The Bardeliers Trail

Starts at Les Martinets du Lézert, RD 269 in La Bastide l’Evêque. On-site car park.
This route is signposted SP1.

(S/E) From the car park, head towards Les Martinets du Lézert. (Follow the GR® 62B.) This remarkable heritage site, which was once a water-powered forge for hammering copper, has been restored by volunteers and is open to visitors from May to September. Continue past the Moulin du Roc and follow the road uphill to the junction with the D269. Carry on to the crossroads at Pertus.

(1) Leave the GR®. Turn right towards the village. After crossing the Lézert, you’ll arrive in Pertus.Admire a traditional Rouergue house with its dovecote, as well as an old bread oven. Carry on to the end of the hamlet.

(2) Turn right and take a small path lined with oak trees. Carry on straight ahead and follow the track through the woodland of chestnut and oak trees. All along the way, you’ll notice the undergrowth consisting of male ferns, ivy, holly and moss. As you emerge from the woods, near the fields, you’ll be treated to a magnificent panoramic view of the villages of La Bastide l’Evêque, Cabanes and Réquista Castle. You’ll reach the road .

(3) Turn right onto it, heading towards the hamlet of La Bessière. You’ll be treated to some magnificent views. At the bottom of the descent, cross the Ruisseau de La Bessière and reach the hamlet. You’ll see several wells, a bread oven and two magnificent old houses (one with a dovecote, the other with a tower). Continue to the crossroads in the centre of the hamlet.

(4) Take the road on the left, towards Les Cabanelles.

(5) Keep to the right and walk through the hamlet. Just before you leave the hamlet, you’ll come to a dirt track on the right.

(6) Take this track.You’ll catch sight of La Bessière and can admire the typical vegetation: oaks, chestnut trees, etc., as well as the ‘rius’ (small streams). This track ends at a bend and joins the road to the hamlet of Gaudiès.

(7) Turn right and head towards Gaudiès. Then follow the GR® 62B to the right, which descends towards the Aveyron valley. This path is home to several types of vegetation: oak and chestnut trees, bushes, and then, as you approach the Aveyron, boxwood and moss… You’ll also come across small streams. You’ll reach the Pont de Vézis, built in 1908 for the town’s mining operations.

(8) Continue to the right along the road (D269). Cross two footbridges over the Ruisseau du Lézert and make your way back through the Lézert Valley , home to the ruins of old copper-hammering forges and adorned with snowdrops in winter. Continue until you reach the road at Falgairenc.

(9) Follow it to the right along the Lézert on the GR® 62B and head for the Martinets car park (S/E).

Along the route:
Les Martinets du Lézert, copper forges
Traditional Rouergue farmhouses with dovecotes in Pertus and La Bessière
Panoramic views of the villages of La Bastide l’Evêque, Cabanes, Réquista Castle and the Aveyron valley
The Aveyron and Lézert valleys

Nearby:
La Bastide l’Évêque, a bastide founded in the 13th century, and its 14th-century church, 2 km away.
The Pont du Cayla bridge in the Gorges de l’Aveyron at La Bastide l’Évêque, 5 km away.
The ‘Oreilles en Balade’ audio trail in La Bastide l’Évêque, Vabre-Tizac and Saint-Salvadou.
Saint-Salvadou and its neo-Gothic church, 12 km away.
The Fontaine des Fées and Neolithic remains, 14 km away.
Vabre-Tizac and its ancient fortified village with a 13th-century arched gateway, 15 km away.
The Bleyssol Cross (15th century, listed as a Historic Monument), 16 km away.
Bois du Bruel, a fun nature trail 16 km away: the trail is dotted with little games and puzzles about the biodiversity and history of the woodland. This area is one of the Aveyron’s sensitive natural areas.