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23 - Discovering the high plateaux

Start: Place de la Mairie, Saint-Front

Do you like cycling as a family?

Set off on this cycle route along a gently rolling road. You will be charmed by the typical landscapes of the high plateaux.

This peaceful 9 km ride starts in the charming village of Saint-Front, rich in exceptional built heritage.

Distance: 8.8 km
Elevation gain: +151 m
Elevation loss: -146 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

Surrounded by a low wall to protect it from the snow and the burle, that violent wind laden with ice, the plateau house looks like a fortress, with stone present from the foundations to the roof (except for the thatched cottages of Bigorre and Moudeyres).

Its shapes are squat (walls of 2 metres), its openings small and facing south. A vaulted porch, the arcasse, serves as a shared entrance for people and animals; a wooden partition separates the cowshed from the living quarters (the “carré”). The latter is often reduced to a single room containing box beds, a cupboard, a clock, a long table and two benches, not forgetting the fireplace, the cantou.

An inside staircase leads to the fenière (a farm building, or part of one, where hay is kept), which takes up the whole upper floor because of the large amount of fodder needed for livestock that stays seven to eight months in the cowshed.