The Area

Sports

Water sports
The Truyère gorge was dammed in the early 1930s to provide hydroelectric power. The nearest reservoirs, upstream of Grandval and Sarrans, offer facilities for sailing, water-skiing, canoeing, kayaking, and sail-boarding.

Swimming
Pierrefort has an open-air swimming pool suitable for children, and there are larger ones in Murat and Saint-Flour. You can swim in the Truyère at Laussac, a 30-minute drive from La Roche.
You can paddle and cool off in the stream by our mill, just 5 minutes' walk from the gîte.

Fishing
The rivers and reservoirs nearby are well stocked with fish. Seasons and permits.

Horse-riding
Horses can be hired at the Centre Équestre de Bélinay on the slopes of the Plomb du Cantal (30 minutes away).

Tennis
There are public courts in Pierrefort (10 minutes away).

Golf
The 9-hole course at Le Battut has spectacular views over the Truyère (25 minutes away).

Skiing
There is a very reasonably-priced resort at Le Lioran which offers downhill and cross-country skiing at all levels. The resort itself is on the far side of the Plomb du Cantal (one hour's drive), but it is accessible from the col du Prat de Bouc on our side (35 minutes' drive), where you can hire equipment, and take ski-lifts up to the ridge and the pistes on the other slope. There is usually good snow from mid-December till early March.

The nearest cross-country skiing is at Gourdièges (10 minutes' drive); more reliable snow and more extensive trails can be found higher up at Cézens and Vigouroux (30 minutes' drive).