Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Gave d’Aspe

A railway line, connecting France and Spain was discussed already mid 19th century. After the construction of a tunnel, the line was opened in 1928, but was never really sucessful. On a frosty morning in March 1970 a heavy freight train was approaching Urdos, when, due to a brake failure, the train derailed and destroyed the Pont de l‘Estanguet, 3kms south of Accous. The bridge never got rebuilt, the railway line was never used again - and the station is out of service ever since.

Looking back to Fort du Portalet (see previous upload). Note the small turrets on the right side. The rectangular hole is as well part of the fortifications, the whole cliff is pierced with holes and caves. The valley of the Gave d’Aspe is a narrow gorge here. Half an hour later, I reached Urdos.

The fomer "hôpital" in Borce is a great place to take a break. It now serves as a museum and is centered around this modern stele. The walls are covered with grafitti. Some of them depict soldiers in uniforms. The soldiers have been here in the early 19th century, when Napoleon´s Grande Armée crossed the Pyrenees and made a bloody war on Portugal and Spain. Next to the old hôpital is the "Hospitalet de Borce", a modern "gîte d'étape"

South of Borce, the valley of the Gave d’Aspe is so narrow, that the GR653 (aka "Via Tolosana") merges onto the N134. Traffic is pretty heavy. Lots of trucks use this road, so I had to be cautious. Overlooking the valley is the "Fort du Portalet", a strong fortification. The construction started in 1842 under the orders of Louis Philippe, but it took upto 1870 to complete the fort. During WWII the Vichy regime interned political prisoners here. Léon Blum, Georges Mandel and other politicians were imprisoned in Fort du Portalet.

The GR653 (aka "Via Tolosana") passes though areas, where cattle, sheep and even horses roam pretty free. There are gates for the walkers open - and close. This one was probably done by the same artisan, who had created the iron gate for the cementery in Jouers. He really liked the pilgrims!

Passed Accous on a sunny morning and visited the church. South of the village the valley of the Gave d’Aspe, that I had followed since Oloron-Ste.-Marie, narrows.