La montée du Causse par Dargilan

16 points of interest

• 

  

  Forest management

  The Mont Aigoual forest.
  The wood harvested here comes from a forest that was reforested from the late 19th century onwards, after a period of overgrazing. This forest begins, grows and dies like all living beings. The job of foresters is to manage and support its development while respecting the laws of nature. They harvest trees before they die to make room for young trees. These tree trunks supply an entire economic sector, from the lumberjack to the skidder operator, the saw operator and the carpenter or cabinetmaker. Wood also accompanies you throughout your lives, from your cradle, furniture, woodwork and the wooden frame of your house to your coffin.

• 

  

  Between labour and idleness

  Marker 3
  Men and women have fashioned the Estate according to their needs and wishes. At Roquedols, crops used to be irrigated with water from the Pauchètes stream. In fact, the path you have just been walking on may have struck you as narrow and stony. It follows a former béal, or small irrigation channel. Much later, ornamental landscaping was laid out, including this beautiful archway – which is built on the vestiges of the wall of the former Protestant cemetery!

• 

  

  Produce and protect

  Marker 4
  Felled trees and branches left on the ground in a protected space? That might seem surprising, but at Roquedols Estate, the forest has always been intended to be productive. In the 19th century, Messrs. Breuil, Dayre and Jouve already exploited the woods of Roquedols intensively. Today, tree fellings are planned with the greatest respect for biodiversity. You are in a living forest, whose appearance evolves by human intervention.

• 

  

  Forest giants

  Marker 5
  To contemplate these giants, you need to crane your neck and lift your eyes to the skies! The most remarkable is a giant sequoia originally from California. It was introduced at Roquedols for aesthetic reasons and out of a taste for the exotic. The many silver firs growing around it reveal ambitions of a different kind. In about 1840, the Estate’s owners created a tree nursery so as to be able to grow a large variety of species. The nursery was maintained until the 1980s.

• 

  

  Dovecote

  Marker 2
  The interior layout of the dovecote with its nesting-boxes has been lost. The set-back roof made it possible for the birds to sun themselves in the winter whilst remaining sheltered from the north wind. At Roquedols, as elsewhere, only the nobility had the right to breed pigeons, which were sought-after not only for their flesh but also for their droppings, used as a powerful fertiliser.

• 

  

  Indoctrinated youth

  On the Ferrussac road, the association Anciens des Chantiers de Jeunesse has erected a memorial stone.
  The chantiers de jeunesse (youth work sites) were established by the Vichy regime in July 1940 in the French Free Zone to ensure that youths exempted from military service for various reasons received physical and doctrinal training for eight months. About 6,000 youths from Work Site 19, “Roquedols’s Young Foresters”, were spread out in the surroundings of Meyrueis. They carried out forestry work and made charcoal. The work sites were operational from 1940 to 1944.

• 

  

  The Château de Roquedols

  Marker 6
  A former agricultural estate building, the traditional 14th century farm evolved into a castle in the 16th century. Looking at its quadrilateral shape, you will see that the tower on the left looks different from the one on the right. The shape of the porch before the entrance seems unlike the other parts of this monument. Up until the 20th century, the Château underwent several transformations, but Roquedols Estate has always retained its agricultural purpose. Its successive owners have taken possession of the space in different ways: the Dupont de Bossuges family hosted clandestine Protestant gatherings (18th c.); Madame Dol turned the Estate into a charming residence (late 19th to early 20th c.). During the Second World War, the castle was a refuge for the forestry services and a storage place for artworks. Today, it brings happiness to walkers looking for fresh air!

• 

  

  The formal garden and the buildings

  Marker 7
  Life was good at Roquedols in the late 19th century! Madame Dol transformed the Estate, embellishing the promenade with a chestnut avenue and formal garden. They might almost make you forget the Estate’s history of agriculture and forestry, except that its buildings – the former farm outbuildings later turned into a sawmill – are such visible reminders of it.

