Brillaud Dolmen

Trip No.205  Entry No.72  Date Added: 15th Jun 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Ariège (09))
Visited: Yes on 10th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: At Cap-Del Pouech, I looked carefully at my maps and found that I could drive halfway to this dolmen and hopefully park up by La Page farm, which will save on the walking. From there, it was a 25 minute walk along a well maintained and signed footpath along a lovely ridgetop, but difficult underfoot on the bare and slippery limestone and mud.

It is in fact two dolmens, both within most of their stony mounds which are adjoined. The east dolmen has a chamber 3 metres by 1.5 metres, open towards the east, with two side slabs and a capstone still in place. The back stone has broken and fallen. The western dolmen is a bit of a wreck, and only faint remains of the chamber can be seen. The overall mound is about 20 metres in length, by 10 metres wide, and seems to have some large slabs in its perimeter, defining the outside shape.

On a good day, the views from up here would be superb, the high Pyrenees to the south, and the plain of Toulouse to the north, but today its just clouds. Good job I didnt try and get to the third (Couminges) dolmen on the walk, as its already 5:30 by the time I get back to the van !

Cap-Del Pouech Dolmen

Trip No.205  Entry No.71  Date Added: 15th Jun 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Ariège (09))
Visited: Yes on 10th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Decided its silly to have come to Mas d'Azil and not gone to visit the dolmen, as it is signposted from the village, and you can drive up a narrow windy lane almost right to it, and theres a place to park just a few hundred metres from the dolmen.

It looks to me to have been re-erected at some point in the past, with one of its little supports possibly being concreted in. A large limestone capstone, 3.5 metres by 2.5 metres, sits high on top of 4 support stones, one backstone, one large and two smaller side stones. The chamber is 2.5 by 1.5 metres, and positioned on a little limestone outcrop with possibly some traces of a cairn around it.

Unfortunately, the poor thing has succumbed to the usual problems of graffitti and broken beer bottles. The dolmen de Brillaud is signposted from here, and I am tempted.....

Grotte de Mas D'Azil

Trip No.205  Entry No.70  Date Added: 15th Jun 2020
Site Type: Cave or Rock Shelter Country: France (Midi:Ariège (09))
Visited: Yes on 10th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Parked at the upstream end of the Mas d'Azil cave, and it hits home again just how MASSIVE this cave is. I walk through the cave again, partly to check where the low bits are for the van. I have forgotten that you can see all sorts of bits and pieces of passages inside.

Decided not to bother with the paid visit, although perhaps I should have, cos I spent enough other time here anyway. A bungy jump has been set up outside the south entrance to the cave, and I watch people doing this for a while - seeing people dropping and hanging in front of the cave entrance really shows the scale. Eventually leave and drive through the cave to the village.

L'alignement d'Espiaub

Trip No.205  Entry No.68  Date Added: 26th Oct 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: France (Midi:Haute-Garonne (31))
Visited: Yes on 9th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: I have seen nothing definite about what is to be found up here, but it is possible to imagine/envisage that there are perhaps 4 or 5 lines of stones running across the hillside, with one or more crossing them, but it is very difficult to know exactly what is what. I walked down from the second set of cromlechs to something I could see, and found a manhole cover for a little cattle trough reservoir !

Looking back up the hillside from here, I would swear that I can see lines of stones coming down the hill from the first set of cromlechs. The stones are all in the bracken, but the bigger stones stand out above this. I think I can see 4 or 5 parallel rows of stones running down the hillside, with the stones looking evenly spaced. They extend to beyond where I am - perhaps 500 metres or more in total length, and I would estimate about 20 metres between rows. This is very difficult to photograph. But am I seeing things ? Not for nothing is there something up here called the Espiaube alignments.

