The Auvergne boasts a wide variety of
walking terrains which will suit most walkers. The countryside is
covered in way marked paths which are cleverly and helpfully colour
coded (small paint marks on trees and stones) to enable the walker
to follow circular walks. These vary in length from one hour to 3
days and there is plenty of variety in the type of countryside, the
views, the difficulty of the walking and the amount of energy
expended. The best guide series that we have seen is published by
Chamina. They have literally hundreds of circular walks in the area,
many of which can be started and finished from the gîte door
(sometimes with a short detour to join the circuit) and most of
which can be accessed following a short drive. In addition to the
walks in the Livradois Forez nature park, there are guides available
for the lakes and volcanoes of the Auvergne and for the Chaîne des
Puys.
This has to
be a most wonderfully relaxing and healthy way to spend a holiday in
some beautiful and tranquil countryside. Walking in these plains,
valleys, forests, hills, mountains and volcanoes is a terrific way
of seeing the countryside and wildlife
