The Massif Central of Southern France is a beautiful and large area of upland, comparatively neglected by the British. It lies to the west of Lyon and north of the Pyrenees; the 'Magic Central'

This region is a complete change from the spectacular mountain scenery of the Alps. In contrast the Massif Central is a much softer type of scenery with grassy hills, deep wooded valleys and many high level roads, often traversing the country at over 1,000 meters.

Mont Lozère, heather clad in parts is not unlike the Cairngorms in Scotland but much more wooded.

The best time to visit this region is from about mid-May to mid-July or in the Autumn, always try to avoid the main French holiday periods as this region is very popular.

The weather is similar to the U.K. for the same time of year.

No assessment of the difficulty of the route is given here as no recent details are available. Most are probably on the easy side with the exception of the traverses of the Puy de Sancy and Puy Mary. A 1950's report indicated that the ridge route on Monts du Forez was overgrown, this is probably no longer the case.

Please note that some restrictions on the use of bikes may have been introduced since these notes were compiled - particularly in National Parks - you are advised to check beforehand.

Maps

Michelin sheets 73,76 and 80 cover the area as do the large sheets 239 and 240; the latter are difficult to handle.

The IGN 1:100 000 series is highly recommended. Sheets 49,50,58 and 59 cover the area and are widely available.

Pass/Col

Height (m)

Route start-finish

km

Path or Rough Road

Time (hrs)

V.A.D.

Maps IGN 100,000

Maps
Michelin 200,000

Puy de Sancy

1885

Super Besse-Le Mont-Dore

7

path

5

D

49

73 or 239

Plomb du Cantal

1855

Prat de Bouc-Super Lioran

7

path/rr

5

M

49

76 or 239

Puy Mary

1785

Le Lioran-Pas de Peyrol

8

path

4 or 5

M

49

76 or 239

Mont Aigoual (NW part)

1565

Col de la Serreyrède-Col de la Caumette

2

path

?

E

58

80 or 240

The routes are marked with a rating system called V.A.D. = Very Approximate Difficulty.

E = Easy, anything from a short rideable rough section between metalled roads to fairly long paths needing some wheeling. (sometimes hard work)
M = Moderate, often hard work, possibly occasional lifting
D = Difficult, usually hard work, sometimes involving short carries
S = Severe, much carrying, sometimes double carrying (bike, then luggage)
VS = Very severe, like severe but more so, scrambling may be involved

Times given in these guides do not allow for stops. They are often based on very little experience, so we will be glad to hear from you if you have used any of these routes.

Abbreviations:

m = height in metres
km = distance in kilometres (approximate)
path/r.r. = path or rough road
hrs = time taken to complete the route in hours (see above)
V.A.D. = Very Approximate Difficulty (see above)

The following are publishers of maps:

F&B = Freytag & Berndt
Mair = Mairs Geographischer Verlag (Austria/Germany mainly)
LDS = Landeskarte der Schweiz (Swiss 1:100,000, 1:50,000, 1:25,000)
Michelin = France/Switzerland at 1:200,000, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany at 1:400,000
IGN = Institut Geographique National