The Lot Valley

Last weekend we did a wonderful walk in the Lot valley.  It is from the book Au Coeur de la Vallée du Lot, Collection les belles balades de l’Aveyron : 22 balades à faire à pied, à cheval ou en VTT (walk number 14).  We’ve got several of these books and they have some beautiful walks in them as well as listing some interesting historical facts about the area.  They are of course in French.  The books are available from Tourist Offices.  This one cost about 6 Euros.    

12kms in length, the walk starts and finishes in the town of Bouillac.    The walk begins with an ascent (about 300 metres in total).  There are some perfect places for a picnic en route with sweeping vistas over the river and beyond.  After reaching the top, the path stays on the plateau for a while.  We were lucky to see a new-born calf take his first unsteady steps.   The path then descends over a rocky path towards a road – again the views were stunning.  The wild flowers that dotted the hillside gave splashes of colour.   There is a short stretch along the main road and then you cross a bridge over the river before taking a shady path on the right that runs next to the river over level ground.   After about an hour you take another bridge back over the river to Bouillac.  

Everywhere seemed shut, but then we spotted a bar that was open so we were able to reward ourselves with a cold beer.