The Rain Water Reservoirs Trail

Return to Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt and take the D943 towards Sault. On leaving the village, turn right onto the D230 towards Sarraud.
The trailhead is about 5.5 km from Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt.
There is no car park, but there is a natural parking area on the right and left of the road.

Green signpost no. 14, but at times there will be variations with other numbers.
(S/E) From the information board, take the track on the right that descends into the valley. After a paved section, the track climbs up, turning right and joining a fork.
Continue along the track on the left, which climbs alongside a fence for about 150 m.

(1) Leave the path on the right and continue straight ahead on the main track, ignoring the other paths, which are often access roads to properties.
Further up, ignore a track on the left and continue to cistern no. 148. Continue along the track (tarmac around the cistern) and just after the tarmac, ignore a green signpost no. 5 on the right.
300 m further on, on the left, a private access leads to a restored hut and its reservoir and, on the right of the track, the Aiguiers Bessons.

(2) 10 m further up at the crossroads, on the left is another reservoir. Leave the path on the right, which is the alternative route to "Le Cluyer".
Continue along the same track, passing a few more turnoffs on either side and a renovated hut on the right, until you reach a crossroads.
Turn right onto the slightly sloping track and look for a sign on the left 100 m further on, indicating the Aiguier de Barralier.

(3) Continue along the track, ignore a faint path on the right, pass some ruins and piles of stones and arrive at a crossroads.
Turn left, following the signs, and after 50 m you will come to the Borie de Cassette under the trees.

(4) Continue along the path which enters a private area, but with a sign authorising pedestrian access. This section of the path is surrounded by pastures and crops, then turns right after 600 m.
On the left, you can see the Cassette farmhouse and its lavender field. Shortly afterwards, a small, unnamed rain water reservoir carved into rock appears on the right of the path. Continue along this same path, which turns left and passes through a magnificent, well-maintained forest.
Leave the private property and continue to the crossroads.

Green signpost no. 14 + white and red (^GR®) + yellow
(5) Turn right onto the path and 400 m further on you will see a sign on the right indicating the access to the Petit Aiguier de Gayeoux.

(6) 10 m further on, on the left, you will see the Grand Aiguier de Gayeoux.

(7) Continue along the road until you quickly reach a junction with a track.
Turn right onto this track and continue for 300 m, ignoring a path on the left and continuing until you find another one.

Green signpost no. 14
(8) Turn left onto the stony path that climbs into the forest and then continues more or less flat. When the path begins to descend, in one of the first bends, you will find the Aiguiers de Travignon on your left.

(9) Cross the site and turn right before the rain water reservoirs carved into rock to find the path that you need to take on the left, following the signposts for 100 m.

Green signpost no. 14 + white and red (^GR®) + yellow
(10) In the bend, turn left and cross the ruins of the hamlet of Travignon. At the end of the ruins, leave the green signpost no. 10 on your left and continue right towards the Combe du Puits du Geay. Immediately after, leave a path on your right and continue downhill on the one on your left.

Green signpost no. 14
When you reach a crossroads with large rocks, turn right onto the track that descends into Combe de Travignon and climbs back up onto the Lays track.
Follow this track to the left for about 800m.

(11) When the track begins to descend, turn right to climb up a stony path for 150m. Turn left onto a small path that climbs and continue on flat ground.
Leave a path on your left and another on your right to find a signpost. Continue along the path and look 150m further on, on the left, for the corbelled drystone shelter known as Caulet.

(12) Continue along the path. Further on, another drystone shelter is signposted on the left. The path continues and turns left at a large drystone wall to rejoin a track.

(13) Turn left onto the path for 100 m, then leave it and take a small path on the left. About 200 m further on, there is a tiny rain water reservoir carved into rock on the left, followed by two drystone shelters on the right. The path then comes to a fork.

(14) Turn left and then left again to make a round trip to the Aiguiers Brognard.

(15) Turn around.

(14) Turn left onto a path that runs alongside a fence and joins the track.

(1) Turn left onto the track and follow the same route you took on the way there to return to the car park (S/E).

The rain water reservoirs are cisterns dug by hand into the limestone rock. They were fed either by an impluvium formed by a rock slab or by the roof of a neighbouring building. In these arid regions, they have long enabled the maintenance of a permanent rural habitat and provided water for livestock.

• Open rain water reservoirs carved into rock: in these structures, the water is not protected from pollution by a roof, which probably limited their use to watering livestock.
• Covered rain water reservoirs: in order to keep the water cool and unpolluted, most rain water reservoirs are covered by a dry stone structure.

(2) Besson rain water reservoirs: these two twin reservoirs (besson = twin in Provençal) were mainly used for watering livestock. The arch dividing them is evidence of two phases of excavation.

(3) Barralié rain water reservoir: this remarkable rain water reservoir has a single cistern divided into two parts by a dry stone wall supported by two corbelled vaults. The second dome is inaccessible, and the water is drawn after percolating through the wall separating the two parts. This arrangement seems to be linked to a need for high-quality water, which is confirmed by the presence of a decanter between the impluvium and the rain water reservoir carved into rock. Three drinking troughs are visible nearby.

(4) Drystone shelter at La Cassette: this magnificent cone-shaped drystone shelter was an outbuilding of the ruined building behind it. Surrounded by an enclosure and old terraced fields, it must have been used as a shelter or farm building.

(6) Petit Aiguier de Gayeoux: very simple in shape, this open rain water reservoir carved into rock was probably used for watering livestock.

(7) Grand aiguier de Gayeaoux: this rain water reservoir carved into rock is distinguished by its squat dome-shaped drystone shelter and its huge impluvium. It uses a large limestone slab sloping to the west and bordered by a rocky embankment.

(9) Travignon rain water reservoirs: this remarkable group of reservoirs supplied the hamlet of Travignon, which had around thirty inhabitants. There are two open reservoirs and two covered ones.