While searching around on the slopes for closer signs of the parallel rows, and I still believe that I can see them, I clearly see a row running up and down the slope, across the lines of possible alignments. The top of the row starts at a spring, which has several large stones standing within a little pool, and continues downslope for about 100 metres, with perhaps more lost in the thick bracken. The stones are spaced evenly, about 8 metres apart from each other. I started to count the stones while walking up from the bottom, but part way up I am sure I saw another line running in parallel with the obvious one. The second line is in the bracken, while the first is in clear grass, as if lots of people have walked up and down here. This all reminds me very much of various Dartmoor and Exmoor rows.

Mail de Soupène Cromlechs

Trip No.205  Entry No.67  Date Added: 26th Oct 2020
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: France (Midi:Haute-Garonne (31))
Visited: Yes on 9th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: Wow ! A bit further down the hill to the east, on a little upland ridge, is a row of stone circles all interlocking with each other. I counted 14 cairn circles up here, sort of joined together in a line along a little hillock. Fantastic. The largest one is on the top of the hillock, and there a row of others running from it down the ridgetop. Then there are other smaller circles built in between the larger ones.

Some of these circles have very well defined cists in their centre - indeed a couple of the smaller, lower circles still have slab lined boxes with both floor and capstones still in place. The top circle has a diameter of 7 metres, and is nicely formed with 23 stones making up the circumference with just a few gaps. There is nice flat grass within but no other obvious features. There are too many circles to write about individually, so I will just list the basic details of the circles I saw in a table below, with numbers matching the little sketch plan.

There is possibly a lot more remains here in the bracken, and not so well defined, and difficult to find.

Sarrat de Cousseillot Cromlechs

Trip No.205  Entry No.66  Date Added: 26th Oct 2020
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: France (Midi:Haute-Garonne (31))
Visited: Yes on 9th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: The first cromlechs I arrive at are about 200 metres from the track, and signposted down a little footpath past some sheep pens at 1345 metres altitude. I saw 4 cairn circles up here, plus perhaps one large open circle. At first I thought I had seen a big open circle, but I am not completely sure. If it is one, it is made of natural rocks pushed into position, with a diameter of about 40 metres, and the stones 8 to 10 metres apart. I will look at this more later.

Just beyond the first fence is a group of 4 cromlechs on the ridgetop. The uppermost is diameter 6 metres and a nicely formed circle using a couple of large natural rocks. There are 19 tightly packed stones around the circumference, and the ground level is substantially higher within. The next nearest cromlech is a small circle 2.5 metres in diameter, with 12 stones around the circumference, and again the ground level is higher within than outside. This is right adjacent to the third cromlech, again 6 metres in diameter and there are 17 visible stones surrounding slightly higher ground within. In the centre of this ring are a few stones which probably once made up a burial cist. One or two of the stones in this circle are quite large, up to 1 metre high.

The fourth cromlech, a bit further down the hillside, is a bit ruinous. 5 metres in diameter, the upper half is well defined, but the lower half is just big natural rocks and a few packing stones. There are 18 stones still to be seen making up this circle, and again a possible burial cist in the middle.

Carnac Pyrénéen

Trip No.205  Entry No.65  Date Added: 26th Oct 2020
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: France (Midi:Haute-Garonne (31))
Visited: Yes on 9th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: Blimey, its almost sunny. In fact it is sunny at the tops of the mountains. I'd better get a move on. A bakers van comes round the camp site which is a help. Put last nights wet stuff outside to dry off. Leave the campsite by 10:00 and drive to Benque. Unfortunately I cannot park where I want to. Look at the maps and go elsewhere where I can park at the edge of the main road a bit further up the valley, and start walking up a different path. It is now warm and sunny, so I change back into shorts and techno shirt. Pack bag, boots on and away by 10 to 11.

The route is along a flat track at first, and then it joins with the path I would have been on at the edge of the village. The path is now quite steep, zig zagging up the side of the mountain, but its a well used track with occasional signs. I get to the first set of cromlechs at 11:45. The views from up here are beautiful all around, and there are all sorts of big birds flying around, and mushrooms etc. There are a few of the autumn crocus flowers looking to poke their heads out and bloom. The only other people around are 4 English people, who I saw parking where I had wanted to in the village. Cars will fit there, but not camper vans.

