Chemin de Saint Jacques (Les Faux to St Chely) |
Day 4 - Les Faux to Aumont-Aubrac (21 km - 480m ascent - 710m descent)
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Typical Lozere countryside near Le Rouget |
The grey slate rooves of St Alban-sur-Limagnole |
Perhaps one of the oldest stone crosses |
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With Karen and Daniel at the door to the chateau of St Alban |
Blossom time in Lozere |
Triple bell tower of the romanesque church of St Alban |
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Gnarly path through the spruce |
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A pair of draught horses |
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Landscape near Chabanes-Planes |
A curious slab hut in the forest |
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The streets of Les Estrets |
Fascination with old stone crosses |
Wildflowers and contented cattle |
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A land of pastures interspersed with spruce groves |
Broom and spruce scrub |
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Day 5 - Aumont-Aubrac to Montgros (24.5 km - 510m ascent - 360m descent)
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The GR65 passes beneath the autoroute (lovely artwork!!) |
Pilgrims strolling along a "chemin blanc" |
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The Chapelle de Bastide near Labros |
Cattle on the way to the high country for summer |
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Heading out from Les Quatre Chemin |
Moles at work! |
The Aubrac - a land of Isolated farmhouses and cattle |
The pastures and track sides were speckled with dandelions (or piss-en-lit as the French quaintly call them), violets, golden and white daffodils, blue-black anemones and many other wildflowers. There was a profound silence passing through this landscape that we had not experience before, giving it a real sense of isolation. |
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The emptiness of the Aubrac |
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Eventually we reached the village of Finieyrols - it was time for lunch in the pine-shaded gardens of the local gite, a pleasant break from walking beneath the full sun. |
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Passing through Finieyrols |
Old stone shed on the outskirts of Finieyrols |
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A climb out of the village brought us to a high point, where we could look across the bare granite-boulder strewn landscape towards the north and see the distant snow-dappled mountains of the Massif Central. |
In the land of granite boulders |
View across the rocky plateau to the snow-dappled mountains of the Massif Central |
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Strangely, many Europeans don't seem to appreciate the power of the sun and soon we were noticing many bright red sun-roasted legs, arms and faces amongst the walking groups we passed - a painful end to an enjoyable day outdoors. |
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Farm house and barn amongst the dandelions |
Typical stone and slate house in Rieutort |
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Wide reach of La Bes rivulet |
Old stone bridge crossing La Bes near Montgros |
La Maison de Rosalie - our home for the night |
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Day 6 - Montgros to Saint Chely d'Aubrac (19.5 km - 290m ascent - 670m descent) |
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Not quite "le grand bleu" today, but blue enough, with only a few wisps of high cloud above. We had our latest start so far, as it would be our shortest day of walking. Setting off from Montgros, we were quickly down in the town of Nasbinals. |
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Nasbinals streetscape |
The 11th century romanesque church |
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We stopped briefly to visit the impressive 11th century romanesque church and also to buy some more sun-cream at the local pharmacy - having rapidly used up our supply over the past few days. Then it was off again, out of Nasbinals to follow another chemin blanc that began our long and steady climb back up to the top of the Aubrac. |
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There was a lightness in our step that was absent from the past couple of days - perhaps it was that we didn't have as far to walk, perhaps it was that most of the route today would be far from the sealed roads, perhaps because for the first time in a while we could walk beneath the shade of bright-leafed trees, or perhaps it was just that this section of French countryside was particularly pleasant in the morning sun and gentle cooling breeze. |
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Moreover, our new packs had by now moulded our bodies to suit their shape and seemed to weigh that bit less. Since leaving Montgros, trees had begun to return to the landscape, now a mix of beech groves and broad green pastures, speckled with orchids, violets, jonquils and other cottage garden plants. |
A grove of beech on the plateau |
Isolated farmhouse |
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After a while, we left the country road to follow the GR65 into this splendid setting, climbing up into the undulating hills, passing isolated stone farm buildings and contented cows grazing quietly. This section was certainly one where the pilgrim could get some good meditational time. A sudden load roar as a French airforce jet fighter blasted over the crest of the hill in front brought us back to the reality of modern times. In fact, looking up, the sky was beginning to become criss-crossed by the contrails of numerous passenger planes - people on their way to important meetings, family reunions, holidays, secret rendezvous .... the world still turned as we slowly made our way across the peaceful green landscape of Aubrac. |
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Another typical pastoral scene |
Passing through several farm gates, we followed a low rock wall, before climbing yet again along the grassy track of a draille (the wide path between stone walls used for moving the cattle) to our high point of 1364m. From this broad saddle you could imagine the vaste snow-covered isolation of this region in winter - no wonder the French love it for cross-country skiing. |
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From here, we could also see the slate grey turrets of Aubrac beyond, and rapidly descended towards the village. As we were approaching, the jangling of cow-bells rang out across the fields and, in the distance, we watched the last herd heading out from town up to the hill pastures, decorated with flags and flowers - we had just seen the last act of the Transhumance 2010. The movement was highly symbolic, as several truckloads of cattle then passed us by carrying the rest of the herd to their summer pastures. |
The last hurrah of The Transhumance 2010 |
The domerie of Aubrac |
The 14th century Tour des Anglais |
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The Domerie of Aubrac was built in the 12th century to provide shelter for pilgrims from the bitter cold, wolves and bandits of the region. We stopped in for a cheese and tomato tartine and a bottle of orangina - how times have changed. Once finished, we soon came to the edge of the Aubrac Plateau, with views way beyond towards the distant valley of the Lot. |
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On the edge of the Aubrac Plateau - with the valley of the Lot beyond |
After rounding the basalt plugs of an ancient volcano, we reached the hamlet of Belvezet and started a steep descent on a rocky footpath, crossing babbling streams beneath the shady forest that lined the track, before eventually emerging on the sealed road just above the village of Saint Chely d'Aubrac. |
Volcanic plug near Belvezet |
Descent towards Belvezet |
Cascading rivulet |
A stone-walled path above St Chely |
Back into forest again |
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A short walk down the road and we were in the village - booking into the gite communal for the night after one of the nicer sections of the Chemin St Jacques. With no demi-pension provided at the gite, we took the opportunity to cut back on our food intake, settling for a filling soup and salad - one small step against the irresistible attraction of the hearty helpings of delicious food that we've enjoyed so far. |