Les Bousigues, Assignan

Les Bousigues, Assignan. 7km / 2h15. blue markers. Beautiful walk in the vines and on the causes of Assignan today. Map at end of post. No 28 of the box of leaflet walks. The walk starts at the church. The is a small parking area there or use the main car park just up the road. Cross over the small roundabout and you will find the starter map post. Walk down the little lane and turn left, then right straight away. The small track track you up through the vines to the top of the hill. Here you reach the road. Cross the road and walk a short distance to a small track on your left. The track does a small loop away from the road and nearly returns to the road a couple of times before heading left up a hill and onto a high flat causse covered in rosemary and juniper. After sometime you return to the road just before the village of Villespassans. Cross the road and head down the track. the track bears right and along the top of another lovely causse before dropping down and dropping left. After passing through the garrigue once again you come to a valley with vineyards at the bottom. The path drops down into this pretty valley and turns left beside the red soils of the hillside. After s while you cross the vineyards to the other side of the valley and go up the hill. As you turn right once again you will come to the top of another valley filled with vineyards. The little lane passes olives too and a couple of crosses before keeping left at a junction of lanes and heading up to the village. Take a look at the village and the old pigeon tower too while you are here. It's a very lovely walk with excellent and far reaching views all the way around.

L'abbaye de Fontcaude

L'abbaye de Fontcaude. 10km 3H. Blue markers. The walk is actually a difficult/17.5km walk so we cut the walk in half and did half today and have kept the other portion for another day.

The walk starts in the village of Cazedarnes where there is plenty of parking opposite the school. Once parked walk back down the road towards the coop and turn right opposite the church. Go down the lane to the bottom where it turns into a track.

The track then crosses a stream goes up to join another track going uphill where it then turns off to the right and takes a small footpath to the top.

Once on the top of the ridge the path bears to the left and then takes a small footpath to the left at another turn. The path crosses scrub and joins another track, follow this track to cross diagonally right a small road, then left to reach the abbey.

If you want to visit the abbey be aware that they are closed for 2 or 3 hours over lunch. The little hamlet makes a very pleasant spot for a lunch stop. Now return to the track and go left onto the vineyards of the causses.

Continue following the blue markers, there are a few twists and turns here but only only spot to watch out for is when you go under the overhead pylons.

The route and the map don't quite match. Keep to the right track to pass under and continue to follow the markers to the D134. Go right and then left a short distance later. Now go down go down to the village on this track and then right on the D36 back into the village centre.

This is a beautiful walk with lovely views of the mountains, vineyards, little pueches and villages below. Along the walk you can enjoy a visit to the Abbey too.

Le Roc Rouge, A lovely walk above Bedarieux, Languedoc.

Le Roc Rouge, Bedarieux. 5.5km / 1.30h  Blue markings. A lovely varied little walk, up to the rocks with fantastic views of the Orb valley, Caroux, Avant Monts and the Monts de Orb. Then over beautiful little Causses, woodland and garrigue.

The walk starts at a junction of the D146/D908, park on the Rue des Sablons (it's not far from the school, beside a roundabout with a blue sculpture). Walk up this little road to join a little chemin and cross the road to another chemin with a sign for climbing on the Roc Rouge.

Take this little path which is marked blue. The track climbs quite steeply here (There are also new yellow markers here that go as far as the Roc Rouge). The track goes up hill and turns slightly to the left before reaching  a sign for the climbing routes. Keep straight on here on a small path the goes right to the top of the rocks.

You come to a junction of little paths, (the yellow path leaves to your left but it's worth a detour along the edge of the cliff to see the views and small stone huts that dot the landscape,lots of orchids up here too). At this junction go straight on, the path descends between beautiful old stone walls that divide the once farmed little fields. Here there are lots of little mazets that have been long forgotten, it's another world.

You now keep straight on when you reach a turning to the right and the track descends gradually through woodland and garrigue. When you reach another junction onto a small road turn right and right again at the next junction beside a house. 

This little road then ends at another house where you take a turn to the right onto a tiny rocky path through the trees where you will find more orchids, it comes back out onto a small take which goes downhill to a road.

Turn right onto the road and follow this road back to the roundabout with the blue sculpture were you parked. Lots of beautiful flowers on this walk and wonderful views. It's not too long and easy to do for a family walk.