The 4 English people join me at the circles and we chat a bit. They are out walking and looking at the birds. Probably about my age and out here on a months holiday! There are lots of vultures about just above us. There is a sheep carcas further up the hill that they are after, but there is a dog up there also, so the vultures are circling, waiting... They have counted over 60 of them. A fantastic sight.

On the way back from here there are lots of those lovely flat thistle flowers out, and also some of the autumn crocus. This morning they were just pushing their heads through the soil, but now they are in full flower. Beautiful. It was a wonderful few hours up here in the hills, but now I have to get on. The weather has now cleared enough that I can see some glaciers up on the distant ridge. I get back down to the van just after 4:00, and decide to move on. I decide to head for Spain, over the Col du Portillon, which doesn't seem too far up, but its a massive drop down the other side into Spain.

Armenteule Menhir

Trip No.205  Entry No.64  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Midi:Hautes-Pyrénées (65))
Visited: Yes on 8th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Deep in the Louron valley, on the western side of the Col de Peyresourde in the high Pyrenees, is the tiny village of Armenteule. In this sleepy little Pyrenean village there is an old church. Inside the churchyard, just beside the back of the church, is a standing stone. Whether the church was built beside the menhir, or the stone was brought here later I do not know.

The stone is a piece of slatey schist, stands some 1.3 metres tall, and is approximately 40 cm wide by 20 cm thick at the base, tapering slightly to the top. The whole place has a nice feel about it, as if its as old as the hills, and that man has been living and farming here for eternity. It is slightly strange that this stone (and that at nearby Aneran) is made of a dark grey / black slatey stone, when the majority of stone round here is pale granite.

Aneran stone

Trip No.205  Entry No.63  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Midi:Hautes-Pyrénées (65))
Visited: Yes on 8th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Deep into the Louron valley, on the western side of the Col de Peyresourde in the high Pyrenees, is the tiny village of Aneran. In the tiny churchyard beside this small ancient church in this little Pyrenean village are several odds and ends of old stone, some carved into shapes and and with patterns on them.

I assume the prehistoric stone here is the dark grey cylindrical block, stood beside the wall at the corner of the church. Its about 1.2 metres tall, and approximately circular in section with about 30 cm diameter. It reminds me a bit of some of the iron age steles in Brittany. The church also has some fascinating carved stones built into its walls. An interesting little place.

Menhir de Bordères-Louron

Trip No.205  Entry No.62  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Midi:Hautes-Pyrénées (65))
Visited: Couldn't find on 8th Sep 2005

Log Text: I asked at Tourist Office, but they, as usual, knew nothing, and said I must have the wrong village !

Peyre Hicade de Payolle

Trip No.205  Entry No.61  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Midi:Hautes-Pyrénées (65))
Visited: Yes on 8th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: I spent hours looking for this, largely because walking around here in such a beautiful part of the world and the wonderful scenery is such a great pleasure. The stone is somewhere to the south of the Lac de Payolle, and its holiday complex. There is even a 2 hour circular walk signposted and named Peyre Hicade. But to properly find the stone takes a lot of doing, and it is not actually passed by the named walking trail !

To start with I wasn't totally sure that I found the real stone, but the one I found at least looks like a proper menhir, and not a natural fallen rock. It is just over 2 metres high although the top has broken off and lies at its foot, and by a trackway above the road at the furthest point from the lake on the Peyre Hicade walk, although the signposts for the path do not lead or point to the stone.

If following the road south from the lake, just after the road crosses a bridge, and then does an almost hairpin turn to the right, park and follow a trackway up the hill to the left, on the uphill side of the stream. If this is not the menhir, I do not know what is - it looks like an other picture I have seen.

Menhir de Soulor

Trip No.205  Entry No.60  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Midi:Hautes-Pyrénées (65))
Visited: Couldn't find on 7th Sep 2005

Log Text: There is a stone at the top of the Col de Soulor, now used as a signpost and footpath marker, but I doubt it is the menhir. Nothing else obvious was seen while I was up here, but the Col was in the clouds and the visibility was severely lacking.

