La Trescoulade

3 points of interest

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  History

  Arrigas

  In the 19th century, the copper mines were the valley's biggest employer. They closed in the early 20th century, bringing about the economic decline of Arrigas. The trays for washing the ore can still be seen alongside the D 189, as you leave the village towards Peyraube. The railway did not bring the hoped-for prosperity since, for technical reasons, no station could be built at Arrigas. To take the train, one had to walk to the neighbouring village of Aumessas. (Jérome Reversat)

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  History

  Col des Tempêtes

  Between the Col de l'Airette and the Col des Tempêtes, you may notice ruined buildings below the track. They are vestiges of former sheepfolds, where the flocks moving up from the valley could shelter for the night or in bad weather. (Jérôme Reversat)

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  History

  St-Peyre rock

  To evoke the site of St Peyre, here is a text by C. Chante, taken from his work Un coin des Cévennes. Le Vigan et ses environs (1933). “All of a sudden, an oak grove appears that surrounds a small clearing where some leftover rocks, laid out in an elongated oval, seem to indicate a cromlech. At one end stands the antique structure, which the centuries have respected and which the Christians never thought to come and destroy on this almost inaccessible escarpment. There can be no doubt about its purpose: it is clearly a Druidic altar, made from granite blocks set out in a semicircle with a gradient, whence the priest must have harangued the faithful before or after the sacrifice (…).”