Mont Saint-Rigaud et sa source

Deux-Grosnes

The summit is a forest of firs and Douglas firs from which a wooden tower emerges; from its platform one sees the Beaujolais, the Mâconnais and, in clear weather, Mont Blanc. A little lower, a modest trickle of water comes out of the moss, near wooden crosses planted by passers-by. Until the 19^th century, the mountain was called the Montagne d'Ajoux. Its history is contained in a priory: a chapel of Saint-Victor, said to have been built by monks of the Île-Barbe on an altar of Jupiter, was given to Cluny and became the priory of Ajoux, in 929 according to Wikipedia, around 950 according to the Haut-Beaujolais heritage association, after 993 according to the charters read by Canon Odouard. In 1125, a monk of Cluny, Gérard le Verd, chose to end his days there and was buried there; it is from his name, corrupted into Rigaud, or, according to Odouard, from that of Saint Géraud, patron of the abbey of Saint-Rigaud at Ligny, that the mountain is thought to take its saint. The last monks left around 1420, or 1450 depending on the source; the chapel, which had become Saint-Loup, still received a mass or two a year in the 18^th century, then collapsed in 1812. Tradition has it that a healing monk, the last of the priory or Gérard himself, buried near the spring, gave the water its virtues: it was long recommended against sore throats, rheumatism and infertility in women. A brochure adds the druids, without support. The way from Cluny to Compostela, today the GR 7, passes over the summit.

Wikipédia — Mont Saint-Rigaud ↗

Getting there : From Monsols (Deux-Grosnes), by the Col de Crie, where the Maison de la randonnée et du trail is located, or by the Col du Fût d'Avenas, the Col des Écharmeaux and the Col de Champ Juin. The summit is closed to vehicles: a small, steeply sloping tarmac path climbs to it from the car parks, on foot or by bicycle; the waymarked Mont Saint-Rigaud circuit is 16 km and about 5 hours from the Col de Crie, a 12 km variant starts from the Croix des Oncins. The spring is halfway up, the wooden observation tower (15.80 m) and its viewpoint indicator at the summit. Free access all year round, in forest almost the whole way; the GR 7 passes through.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound