Two walks
I have been rather lax about getting out for walks recently, the weather has been unsettled with heavy showers and thunderstorms, and I have just had problems motivating myself.
However I did finally get out on Sunday to walk along the Dordogne valley near Martel. 12 kilometers/3 hours.
It started along a road, tucked under the cliff.
There was a spring and it had left little bowls in the rock beneath.
We could see people skipping stones on the other bank.
Soon the path climbed up between the cliffs, through some woods, until at last it emerged, giving a clear view of the valley.
There wasn’t much in the way of interesting plants, this appears to have the uninspiring name of Tasteless stonecrop?
This is Spotted Knapweed.
Wall germander.
Ragwort embellished with some pretty green beetles.
After continuing along the hilltop the path descended slightly through some spooky woods where the trees were covered in thick moss.
Then past these healthy prickly pear cacti
before climbing slightly to where we could see the view on the Martel side of the hill.
After a bit of road it was a rocky botanical path, where there were labels for some the bushes and trees, before we were back in Gluges.
We did find a large yellow and black grass snake in the wall, but I couldn’t get a picture, even though at one moment he actually put his head out. The dogs were alternately curious and scared, and obviously I don’t want to encourage them to interact so we moved on.
Yesterday I chose to walk around the causse at Issendolus, 16 km/4 hours.
It didn’t have a lot of plants, but some bits of patrimoine which I dutifully regarded.
Such as this cazelle.
These sloes seem rather early.
Lizard sunbathing.
This lavoir had goldfish in it, which amused the dogs.
It was a good choice for a sunny day because the paths ran along walled paths through woods for much of the time.
At one point a little shelter had been built into the wall.
These photos were all of the first half of the walk, and then I realised that I was running low on battery, I should always take a portable battery with me, especially when a walk is as long as this one, because the gps absolutely gobbles power, and I need it because although I have map and guide book I can find myself confused when I am actually on the terrain. In the woods there were a lot of unmarked paths so it really helps to know where you are.
However I am finishing up with this dolmen, which, as you can see, had a handy drinking bowl on the top.
It’s easy to forget that these were originally covered in earth and were gravesites for important people, but over time the earth has eroded away.
So that is the sum of my walking for now, today it’s raining again so I guess that I will just take the dogs out for a brief run, and then I am back to work tonight.
However I did finally get out on Sunday to walk along the Dordogne valley near Martel. 12 kilometers/3 hours.
It started along a road, tucked under the cliff.
There was a spring and it had left little bowls in the rock beneath.
We could see people skipping stones on the other bank.
Soon the path climbed up between the cliffs, through some woods, until at last it emerged, giving a clear view of the valley.
There wasn’t much in the way of interesting plants, this appears to have the uninspiring name of Tasteless stonecrop?
This is Spotted Knapweed.
Wall germander.
Ragwort embellished with some pretty green beetles.
After continuing along the hilltop the path descended slightly through some spooky woods where the trees were covered in thick moss.
Then past these healthy prickly pear cacti
before climbing slightly to where we could see the view on the Martel side of the hill.
After a bit of road it was a rocky botanical path, where there were labels for some the bushes and trees, before we were back in Gluges.
We did find a large yellow and black grass snake in the wall, but I couldn’t get a picture, even though at one moment he actually put his head out. The dogs were alternately curious and scared, and obviously I don’t want to encourage them to interact so we moved on.
Yesterday I chose to walk around the causse at Issendolus, 16 km/4 hours.
It didn’t have a lot of plants, but some bits of patrimoine which I dutifully regarded.
Such as this cazelle.
These sloes seem rather early.
Lizard sunbathing.
This lavoir had goldfish in it, which amused the dogs.
It was a good choice for a sunny day because the paths ran along walled paths through woods for much of the time.
At one point a little shelter had been built into the wall.
These photos were all of the first half of the walk, and then I realised that I was running low on battery, I should always take a portable battery with me, especially when a walk is as long as this one, because the gps absolutely gobbles power, and I need it because although I have map and guide book I can find myself confused when I am actually on the terrain. In the woods there were a lot of unmarked paths so it really helps to know where you are.
However I am finishing up with this dolmen, which, as you can see, had a handy drinking bowl on the top.
It’s easy to forget that these were originally covered in earth and were gravesites for important people, but over time the earth has eroded away.
So that is the sum of my walking for now, today it’s raining again so I guess that I will just take the dogs out for a brief run, and then I am back to work tonight.