Hours of walk: 7
Altitude gain: 300 m
Altitude loss: 300 m

Itinerary

From the south-west of the village the road flanking a mill-race is to be followed. The road runs along the foot of the wooded hill that surrounds the village on the western side: it is the old demolished castle. The ruins of the mill of Alzeu are situated on the mill-race which originates from the Arize river. At a bridge, you take an asphalted road close to the stream to get onto the D 117, where you keep the left for a short stretch until the following junction at an altitude of 390 m where you turn right on a tree-lined road among the fields that is parallel to the departmental road. At the junction at an altitude of 389 m you follow the asphalted road until the D117 is reached at the entrance of Castelnau-Durban. After the village is crossed, you take the second side street on the right and then turn left on the road leading once again to the D 117. This is to be crossed to follow straight ahead and then get onto the road twisting among farmhouses and fields. A bit further on after the houses of Calibère, you reach a junction at an altitude of 511 m and turn left at first and then, about 500 metres further, you take the right to follow a road going up through hairpin bends in the woods. Now you keep on heading to the west, walking on rural roads obtained from the foundations of the disused railway of Foix-St-Girons, operating until the Sixties. Some stations and signal boxes were turned into farms, one station became a sports centre. The last stretch including the old iron bridges goes across the wood and then gets onto an asphalted road which quickly leads to the D 117. This is to be crossed in order to take first the Route de Foix, then the Avenue René Plaisant and finally on the left the Rue de la République to reach Belleville, the old town of St-Girons.

Food and accommodation

-In St-Girons

Hôtel Le Valier
In the town centre, 10 rooms, Internet and bicycle garage; 29, avenue d’Aulot, tel. 33 (0)5 61 66 22 25,www.hotel-levalier.com.

Hôtel de L’Union
In the town centre, accommodates 20 guests,
1 Allée du Champ de Mars; tel. 33 (0)5 61 66 09 12.

Other options for food and accommodation can be found in town.Office de tourisme de St-Girons, Place Alfonse Sentein, tel. 33 (0)5 61 96 26 60, www.ville-st-girons.fr.