Roche Martine

Connangles

In the bois de Badou, near Connangles, the Roche Martine is a chaos of stones partly natural, partly gathered, about 6 m high and 12 wide. Its summit bears a deep spoon-shaped cleft surrounded by small cup marks, and very close by opens a crevice large enough for a person to lie in, which has led to imagined sacrifices; the official sheet presents this only as a question. Two large stones lean on each other in an inverted V, and 300 m behind, an embankment of upright flat stones remains unexplained. The guides say that the site was first pagan then taken over by Christians, without a precise date; the ruins of a neighbouring Benedictine priory date from the 12th century and were abandoned in the 17th. The commonest legend has it that Robert de Turlande, founder of the abbey of La Chaise-Dieu, threw an axe from this rock: it is said to have fallen where the monastery was built. According to Wikipedia EN, Robert went to the site of La Chaise-Dieu on 28 December 1043 and construction of the convent began in 1049; this source does not know the legend of the axe. The origin of the name ‘Martine’ is not explained by the sources read.

Getting there: Free access all year, by a path in the forest (bois de Badou, Connangles). No danger reported. Coordinates: official sheet of the Parc Livradois-Forez (45.28769 / 3.61889); OpenStreetMap gives a point about 150 m away (45.2866 / 3.6206).

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

Ambient sound