Gouloux
We had pulled in to a café not far from the visitors centre, we didn’t need much as we both knew we would be having a big dinner in the evening, but a coffee and a gaufre (like a waffle) went down a treat. Whilst there we saw a notice board for a short walk to what looked like a waterfall, and knowing what the recent weather has been we thought it might be a good time of year to visit it.
The walk started just outside the café, on the opposite side of the road. It descended into a beautiful forest path, fairyland in its appearance with mossy trees and delicate wild anemones.
The sound of running water became louder as we descended, and we soon came across a pretty stream, meandering along the edge of the path, although it was clear from the sounds in the distance that this wasn’t the waterfall we were looking for. The path was a little muddy, but it was well maintained and easy to follow.
A little further on we crossed a small bridge, and there, below the ruins of an old water mill, was the waterfall…and it was pretty spectacular.
Brian wanted to take a few pictures with his new iPhone camera, to test out some of its capabilities. I thought he got some amazing pics.
The crumbled remains of the mill still showed where the wheel once stood.
This old photograph shows the two mills which were in use from 1804 to 1920 on this site. They were used to grind cereals and oil, which was made from turnips. The forest has definitely grown up around where the mills once stood, but you can clearly see where they were. Apparently there were 7 mills just in the small commune of Gouloux.
The walk took us back along the side of a the river, through the forest and up to another viewpoint.
A wonderful little bench installation gave a peaceful view up the river, a quiet little spot to enjoy the sounds of the forest and the flowing of the stream.
We climbed up to another viewpoint and were rewarded with the view of another glorious waterfall, from another river joining the tributarory we had been following.
I hadn’t even read that it was here, it was only that we had stopped for a coffee that we discovered it. Sometimes you just need to be somewhere to understand its real beauty, and of course enjoy the local little coffee shops.