Vieussan

An amazingly wonderful walk, with stunningly beautiful scenery, a delightful village, super tower to visit, lime kilns, mountains and a little excitement onroute. Vieussan. Blue/yellow. 4.5km but it feels like 7km. 2H but allow longer as the views are stunning and you will want to go off to look at the tour and the special viewpoint. Don't underestimate this walk as it's not what I would call easy even if it is relatively short. There is quite a bit of climbing and in parts the route can be difficult. Take the D14 to Vieussan and park in the village. There is plenty of parking up on the road into the village, don't park down by the little shop on the D14. Walk into the village and just before the first arch there is a turn to the left. This little path takes you up and out of the village to the tower. Soon you will see a red sign for the Tour. It's not far up and worth a visit, just a little bit of climbing. The views here are beautiful even if you are unable to do the rest of the walk. Return to the path and head north. It's a lovely little path above the road and river. You should see a lime kiln soon. The path descends to the road and you then have to turn right and walk the short distance up to the pottery. Just before the pottery you will see a track to your right. Take this and follow the stream up the valley. It's not an easy route over rock, but there are little steps on the rock to help. The path twist back and forth over the stream. At one point you will see the blue path going to your right and white dots to your left. The blue route goes up and back down to avoid a difficult rock in the stream. If you prefer take the white route and hold the chain to climb the rock then you will rejoin the blue trail on the other side. The route continues up the stream but after a while you will see a yellow route to your right. Leave the blue blue and take the yellow route sharply up hill. Continue on this path until you see a red sign. It's up to you if you take this diversion but if you don't you will miss out on the most stunning views of the whole walk. Here you see all the valley, the Caroux and gorge and the beautiful Espinouse. There is a little house here, with a tiny garden which makes a good lunch spot out of the wind but if it's not windy go on a little way and you will find the best lunch spot of all, with views to delight. Now return to the yellow path and continue towards the village. I think there is another lime kiln here. Soon you will have views down to the tower and the village. So beautiful in the sunshine. Just before the tower there is a choice of paths. Go down to your left and then turn right onto the little path that leads back into the village, marked blue. It would not be a good idea to do this walk in wet weather or after heavy rain as you follow the stream, crossing it many times. Enjoy.