Saint-James

The Tour de Gripel

It was in 1429 that Bertrand de la Tour, lord of Olliergues, gave permission to Pierre de la Tour to fortify his castle. It was probably following this authorisation that the Gripel tower was built or reworked. The structure is an isolated, independent circular keep, in the Romanesque tradition. 18 m high, the tower has 3 storeys above a raised ground floor. It has 3 narrow windows that probably lit the staircase, and arrow slits and loopholes. A row of machicolations, whose lintels are decorated with an ogee arch, is still intact.

Start: Take the D97 to the left for 100 m to the Croix de Gripel. Cross the road and take the path climbing opposite. Continue on the track suitable for vehicles to the tarmac road. Take it to the left and continue on the main road through the hamlet of Genasse. At the edge of the wood, take a good path on the left that bends back in a hairpin. Continue on the main path to the village of Poumarat. Take the tarmac road that goes down on the left.

1. At the crossroads, bear slightly left onto a path that goes through woods. At the junction of several paths, head right and go through the village of Saint-James. At the D97, take it to the left for 200 m and go down a path towards the Tour de Gripel.

2. In the village of Gripel, take the tarmac road to the left. Rejoin the D97, which you take to the right as far as the Croix de Gripel. At the cross, go down the D97 towards Marat and get back to the car park.