At a later point in time, I found out that apparently the stone is down the road to the left (North) of the Col.

Lou Couraus Cromlechs

Trip No.205  Entry No.59  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: France (Aquitaine:Pyrénées-Atlantiques 64)
Visited: Yes on 7th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: High up above the Ossau valley above the village of Bielle can be found several circles of stones, on a little shelf of land halfway up the mountainside, and in a wonderful viewpoint above the valley. From the village take the road up towards Col de Marie Blanc, and park at the Chapelle de Houndas after about 5 kilometres, and about 8 km before the Col. From here the cromlechs are easily reached, on a signposted walk along mountain trackways. Allow three hours for the return visit round the signposted footpath.

Unfortunately, the day I am here is not good for the weather, and I am mostly enveloped in cloud, so I am not getting the fantastic views, in fact most of my walk up the visibility is only 50 metres, which is a pity, because the big mountains around Col D'Aubisque should all be visible from here. After following the trackway for a couple of kilometres, the cromlechs are found a short distance up a steepish path to the left, and after lots of exploring, I counted what I thought to be 16 circles of various sizes.

The first cromlech I found, which I shall call Cromlech A (4), is right beside the track, and has a diameter of 6 metres, with 26 stones still in position, mostly contiguous around the outside, but with about 4 or 5 gaps. Within the circle are lots more stones, and perhaps the remnants of a central burial area, circular and about one metre in diameter. It is of course possible that these stones are the remains of a cairn, and the circular structure is a fluke (although after seeing more of these Pyrenean cromlechs later on my tour, the remains of burial cairns and cists in the centre of these circles is fairly common). A further look suggests that it may have had an entrance to the east, on 065°, between two larger white stones, with a dark one in between. This circle reminded me in many ways of that at Belstone on Dartmoor.

Cromlech B (2). This is a smaller circle, but very well formed, 4 metres in diameter, consisting of about 20 stones, with many more smaller pieces in place. The largest stone is about 0.7 metres high.

Cromlech C (1). This is about 9 metres in diameter with about 18 stones in place, with many more fallen. Some of these stones stand over a metre in height. The ground within is stony and slightly raised, suggesting the remains of a cairn. This circle is just 3 metres away from circle B at the closest point.

Cromlech D and more (6 to 15). Walking eastwards along the shelf of land from Cromlech A for 50 metres, and in a place where some of the vegetation has been cleared back can be seen many more circles of stone. It is not easy to count them, as although some are complete, several are partial, and many are buried in the undergrowth. Suffice to say that there are about a dozen circles here, made with smaller stones, and ranging in diameter from 2.5 metres to 5 metres. What I shall call circle 8 is a nicely formed circle 5 metres in diameter and with about 24 readily identifiable stones. It doesn't photograph well as it is underneath some bushes.

At last, after sitting and spending ages up here, the cloud has risen above me, and in fact there are patches of blue sky, although not as yet above the mountains. Its really beautiful up here, with birdies tweeting and bells ringing all around. How much longer should I stay though ? Perhaps its better to be getting back now, its gone 3:00pm. Ahhh, the cows have arrived. I can go back now the cows have come home ! Take many more pictures with the cows n them, the stones make good scratching posts. I get down to the van at 4:00, and its now mostly sunny. Time to tackle Aubisque and Soulor.

Turoum-Bouchous Dolmen

Trip No.205  Entry No.58  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Pyrénées-Atlantiques 64)
Visited: Couldn't find on 7th Sep 2005

Log Text: I couldn’t find any evidence on any maps I had, and asked at the tourist information office and national park centre, but nobody knew anything about this dolmen.

