Long circular from Le Mousqué to Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre

Park as close as possible to Place des Arcades in Saint Pé-de-Bigorre.
(S/E) Take Rue du Général de Gaulle, which runs alongside the church, then take the first street on the right, Rue Procope Lassale.

(1) Pass the Batmale wash house under the archway of the old seminary on the right.
After the first "S", turn left up the small street, which quickly turns into a fairly steep staircase.
You will reach the central square of the Labatut district.
Immediately turn left onto Rue Darrets Cazaoux, which slopes downwards (Darrets Cazaoux = "behind the gardens" in Bigourdan).
At the end of the street, turn right and go up Chemin des Elfes towards the former social services centre.

(2) At the water tower, in a place called Bazi, take the dirt track on the right that enters the forest, then a hundred metres further on, at the fork, follow the path on the left that climbs more steeply.

(3) At the Mousqué crossroads (elevation 507), take a sharp left and continue along a wide forest path on the contour line on the southern slope of La Tourette.

(4) At another fork, the Tourette crossroads, under the hedge of a field, take a sharp right and continue until you reach the access path to the telecommunications antenna near the summit of La Tourette (560m). Head for the station and the antenna (or the actual summit plateau on the left in the field at 565m).

(5) From the summit of La Tourette, there is a beautiful view of the Saint-Pé massif and the Gave valley.
Retrace your steps and follow the path to the left until you reach the tarmac road at an altitude of 526m.

(6) Take this road and reach the Mousqué plateau (520m).
Continue eastwards, leaving the road that heads north on your left and, a little further on, the road that descends towards the village on your right.
Continue left along the contour line.
From the second crossroads to elevation 474, pass by the La Diane Saint-Péenne hunting club and walk along the Mousqué ridge for about 800m (ten minutes).

(7) Take the pidgeon hunting hut path, which descends steeply to the right.
Pass a still-active pidgeon hunting hut on your left.
The path becomes steep, passes close to a barn and remains in the shade of the dense forest.

(8) Reach the tarmac road called Chemin des Pidgeon Hunting Huts. Continue left until you reach Place des Arcades (S/E).

Warning
The route is suitable for adults and accompanied children, but not for people with reduced mobility (due to the length of the route and the trails).

Estimated time
I completed this route on foot in 2 hours, including breaks and photos. This is a fairly short time. Allow 2½ to 3 hours for a family outing.
If you are running, allow 45 minutes.

Drinking water
There are no drinking water sources along the route. Bring what you need.

Shelter
There is no shelter along the route. However, at the start and finish points, the Place des Arcades offers shelter under its arcades and huge white canvas canopy in all seasons.

Equipment
In summer, bring the usual equipment for hiking in the lowlands (hiking boots, walking or sports shoes, suitable clothing, rainwear, water, food, etc.).
In all seasons, bring a map, a GPS or the Visorando app on your smartphone.

Traffic
Very low on the trails. High to very high on summer weekends at Le Mousqué.

Viewpoints and points of interest during the hike
- the Labatut neighbourhood viewpoint over the village and its old abbey,
- Two remarkable viewpoints over the Saint-Pé massif and the Nay plain stretching as far as Pau.
- the barbecue picnic area,
- a pidgeon hunting hut (pidgeon hunting hut).

- (1) Batmale wash house: stop to admire the remarkable 19th-century wash house nestled under the arches and the Batmale river, which flows under the former seminary building on the right.
Another curiosity: the river goes underground a few dozen metres further on the left, at the Oueilh de Bop sinkhole, before reappearing as a resurgence at the bottom of the village shortly before the Gave de Pau, at the former Sembres thermal baths.
- Central square of the Labatut district: from here there is a beautiful view of the whole village, particularly the buildings of the former seminary (whose roofs were badly damaged in July 2015), the chapel of the former seminary and the 11th-century Romanesque parish church with its 17th-century bell tower. There is also a beautiful view of the Saint-Pé Massif.
There is an information panel from the Tourist Office on the square.

- (5) Sommet de la Tourette: beautiful view of the Massif de Saint-Pé, from Les Toupiettes in the west to Les Soums de Castet Miu and Ech.

- (6) Plateau du Mousqué: beautiful view in good weather with Montault and Lestelle-Bétharram in the foreground, the plain of Nay and Coarraze and as far as Pau.
Here, there are picnic tables and barbecues for a nice break.
It is the ideal place to watch the sunset. Very bucolic...

- Just after (7): pidgeon hunting hut in the trees: tree house. "The aim is to get the birds to settle around the pidgeon hunting hut, with the lookout and shooting post at the top of a tree, and the birds are not captured alive with nets (as in ground-level pidgeon hunting huts), but shot with a rifle. Hunters are stationed at the top of a tree, and the comfort level is not the same because the surface area cannot be the same.
The pidgeon hunting hut is usually set up at the top of a small hill or valley, always overlooking the surrounding area so that the wood pigeons can be seen arriving from quite a distance. In addition, wood pigeons prefer to perch on a site from which they can also survey the surroundings to protect themselves from potential predators. Source: Wikipedia

8Along the street known as Chemin des Pidgeon Hunting Huts, then its extension Rue Monseigneur Laurence, on the left you can admire beautiful old houses from the 17th and 18th centuries, with their carved, engraved and sometimes dated grey Saint-Pé marble lintels. On the left, you walk along the surrounding wall of the former abbey, former seminary and former Catholic school; you pass through the monumental gate, which still bears the inscription "Institution Saint Pierre".
In 1791, the last monks left the premises, which were sold, stripped of their furniture and rented to several families. The town hall was installed in the former abbey lodgings and its annexes. As early as 1810, plans for a seminary were discussed, but it was not until twelve years later that they came to fruition, thanks to the efforts of Abbé Procope Lassalle, a native of Saint-Pé, who bought the premises and donated them to the diocese.
The minor seminary was founded on 9 August 1822 and was initially run by the future Monsignor Bertrand-Sévère Laurence.
The minor seminary remained active until the First World War, when it partially changed its vocation, becoming a Catholic secondary school under the name Institut Secondaire Libre Saint-Pierre. In 1990, the Institut Saint-Pierre had up to 250 boarders and 380 day pupils. The students left for Tarbes for good in August 1999. The building, owned by the alumni association, is currently abandoned and awaiting a new use.
Source.
Read here the inspiring memories of a student at the minor seminary in 1929

Nearby attractions:

- The village of Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre, its cultural heritage, its events, and the Très Crouts forest.
- The town of Lourdes.
- The Marian Shrine.
- The Batsurguère valley.
- The Pibeste-Aoulhet regional nature reserve, water sports and caving.
- The Bétharram Caves
- The Gaves Valley