Ring road

5 points of interest

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  Fauna

  Black woodpecker

  The male has a red "cap" at the top of his head, which is reduced to a red nape in the female. A tireless drummer, this bird hollows out holes in the trees in which to raise his young, but also to dislodge grubs and insects hidden in the wood. The beak grows continually to compensate for the wear it is subjected to. The bone structure of the head is reinforced. The skull and beak are separated by shock absorbing cartilage.

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  Flora

  Wild spinach

  This spinach, also known as Good-King-Henry in reference to King Henry IV to whom we owe its use as a culinary vegetable. The upper side of the leaf is covered in a light floury powder, like micro-beads to the touch. They are edible when young and can be eaten in salads or cooked, like the spinach we are more used to eating.

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  Fauna

  Red squirrel

  This small mammal has a furry belly and a white throat. Its ears are pointed with long hairs at the tips. It can be reddish, but there are also grey or even black examples. It is an excellent climber, capable of leaping from tree to tree. It builds its nest high up in the trees, at the fork of a branch and sometimes in a cavity. Its food mainly consists of seeds. Uniquely, it stores them burying them one or two centimetres deep.

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  Vernacular heritage

  Chapel of Notre Dame du Lauzerot

  The chapel was built in 1873 by the parish priest, Father Doutre, in veneration of Our Lady of Laus. It was the first chapel of ease, a remote chapel built for isolated parishioners. It is hexagonal in shape, as is the original. For a number of years, a pilgrimage festival was held here. At the beginning of the century, the building was in a delapidated state and was even vandalised in 1972, when the first lake disappeared to make way for a replacement. It was not until 1993 that a benevolent local craftsman renovated it completely.

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  Lake

  Lac du Lauzerot

  The lake lies at 1,625 metres above sea level. It was created in 1979 by the Office National des Forêts, the French national forestry agency. This lake replaced a former lake which used to exist further uphill and which was lost 7 years ago with the installation of the water source catchment which supplies drinking water for the municipality of Les Crots. The lake lies in pleasant surroundings, where anglers and hikers pass one another with a friendly greeting.

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