The Augerolles waterfalls
Description
At the gateway to the Millevaches plateau, enjoy a walk guided by explanatory panels as you discover the 50-hectare listed natural site.From the car park, take the road straight ahead towards the stone-cutting workshop (South-West).Then head downhill at an angle to the right.At the "La Carrière" sign, turn right to visit the quarry. Retrace your steps.Turn right and go onto the plank bridge. Then turn right into the sunken path. At the fork, turn right towards "le Moulin", the mill. Further on, turn right at the "Le Chanvre" sign. You can get close to the old hemp mill, otherwise, stay on the main path.At the restored Augerolles mill, turn left up the hill, following the signposts. Continue straight through the hardwood trees. At the T-junction, go right. Cross the mill race, go straight ahead.At the signpost marked with the viewpoint symbol, leave the path on the right and walk into the plot for a few metres to enjoy the view of the valley. Take the path on the right, meander through the woods. As you leave the fir wood (viewpoint overlooking the village of La Vedrenne), start the descent on the winding pathways through the beech wood. Below the undergrowth, cross another mill race and head across to the creek.Take the wooden footbridge to cross over. Use the duckboards to step across the stream. At the Moulin des Charreaux (ruins), climb to the right. At the T-junction, turn right over the stream to overlook the waterfalls. At the fork turn right (viewpoint overlooking the Cascades d'Augerolles).Go into the fir woods, in the middle of the Field of Stones. At the intersection, go straight ahead, return to the roadside path. Take the steps, continue to the right. Back above the quarry where you started, turn left up the hill, following the markings.
Technical informations
2.5 km
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max. 606 m
min. 513 m
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Altimetric profile
Starting point
Steps
Les pont-planche
Le pont-planches est constitué de deux assises et un pilier central en blocs appareillés qui soutiennent des poutres de granite. Aucun travail d'ajustement n'est visible, "les planches" sont seulement juxtaposées. Ce type de pont n'apparait pas sur le plan cadastral de 1831.
Le chanvre
Cette culture pratiquée par toutes les familles a disparu au début du XXème siècle. Elle fournissait la matière première pour fabriquer le linge de maison : draps, nappes, torchons, mais aussi linge de corps, chemises et toutes sortes de sacs, cordes et câbles. Le chanvre était très solide et quasiment inusable.
Le moulin d'Augerolles
Le moulin, reconstruit en 2006, présente les caractéristiques architecturales suivantes :- toit à double pente recouverte de chaume- murs en pierres sèches à double pignon- petites ouvertures en pignon, porte étroite et lucarne en meurtrière à l'opposé- sol dallé reposant sur poutres de granite.
Pic noir et pic epeiche
Le pic noir mesure 45 centimètres, c'est le plus grand Pic d'Europe au plumage noir uni. Le mâle porte une calotte rouge et la femelle une tache rouge à la nuque. Son vol est lourd et un peu onduleux.Il fréquente les futaies de conifères et de hêtres des régions montagneuses. Il creuse une très grande cavité à orifice ovale dans un fût d'arbre, parfois à très grande hauteur.Le pic épeiche mesure 22 centimètres et se distingue par un dos noir avec de grandes tâches blanches sur les ailes. Le dessous est blanc non rayé, le rouge sous la queue est coupé net. Le mâle arbore une tache rouge à la nuque, absente chez la femelle. Il s'alimente rarement à terre et vit dans tous les milieux arborés.
Les "champs de pierre"
D'imposants chaos de boules et de blocs émoussés, formés à l'ère glaciaire, façonnent le paysage boisé et jalonnent les cascades. Cette appellation désignait autrefois un lieu ouvert, recouvert de landes à bruyère, desquelles émergeaient de gros blocs rocheux.
Le granite et la taille de pierre
Le granite exploité ici est un granite à deux micas. L'exploitation subsiste aujourd'hui sur le Puy Manibaud.Les blocs de granite étaient tirés de la carrière par des animaux. La production est essentiellement la pierre taillée pour la construction et les monuments. Ces tailleurs s'abritaient des intempéries sous des abris sommaires.
Points of interest
The plank bridges
The plank bridge consists of two ends and a central pillar made of matching blocks that support granite beams. None of the construction is visible, "the planks" are just placed side-by-side. This type of bridge does not appear on the 1831 land registry map.
Augerolles mill
The mill, rebuilt in 2006, has the following architectural features:- double slope roof covered with thatch- dry stone walls with double gable- small gable openings, a narrow door and a dormer window opposite- paved floor resting on granite beams.
Black woodpecker and great spotted woodpecker
The Black woodpecker measures 45 centimetres; it is the largest European woodpecker and has plain black plumage. The male wears a red cap and the female has a red patch on her neck. Its flight is heavy and a little undulating.It frequents the coniferous and beech forests of the mountainous regions. It digs a huge cavity with an oval hole in a tree trunk, sometimes at a very great height.The great spotted woodpecker measures 22 centimetres and is distinguished by a black back with large white spots on the wings. The underside is white without stripes, the red under the tail is clear cut. The male has a red patch on the nape of the neck; this is absent in the female. It rarely feeds on the ground and lives in all wooded areas.
Granite and stonecutting
The granite mined here is a two-mica granite. Exploitation continues today on the Puy Manibaud.The granite blocks were hauled from the quarry by animals. The production is mainly cut stone for construction and monuments.The stone cutters were protected from the elements under rough shelters.
Additional information
Advised parking
Car park at the Cascades d'Augerolle, D58, Saint-Pardoux-Morterolles
Advice
17 explanatory signs line the trail. For children, a treasure hunt punctuated with puzzles to solve lets them have fun as they discover the site. Take good shoes because of the steep gradient.
Access
16 km from Bourganeuf, follow the D8.
Ambiance
The waterfalls of Augerolles hike lets you discover the cut granite plank bridges, the Augerolles mill, as well as the Champs de Pierres - the field of stones: an imposing outcrop of balls and lumps of stone, blocks formed in the Ice Age, which shapethe wooded landscape and mark out the waterfalls.
Arrival
Car park at the Cascades d'Augerolle, D58, Saint-Pardoux-Morterolles
Departure
Car park at the Cascades d'Augerolle, D58, Saint-Pardoux-Morterolles
