Flora of the Chavanon

Heritage site and architecture

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A multi-faceted circuit, typical of the Haut-Corréze landscape.

A hilly circuit that alternates between passages in the woods, beautiful forest tracks and roads with little traffic. Ideal for the start of the season. There is also a shorter circuit: "Intriguing churches".

9 points of interest

Heritage site
The Church of St-Exupéry
You will certainly find the style of St-Exupéry church surprising by contrast with the Romanesque churches of the Haute-Corrèze, characterised by a wall-belfry.
Originally, the classical Romanesque church was part of a fortified enclosure with boundary walls from a property where a château, now destroyed, once stood.
It was in poor condition, and certainly, as a reminder of the château's existence, two turrets and battlements were added during the restoration of the church, which was completed in 1880.
Panorama
The Massif du Sancy
This circuit offers an amazing view of the highest volcano in France, the Puy de Sancy. Rising to an altitude of 1,885 metres, this summit is the highest point of the Massif Central. The two streams, the Dore and the Dogne originate here, and their confluence forms the Dordogne. On the way back from the tour, on the road to Ussel, the site of Les Roches also offers a stunning 360° panoramic view over the Monts d'Auvergne and the Montagne Limousine.
History
The Ussel-Thalamy airfield
At an altitude of 740 metres, the Ussel platform is the first airfield created in Corrèze. The Ministry of War wanted to have a military field in Haute Corrèze, and the field was created in 1933 in the communes of Saint-Exupéry-les-Roches and Saint-Bonnet-près-Bort. It offers a 1,300 m tarmac runway and a 900 m grass runway.
River
The Chavanon valley
A natural boundary between the Corrèze and the Puy de Dôme, the Chavanon is born from the confluence of two streams, the Ramade and the Méouzette.
It continues its course through gorges then flows into the Dordogne, upstream of the Bort-les-Orgues dam reservoir.
Classified Natura 2000 along its entire course, it is a river famous for its trout.
Flora
The Dognon and the wetland
Situated at the bottom of a valley, you will cross the Dognon in the middle of a wetland. These wet meadows and bogs provide small reserves of fodder in times of drought. Livestock finds food there during periods of very hot and dry weather. In the spring, these areas are also good for dragonflies.
History
Autoroute A89
Nicknamed "the presidents' motorway" because it goes through the political strongholds of Valery Giscard d'Estaing, Jacques Chirac and François Hollande, the A89 links Bordeaux to Lyon by crossing the Massif Central. With a length of 550 km, it was put into service along its entire route in 2018.
Heritage site
The Dozanne
The walk starts towards the wet meadows along the river Dozanne. This watercourse, which later took the name of the Ozanges stream and then the Gane river, flows into the Diège at the Chaumettes dam after a 20 km stretch between pastures and forests.
Heritage site
The village of St-Fréjoux
When you return from your trip, be sure to explore the village of St-Fréjoux, which is the pride of its 291 inhabitants at the last census. First of all, the St-Fréduphe church and its mysterious bulbous bell tower. A little further on, the cruck barn with its thatched roof. It is characterised by its cruck frame: the crossbeams, the main parts of the frame, start from the ground and also serve as a support for the walls of the building.
Heritage site
Saint-Exupéry
When you arrive at St-Exupéry via Ussel, look out for a group of large buildings on the left. It is the old Dalègre and Malsoute clog factory. Clog manufacture was a tradition in Correze. The company industrialised the process and became one of the largest clog makers in France at the beginning of the 20th century. Competition from rubber boots in the 1950s put an abrupt halt to production.