The dry-stone trail

11 points of interest

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  Architecture

  The hamlet of L'Espinas

  Built on a transport route used throughout the centuries, the hamlet of L’Espinas was a stopover for travellers and itinerant shepherds and their livestock moving between the plains and highland pastures. It lies on one of the branches of the Jalcreste draille, the ancestral drovers’ road that follows the ridge.
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  History

  In the days of the Camisards

  The cemetery contains the graves of Protestants, whose religion was banned by the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes until the French Revolution and who therefore had to bury their dead on private land. The hamlet of L’Espinas is among the places of remembrance of the Camisard War (1702-1704): the revolt by the Protestants of the Cévennes against Royal Catholic rule.
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  Landscape

  Landscapes of Mont Lozère and the Cévennes

  To the north, the Luech valley and the eastern extremity of Mont Lozère is a landscape of schist and granite. To the south, the Cévennes stretch from the Alès plain in the east to the Aigoual massif in the west. A succession of ridges and valleys, they are dominated by Mont Aigoual (1,565 m). Seen from the Mediterranean, the Cévennes are the first relief.
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  Architecture

  A technique for the future

  Today, dry-stoning is in the spotlight again due to its qualities of suppleness and drainage and its role in preventing soil erosion and floods. Dry-stoning is a technique that respects the environment, is energy-efficient and based on the valuable heritage bequeathed by our ancestors. It is destined for a bright future.
• Agriculture

  The chestnut in the Cévennes

  Like most chestnut orchards in the Cévennes, the one at L’Espinas was abandoned after the rural exodus of the 20th century. For the past twenty years or so, chestnut farming has been revitalised. Here, you will not see a fully productive orchard but a chestnut grove that is progressively being restored.
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  Architecture

  The ABPS association

  Created in 2002 on the initiative of construction professionals and the National Park, the Artisans Bâtisseurs en Pierres Sèches (the dry-stone master builders’ association, ABPS) is now known across France. It has a tripartite approach to transmit dry-stone construction techniques and develop the sector.
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  Architecture

  CQP?

  The walls under construction have been built by volunteer builders to try out different structures for the vocational qualification exams (CPQ). For these exams, each candidate must build a structure before a jury in three or four days, depending on the level.
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  Landscape

  Sculpted landscape

  The chestnut tree is naturally content with poor soils, its taproot plunging deep into the ground to bring up nutrients. Of course it grows better and bears more nuts on deep and rich soils! This is why locals carried up the alluvial soil from brooks, often on their own backs, to create cultivatable plots: meadows, fields, gardens and orchards.
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  Architecture

  Building a wall

  The art of dry-stoning was passed on by example through the ages. Today it remains the technique for building a retaining wall. Dry-stoning specialists have recently established professional rules, which are now the benchmark.
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  Architecture

  A landscaped mountain

  The terraces, locally called bancels or faïsses, were built over the centuries. By retaining and deepening the soil, they make it possible to cultivate steep slopes. The walls have been constructed “farmer” fashion: after extraction on site, the stone has not (or hardly) been shaped.
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  Water

  Channelled water

  Many water-management works make it possible to channel rain run-off and thus protect retaining walls during heavy rainfall. These works require particular dry-stoning techniques, which allow the water to seep in while also withstanding its passage.