Christine had been so impressed by all we had told her about our walk in the Auvergne that the next year, 2000, she insisted on having a look for herself.

Here are a few impressions of our Millennium Visit.

Where we stayed

We had decided that we wanted to stay in a gite in the countryside near Condat. We booked our gite online at the Gites de France web site. For Cantal the search page is here. Our particular gite does not appear to be on offer any longer. It was La Grangeoune near La Furée, just off the D679, the Condat to Marcenat road. However there are lots of other gites available. The position of the gite can be seen on the map for day 10. It will be of interest to Scottish mountaineers that this cottage is at Munro height – almost exactly 3,000 feet. And here is a photo.

Our cottage south of Condat

What We Did

We did lots of things while we were in the Auvergne, but three excursions are of relevance here. These were

A repeat of our walk to La Grande Cascade

Puys Mary and Peyre Arse

Puy Griou

The map of the Grande Cascade excursion is here. We followed much the same route as we had done in 1999 (day 7) but had better weather while we were on the higher ground. As a result the views were better and we had a better idea of how close we had been to falling off cliffs! Here are some photos of the walk. Note that Chris had taken possession of my casquette!

Chris with my casquette
Side view of a dyke. Note the column lying horizontally
A dyke looking like a wall (or a dyke!)
Chris on the walk
La Grande Cascade
La Grande Cascade

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The map of our Puy Mary and Puy de Peyre Arse excursion is included on this map. But first we paid a visit to Le Claux and the hotel which was so kind to us. And at the end of the day we dined there.

The weather was worse than in 1999 but the views were still magnificent. We managed to get to both our peaks and felt able to tackle the huge meals provided by the Hotel Le Peyre Arse. And you can see my new Tilley Hat!

Le Peyre Arse hotel in Le Claux
My Tilley hat, me and Chris with Puy Griou in the distance
Chris and Alasdair
Puy Griou from Breche Rolland
Puy Maryfrom below Puy de Peyre Arse
Chris on the path from Puy Mary to Puy de Peyre Arse
Puy de Peyre Arse – probably
Chris on the path to the summit of Puy Mary
Chris at the Gite d’Etape in Lugarde, where my camera died the year before.

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When we climbed the Puy Griou the weather was magnificent. Warm and sunny. It is an easy afternoon walk from the Col de Font de Cère.

Ready to walk up Puy Griou
Dressed for the weather
Chris and Alasdair on the summit of Puy Griou

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