Well with everything going on lately me and @iaura figured we needed to introduce some fun into the lads life. We have been so busy renovating the house and dealing with the day to day BS that it feels like we let his whole summer vacation pass without doing... well much of anything.
So we have started drumroll please
SUNDAY FUNDAY!
This Sunday we went rumour chasing and to be honest what we discovered was so much better than any expectations.
It was nice and sunny out, 33 degrees Celsius or 91 for you Fahrenheit fans.
This time I decided to up my photography game. I Gave both phones to @iaura. Delegation you see. So all Pics are hers, unless its blurry... I did take a snap or two...
It all started a few months ago when chatting to a friend of ours. She said there was a great secluded spot to swim nearby with an abandoned mill and some nice scenery.
Sounded good but a bit understated. You know somewhere to go see for a quick swim and mooch about. Nothing terribly special just a good side trip.
Well as this Sunday rolled around our son wanted to go on an adventure so we thought, Hey why not. Lets go see if we can discover this old mill and have a stretch out of the old legs.
So 45 minutes in the car and a bit longer to actually locate the rough area we were told it was...
Boom we find a small area next to an old dirt track to park and no signs of anything. Our friend said it was about a half an hour hike to get there so off we set.
When we hit the river Arros the water was crystal clear, and icy cold. Perfect for cooling down and having a splash about in.
And when I say Crystal clear, seriously I mean it...
Through animal paths, old tracks and most of the time walking in the river itself we made our way along. Taking time to admire the moss covered trees and the light reflecting off the river.
I couldn't help feeling that we were passing through a landscape that could easily have featured in a fantasy film. I guess a part of me was expecting a hoard of goblins to chase us towards their encampment, but sadly no goblins to be seen.
As we passed through, over and under fallen trees and moss covered branches the only company we had was the sound of the local wildlife and the plants rustling in the breeze, all backed with the sounds of the river running away around us.
We crossed fallen logs to change river banks and investigated small alcoves in the surrounding cliff walls.
Stopped to soak in the scenery on miniature pebble beaches and play in the water where twists and turns caused the water to be still.
Eventually after a half hour or so we started to discover obviously man made walls and ruins along the path. Covered in the same soft moss that seemed to be growing everywhere.
As we got deeper into the natural Ravines and forest surrounding us it was easy to imagine that the outside world had ceased to exist. Time became inconsequential and all that mattered was the time we were spending as a family.
Every twist in the river had us thinking maybe we had gone the wrong way, maybe the Mill was somewhere else or one of the stone walls we had passed was all that remained.
To be honest that had ceased being the goal of our hike anyway, we were happy to swim and walk through the water, occasionally hitting the dry if overgrown land when the going became too tough for the boys 6 year old legs in the rapids.
And to be completely honest with scenery like this did it matter if we saw anything else? Just look at this place...
Then as most great surprises occur, up in the distance was what on first look appeared to be a sheer wall of stone... Until we noticed it had windows...and doors...
Behold-
The Abandoned Mill...
More like a Monument to the History of working hands everywhere. A Soaring cathedral of stone that simply defied what we were expecting to find.
Photos cannot do this place justice, Walls standing proud nearly a hundred feet above our heads, chunks of roof and parts of the wall littering the ground.
It left each of us speechless on the initial impact.Then of course the sounds of a young boy imagining finding buried treasure kicked of the excitement of exploration.
So we got down to some serious exploration in the ruined remains of our fallen friend. A few places left us very mindful that we had a highly energetic 6 year old in tow, and one slip in places would be bad news, I mean BAD NEWS...
Seriously I think the floor might be missing a bit here....
So we kept a close eye on him as we took the unguided tour.
It was a great place just to walk around, The mill was built with the stone from the surrounding cliff walls and in areas directly into the cliff face.
The Trees had grown and in places were supporting this sad tired old piece of Architecture.
sorry had to get that pun out
All in all the hike which took just over an hour with a dog and child in tow to reach this place was worth it. It has a magic to it, and a mystery that, well to be honest I cant describe it.
Awe inspiring sums it up.
Strewn across the ground are tons of these heavy stone blocks with a perfectly bored hole. I believe they must have been bushings or bearings for the mechanisms a long long time ago.
So I did a bit of digging around, and here's what I have on the history of the place.
So lets walk down the waterway a bit.
The Usine D'Marbre A Laborde
Established in the Late 18th century by all accounts by The Ets Michaux. It was originally run using ox carts to transport the stone and a series of 4 diamond circular saws To cut it.
(Remember those round holes I mentioned...)
This marking stone here is carved with a line and date for marking the water height on the 3rd of July 1887.
Yup I'm still Bald.
Then in the Mid 19th Century they upgraded to a Helical wire cutting system and installed a Dynamo to provide lighting. This allowed the workers there to work even longer hours! Eureka!!!
After all If you cant run your mill all night what's the point?
Stone milled here was used for Artistic works, Monuments, Le pont de Pierre at Bordeaux and the Cathedral at Anglet.
It continued to produce stone until the beginning of World War 1, when all the strapping young workers and able bodied men marched off to war.
That sadly was the end of this tale for the Usine at Laborde. The men never returned to work and now all that remains is ruined bones of this beautiful place.
After a very fun visit around this old Mill The trek back was alot more relaxed with discussions about what happened at and to this mill filling up our conversations. Imagining what the workers lives were like and what was built with the stone milled there.
Obviously I found the beforementioned info once we got home, but using our Imagination was much more fun than the facts.
So Thanks for stopping by and taking time to read this old monster of a post. I may have overdone it on the photos, and even then I don't think you can do this place justice.
We tried our best!
Until the Next time, Take a walk on the wild side. Enjoy the scenery and keep on keepin on.
I hope you enjoyed the Trip as much as we did. Thanks for sharing in our first, Sunday Funday.
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