CIRCLE WITH A DOT

We drove to the Mont Aigoual summit at 1,565m elevation in Parc nationaldes Cévennes | Cevennes National Park; the park is recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our route up via Nant & Dourbies was long, winding & frankly tedious, so despite views towards the coast (1) & further inland (2) we felt less appreciative than we should have. We decided against our intended hike in 7°C & headed down via Gorges de la Jonte. En route the road verge was decorated with numerous native Dactylorhiza sambucina | the elder-flowered orchid, in shades of yellow, deep purple & pink (we first saw it in Theth, Albania). As is common practice, some of the formations in the gorge are named; this is Arcade des Bergers | Shepherds' Arcade (3). The hamlet of Le Truel, where terraces once held vineyards, orchards & vegetable gardens, while sheep & goats grazed sloping pastures (4). Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures soar from the cliffs above, seemingly untroubled by the loss of a traditional way of life.

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Cité de Carcassonne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town (1). First fortified in the Gallo-Roman period ~3rd–4th C. CE, it underwent extensive restorations in the 19th C. Set upon a hill overlooking the modern urban sprawl, the compact site is protected by ~3km of double walls & 52 defensive towers (2); it’s 19 € pp to walk the ramparts/ visit the restored château, but free to walk between the rows (without climbing on the outer battlements). The enclosed town is very touristy, filled with trinket shops & eateries, but also offers some architectural curiosities (3). Later, at nearby Trèbes, we walked alongside Canal du Midi, a ~360km network of navigable waterways linking the Atlantic (via Garonne) to the Mediterranean using locks, aqueducts, bridges & reservoirs. The canal is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, created through the vision of Pierre-Paul Riquet during 1667–94. The Trèbes Orbiel aqueduct (4) was designed by Vauban in 1688 & the town’s staircase lock dates from ~1674.

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Upon leaving Château de Peyrepertuse bound for Carcassonne we took the D14, a narrow winding backroad between hills cloaked in forest & meadows, intermittently punctuated with small villages. One such village is Bugarach, on the outskirts of which is a 700m path to Pont Romain, a single-arch stone bridge across a limestone basin on the Roman road linking the village to Rennes-les-Bains (1). Although the original was probably Gallo-Roman, it was destroyed in 1992 by flooding but faithfully restored the following year. What caught our eye was the trailside orchids, 3 of which were new to us. All native, first up is Neotinea ustulata | the burnt-tip orchid, which can be found up to 2,400m elevation in the mountains of central & southern Europe (2). The aptly-named Serapias lingua | tongue orchid is found throughout the Mediterranean (3). Ophrys scolopax | the woodcock orchid is recognisably a bee orchid given its morphology (4); it can be found in both the Mediterranean & Middle East. We also re-identified Orchis mascula | the early-purple orchid.

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[1/2] Roques de la Vila is a geological formation also known as Muralla (China) de Finestres | the (Chinese) Wall Of Finestres. We followed online & local advice to ️ at Puente de Penavera, a bridge NE of Estopiñán del Castillo, given the state of the dirt road. The 6.4km drive from our pitch in town took ~30 minutes. Although we sighted the formation ~4.5km into the hike, we first came to the former settlement of Finestres (1). It was depopulated in 1960 due to the filling of the Canelles reservoir; only one house, Casa Coix, is seasonally inhabited. A short & easy signposted walk links the village centre to Ermita de San Marcos | the Hermitage of Saint Mark; this is the best spot for panoramic views of the ~840m long formation (2). Folding of strata ~100 million years ago & subsequent erosion have created two primary parallel lines of vertical limestone that resemble a wall (3). Some of the formation is now partially submerged in the reservoir (4).

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[2/3] From the second pasarela we could anticipate the upcoming descent to the suspension bridge spanning the 35m gap between Aragón & Catalonia (1). From said bridge at Congost del Seguer, looking into the gorge of Mont-rebei, we could readily appreciate the depth of canyon the river had cut here (2); the cliffs reach over 500m high. Camino Natural de Montfalcó al Congost de Mont-rebei ascends a short way on the Catalonian side to intersect the Camí de Mont-rebei, itself a segment of the long-distance GR-1 (Sendero Histórico). As we climbed to join it we got a good look back at the second pasarela we’d used on the opposite bank (3). We also looked down of course (the path is uneven here) & avoided trampling this big darkling beetle (4); Blaps lusitanica can release a foul-smelling secretion from glands at its rear when threatened.

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