Les Pins
Yellow waymarksDespite the duality of chestnut trees and maritime pines, on this walk you will find everything that makes the charm of the Cévenol lanscape: low walls, well-maintained chestnut groves, typical Cévenol mas (isolated farms), panoramic views onto the valleys… and a shady path too.
2 points of interest
HistoryProtestant cemetery at La Blichère :
In the mas (isolated farms) landscape, you will notice graves, some anonymous, marked simply by two schist roofstones planted in the field, upright, delimiting the head and the foot of the grave. These isolated burials appeared after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, making Protestant services illegal. Excluded from working for the state, banned from attending their own churches, Protestants were also excluded from their own cemeteries. For years, they buried their dead in secret, “in the land”, in a field belonging to the deceased’s family.
The cemetery at La Blichère has graves from different periods. The tradition persists to this day, with the Aigoin family, owners of the mas since the 1950s, having its own burial zone.
Gare à Saint-Julien des points - NT HistoryFrom miner-smallholder to farmer
The decline of silk farming, various chestnut tree diseases, the small size of the holdings, the opening of the trunk road in 1886 and the boom in coal mining in the coalfield at La Grand Combe during the 19th century encouraged the inhabitants of the Cévennes to leave for work in the mines.
The coalmines certainly employed the area’s smallholders, but mining was not their only activity: they remained attached to their land. When they came home from the mine, they still had to take care of the livestock and crops. That is how these oases around the mas were maintained.
Nowadays, farmers have diversified and offer campsites or rooms on their farms or a farm inn. You can find producers of chestnuts, honey, berries or goat’s cheese on your walks.
Description
From the car park behind the church, walk uphill on the road, take the road on the left and then immediately the path on the right that climbs the hillside.
- Take the wider path on the right. This goes back down through a chestnut grove to a small road (please respect this private property)
- Turn right onto the road for 300m to the hamlet of La Blichère.
- As you enter the hamlet, take the path that goes uphill on the right (please respect this chestnut grove, which is farmed). Cross the Valat des Clots ravine and continue on the path which leads to a road. (Optional viewpoint : turn left and then right on the road, then retrace your steps)
- Take the track on the right that goes steadily uphill and continue straight ahead, ignoring a track on your right.
- When you arrive at the road, turn right onto it and walk for 180m.
- Take the path on the right and, at the crossroads, continue downhill on the left (careful: beehives on the right). Continue downhill, ignoring the tracks on your right.
- At the road, turn right to return to your starting-point (500m).
- Departure : St-Julien des Points (church)
- Arrival : St-Julien des Points (church)
- Towns crossed : Saint-Julien-des-Points, Le Collet-de-Dèze, and Sainte-Cécile-d'Andorge
Forecast
Altimetric profile
Recommandations
This hike is accessible to all.
It can be done on mountain-bike, but be careful between the start and point 1: damaged path ! Take the road instead.
Make sure your equipment is appropriate for the day’s weather conditions. Remember that the weather changes quickly in the mountains. Take enough water, wear sturdy shoes and put on a hat. Please close any gates and barriers behind you.
Information desks
Tourism office Des Cévennes au mont-Lozère, Le Collet-de-Dèze
RN 106, 48160 Le Collet-de-Dèze
This office is part of the National Park's associated tourist-information network, whose mission is to provide information on, and raise awareness of, the sites and events as well as the rules that must be observed in the National Park's central zone.
Open year-round
Tourism office Des Cévennes au mont-Lozère, Vialas
48220 Vialas
This office is part of the National Park's associated tourist-information network, whose mission is to provide information on, and raise awareness of, the sites and events as well as the rules that must be observed in the National Park's central zone. Open July and August
Transport
LiO is the regional public transport service of the Occitanie/ Pyrénées – Méditerranée region. It facilitates everyone’s movements by prioritising public transport. For more information, go to the lio Occitanie app or visit : https://www.mestrajets.lio.laregion.fr
Access and parking
From Le Collet de Dèze, drive downhill on the N106 for 5km, then, just before Le Pont, take a small road on the left to Église (à La Combe) via Le Champ Neuf.
Parking :
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