Alignan-du-Vent, the King's Cross. 6km/2h Yellow marking
(but if you can find them you get a prize! We only found 5 on the whole walk
and they were pretty hidden). The walk begins in the village.
Park in the car
park behind the square. There is a board for the walk near the gate which is
opposite the the wine cooperative. There are three walks here of different
lengths and all are marked with yellow markers. It was rather rainy today but
the walk was wonderful all the same. So many lovely wild flowers and dotted
with crosses along the route.
Leave the car park and turn left onto the D33 (you can walk
around the town first if you wish). You soon reach a small parking area with a
little lane to your right. Take this tree lined lane down to another junction
and turn right beside a house onto a small track. Very soon you will see a
small track on the right across the fields take this and then a left turn onto
a wider track. This track will take you to Le Peyret, a large château with the
first stone cross.
Turn right at the cross and go past lovely fields of vines
to your right and meadows on your left, with the river beyond. The track bears
right at the woodland and then you will come to a small bridge over a stream.
Go over the bridge, and take a right turn onto the small track along the side
of the field.
Keep the little stream to your right and you will after a short
while come to the Kings Cross of 1660,a spot where King Louis XIV passed
though.
Keep to the right of the cross and you will come to another small Iron
cross. Keep to the right of this cross too and follow the little paved road of
Lissac up to the village. Keep straight on until you reach the wine Cooperative
once again and turn right to reach the car park.
Our walk today was
rather damp to start with, but as Phoebe wanted a walk we set off and hoped for
the best. The flowers in the vineyards at this time of year are so beautiful
and it was lovely to her all the birdsong and wonderful smells.
It soon stopped
raining and we dried off in the warm breeze. And finding a nice spot beside the
last cross we sat down for a picnic of our local bakers Rustiguette bread that
was still a little warm and ate it with local cheese, homemade cake and little
oranges with their leaves still attached. Phoebe is always present at picnic
times and we hoped that she didn't come too close as we were only just balanced
on the side of a little stream. One knock and we would have tumbled backwards
into the ditch.
We enjoyed the history too, a remarkable thing about the area
is that everywhere you go, you find little treasures and snippets for the past.
Here King Louis XIV had come riding past the very spot we walked now and the
locals had erected a lovely stone cross to celebrate the occasion.
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