Like so many French rivers, the Loire rises in the Massif Central and flows generally westward towards the sea. Its upper waters, however, take a northerly course through the mountains and over millions of years they have worn a gorge, deep in some places, wide and fertile in others.
Our four-day walk took us upstream from Aurec-sur-Loire to le Puy and we passed through a great variety of landscapes, including dry, eroded hillsides, flooded gravel-pits, forests, rich pastures and savage, rocky escarpments.
Day 9: Aurec-sur-Loire to Bas-en-Basset
Day 10: Bas-en-Basset to Retournac
Day 11: Retournac to Vorey-sur-Arzon
Day 12: Vorey-sur-Arzon to le Puy
Rest day: Le Puy-en-Velay
Travel day: Le Puy-en-Velay to St-Amand-Montron
Previous section: St-Symphorien-sur-Coise to Aurec-sur-Loire