Calhau de Teberno Dolmen

Trip No.205  Entry No.57  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Pyrénées-Atlantiques 64)
Visited: Yes on 6th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This dolmen can be found in a nice little landscaped bit of parkland, sandwiched between the D.920 road and the railway line at the outskirts of the village of Buzy a couple of kilometres to the north of Arudy. There are many other rocks in the park, which have probably all been placed as features, but perhaps one or two are related to the dolmen.

It sits on top of a little hillock, which I wonder whether these are the remains of a large tumulus ? The chamber is largely below the level of the surrounding ground. The dolmen has a lovely curvy capstone sitting on top of a chamber 4 metres long by 1,5 metres wide, with nicely positioned side slabs each side (3 one side, 4 the other). There is a well fitted backstone, and the chamber opens to the southeast on an alignment of 135°, but perhaps more importantly this is looking directly towards the big gap in the mountains, which is the entry to the Ossau valley.

If it wasn't for the bad weather, and all the trees around, this dolmen would have superb views. I think that I later learn that the dolmen was possibly moved to its current position when the railway was constructed.

Dolmen de Barzun

Trip No.205  Entry No.56  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Pyrénées-Atlantiques 64)
Visited: Couldn't find

Log Text: My maps have nothing marked in detail as to the whereabouts of this dolmen, and I could find no details or signs to it in the village. Somehow I didn’t find this dolmen which I learned later is pretty much in the centre of the village in a little square. Doh !

Peyrasse menhir

Trip No.205  Entry No.55  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Midi:Hautes-Pyrénées (65))
Visited: Couldn't find on 6th Sep 2005

Log Text: I had a bit of a look for this, but it is not on the map in detail, and I found nothing obvious in the real world.

Dolmen du Peyre-Dusets

Trip No.205  Entry No.54  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Hautes-Pyrénées (65))
Visited: Yes on 6th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: To the northwest of the village of Poueyferré, take the road up into the hills towards the Dechetterie and park as near as possible to the Chemin Henry IV trackway which runs along the top of the ridge here. Take this ancient trackway northwards, and walk for about a kilometer, where the Peyre-Dusets dolmen can be found. It is signposted.

The dolmen is right beside the track and has a 2 metres by 1 metre chamber covered by a partially fallen capstone which is fairly round and about 2.5 metres in diameter. The dolmen faces towards the southeast and probably has fantastic views towards the mountains, but unfortunately no view at all today while I am here. There is a semblance of the remains of a mound at the back and to the west of the dolmen.

There are lots of deer in and out of the maize in the fields around here, and chestnuts falling onto me from the trees surrounding the lane, which is nice.

Peyre-Crabère

Trip No.205  Entry No.53  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Midi:Hautes-Pyrénées (65))
Visited: Yes on 6th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: Right beside the D.940 road as it enters the northern boundary of the town of Lourdes from Pau direction, can be found this large leaning menhir. It sits right at the corner of a little housing road, Rue Peyre-Crabère, and has a bus shelter and garden hedge for company on its other two sides. The stone is about 3 metres tall, and leans almost 30° from vertical. While I was stopped here, it was thundering, pouring with rain, and very busy with traffic.

Poueyferré Tumulus

Trip No.205  Entry No.52  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: France (Midi:Hautes-Pyrénées (65))
Visited: Yes on 6th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: A few kilometres to the northwest of Lourdes, on the eastern side of the D.940 road near to Poueyferré, take the minor road down into the dip to the hamlet of Maillous, where this large tumulus can be found. To get to the tumulus, which can be seen from the road, walk down a little trackway which leads to the south beside a couple of houses. The trackway runs out at a little woodland, and the tumulus is contained within this wood.

It is about 30 metres in diameter, and 5 metres high with quite steep sides, and has a relatively modern tomb built onto the top of it. The woodland is fenced off, so complete access to the tumulus is not possible, and as the undergrowth is quite thick, getting decent pictures is not easy.

Just to the north of the large mound, about 40 metres away, is the remains of what looks to have been another tumulus, now mostly ploughed out and lost into the fields, except for a small bit still covered with trees. It has become horribly wet again here, with thunderstorms rumbling all around.