• 

  

  Roquedols or literary genius

  Marker 2
  “It is not a palace. It is a simple castel, a Cévenol castel: the château of a harsh and austere country. Backing onto wooded slopes, it stands in a hollow from where the view extends over the valley downstream.” (Jeannin, 1961). Standing at the top of the dovecote will easily give you a poetical outlook. Roquedols Estate and the forest on Mont Aigoual have inspired many authors. In the 19th century, Fabre d’Olivet invented a troubadour’s chant: in order to recover his castle and marry his betrothed, Ponce de Meyrueis must capture a sword held by terrible brigands. After many incidents, Ponce and Rose are reunited and can live together in love.

• • Attachment

  

  

  Of conifers and deciduous trees

  Marker 1
  In Roquedols forest, firs and beeches grow side by side magnificently. Softwood and hardwood, together? Yes, but the combination is not entirely due to chance. This forest is not a wilderness, but a space cultivated to maintain the diversity of species. At Roquedols, you can see conifers such as fir, larch and spruce as well as deciduous trees: beech, maple and ash. Gaps are made in the forest canopy to give the trees all the light that they need to develop.

  AttachmentOpen

  • Photographie

    Credit: © Office national des forêts

    Downloadpdf

• 

  

  The village of Meyrueis

  The geographical location of Meyrueis is remarkable, nestled between the Aigoual massif, the causse Noir and the causse Méjean. Here the Camin Ferrat crosses the Jonte river. Pilgrims and transhumant flocks of sheep stopped in the village before continuing their journey. Many merchants came to its large fairs. Stroll through the lanes and relive the flourishing past of the belle époque. From the prosperous bourgeois residences to the marketplaces, everything still speaks of the past! Sheep’s wool from the plateaux was woven here, silk was spun. There was intense economic activity. In the 17th century, Meyrueis became a centre for hat-making. By 1860, 17 milliners were busy making hats for Languedoc and Provence, beautiful and exceptionally high-quality hats made from felted wool and silk bourette. Discontinued as of about 1920, this activity left room for tourism, which today animates the village.

• 

  

  Castle rock

  According to a non-verifiable claim from the 17th century, the Roman general Caius Marius had a castrum built on the rock overlooking the village, in 101 BC. However, the first written sources to mention the village date from the 11th c. and refer to the castle, home to the Bermont family. The castle then passed successively into the hands of the Anduze, Roquefeuil and Armagnac families, before falling to Jeanne d’Albret, Queen of Navarre. 

• 

  Terrace

  Throughout the climb, you will see abandoned former crop terraces. A few grapevines have persisted since local wine-growing came to an end. They bear witness to the fact that the slopes around these hamlets and villages were once cultivated and planted with fruit trees and vines. Terraces like these were the only way for the valley's inhabitants to have flat areas with deep soil suitable for growing.

• 

  

  Three Bishops’ Stone

  At the crossroads of the D39 and D139 is a standing stone topped by a stone cross. Today the monument symbolises the exact spot where three departments meet: Aveyron, Gard and Lozère. At the times the cross was erected, it indicated the limits of the dioceses of Vabres in the Aveyron, Nîmes in the Gard and Mende in the Lozère. 

• 

  

  The dovecote at Les Mazes

  The round building in the middle of the field, on your right as you leave the hamlet, is a dovecote. It is mentioned in 1680. Carrier pigeons were bred there. They were an excellent means of communication in the turbulent 18th century. The efficiency of these uncatchable messengers was such that, as of 1927, the use of carrier pigeons was controlled by the French state. All carrier pigeons were counted, ringed and registered, and all releases were regulated by decree!
  Pigeons have an extraordinary sense of orientation and are resilient against long journeys. They will find their way back home with precision, even from several hundreds of kilometres away.
  
  NB. You are on private land. If you decide to approach the dovecote, please make sure the sheep barrier is closed.

• 

  Cheese-making with sheep’s milk

  Until the 19th century, sheep were bred for their wool. Their milk was used to produce cheese for the family, which was matured in cellars or caves. It was not until 1880 that the production of blue sheep’s cheese flourished. In 1925, Roquefort became the first cheese to be declared an Appellation d’origine contrôlée (Protected Designation of Origin). Now internationally renowned, Roquefort is exclusively matured in the cellars of the village of the same name.