While out for a stroll we decided to walk up to this lake which we could see on the map, just 1.7 km up a track near St Remy. It is not far from the roman ruins at "Glanum" just outside the town, and was originally dammed two thousand years ago to provide a water supply lake for Glanum. That dam was replaced about 1890 and the lake now connects to the St Remy town supply.
The walk up to the dam was mostly along a road, with a bit a steady climb to warm us up.
The lake itself is quite small, and very still. Water flows in from a tiny stream, and apparently the dam is not large. The lake is promoted for fishing, but swimming is banned.
At this point we decided we might as well go "around the loop" rather than returning back down the road. The map showed the track carrying on around the lake and eventually joining up with the main road back into town. It was slightly puzzling however, because of the high cliffs between us and the road. Perhaps the track goes right around those cliffs..?
Off we went, to find that the track climbed steeply up towards the cliffs. Before long we were progressing on all fours because of the slope. There were regular track markers to reassure us, so we pressed on.
It got steeper. A steel chain was provided to help you haul yourself up the next bit. It still wasn't obvious how it ended, because the cliffs above were too steep to climb.
Then the answer appeared, in the form of the "grotto", a steep passage right through the cliff, with light visible at the other end. Now there were steel rebar steps set into the rock, as well as a chain to hang on to. No trouble for us rough tough New Zealanders!
That was a bit more excitement than we were expecting! We emerged onto a slope high above the road, from where the track wound steeply down through the bush before it eventually levelled out again. It joined the main road near the roman ruins of Glanum, and from there we were able to walk back into town alongside the road in about 30 minutes.
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| Walking back into town. |
We have already visited Glanum, over a week ago, in the car. I didn't realise it was so close to Saint Remy. (I will post about Glanum soon)
