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Heading towards Ax-les-Thermes, leave the N20 and turn left towards Luzenac. Cross the bridge over the Ariège and, at the corner by the cemetery, turn left again, following the road sign for “Château de Lordat”. After the sports ground, turn right onto the D55 towards Lordat and reach the village after a series of impressive hairpin bends. Opposite the church, turn right and park on the left-hand side of the road in the designated spaces.
Yellow PR® markings + signposting
(S/E) Return to the church and turn right at the corner. Cross the small square with its charming fountain and follow a narrow lane leading to another small square. Continue to the right, following the sign for “Château”.
Pass the castle car park on your left and carry straight on to begin a gentle descent to a junction where there is a signpost.
(1) Ignore the path on the left – this will be the return route – and carry on straight ahead. A little further on, leave the wide path you have been following and turn left onto the track which descends quite steeply to the small stream (Ruisseau de Gérul). Cross the stream and begin the climb back up towards the village of Axiat.
No signposting
(2) Temporarily leave the signposted route by turning right onto the road. Pass, in turn, the wash house, the town hall and then the War Memorial before reaching Saint-Julien Church.
(3) Take a moment to admire this building, constructed in the early Romanesque style, whose bell tower and apse are its two most striking features. Turn back.
Yellow PR® signposting + directional signs
(2) Walk for about ten metres and turn right at the corner of the house with green shutters. The slope becomes steeper before you reach a junction just past a red postbox on the left-hand side. Turn left, cross the bridge over a stream and set off along a wide, terraced path that runs flat through the meadows.
Further on, ignore the track blocked by a gate which climbs to the right and keep to the left. Then begin the descent leading to the ridge road (D20), passing another path on the right. Once at the road, turn right and walk for about 200 metres.
(4) Take the path on the left, going through a fence which you must close carefully behind you. This lovely sunken path runs parallel to the D20, which lies higher up on the right. Further on, go through another fence using the designated gap, then cross a stream, after which the slope becomes steeper. At the next junction, ignore the path on the left leading to Estagnole and continue to the right to reach Appy.
(5) Turn left onto the D20 and leave the village. After a bend to the right, the slope levels out as the road runs alongside a meadow on the left, with a few trees in the centre.
(6) Take the path on the left (signposted Caychax). When you reach the first houses in the village, veer to the right, ignoring the Yellow Cross, and you’ll very quickly reach the D20.
(7) Turn left. Walk past the rather unusual church, in that it is attached to a residential house and the two buildings share the same roof. Walk past the town hall, then take the first street on the left. At the wash house, continue straight ahead, slightly to the right (signposted ‘Albiès – 6–8’), then turn right onto a grassy path.
This path alternates between steep descents and flat sections before taking a sharp left-hand bend and crossing the Turière stream. Further on, ignore a path on the right that isn’t shown on the map (sign for ‘chemin de Turière’ in the opposite direction) and carry straight on until the next junction marked by a signpost.
(8) Turn left (signposted ‘Vèbre’). Leave the woods to begin a traverse along the southern slope of the Roc du Courbas, whilst enjoying stunning views over the Ariège valley. Join the tarmac road at the first houses in Vèbre.
No signposting
Carry on straight ahead, passing between the church and the cemetery to emerge onto the D420.
(9) Turn left to follow this quiet road, which later runs alongside the railway line. Continue as far as the old station, just before the level crossing.
(10) Turn left into Rue de la Forge and you’ll reach a junction by a very simple metal cross.
Yellow PR® signposts
Head straight ahead. Further on, ignore a path branching off to the left, signposted by a directional post, and carry on straight ahead, following a beautiful dry-stone wall.
At the next junction (not shown on the map), keep to the right towards the footbridge over the stream. Cross the footbridge and begin a very steep climb up the path that follows the valley, after passing another path on the right that leads to Garanou. Fortunately, the slope levels off slightly before reaching the junction you passed on the way out.
(1) Turn right and follow the outward route in the opposite direction to return to the car park (S/E).
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