): route licensed under ETALAB-2.0 via Données : Comité Départemental Randonnée Pédestre Haute-Loire · FFRandonnée · sportsnature.hauteloire.fr — sous licence ETALAB 2.0.

The feel of the route

The forest of Crouzilhac and its legend: Druidism was a religious institution of the Gauls. At once teachers, judges and priests, the druids were keepers of tradition and knowledge. They held certain privileges and practised sacrifices. Legend has it that 400 years ago, a little man was unscrupulous enough to try to move a boundary in the forest of Crouzilhac. Having loaded the heavy stone onto his back, he could not put it down and wandered about like this until the day the lord of the castle of Mazel freed him by making him set his stone down near the Mazeaux stream. It is said that his ghost appeared every night and frightened those who crossed the forest. Who will want to find the stone and meet the ghost?

The route in detail

This easy circuit will let you enjoy the forest of Crouzilhac and discover the legend of the Druidic Rock. Over the first 2 kilometres, it is an easy, fairly fast-rolling circuit that winds along the river Lignon, a tributary of the Loire. After crossing the river at the Papèterie, the climb is steady up to the Crouzilhac wood (km 11.6). The end of the route is a very technical descent to Tence.