Follow the nature guide on Cap Taillat
© F. Chemel
Geology and botany, heritage and history, landscape reading and coastal paths... You can learn an incredible amount on a guided walk with a natural scientist. Q.E.D. on a summer stroll around Cap Taillat.
The meeting point is at the car park beside the Escalet beach in Ramatuelle. The brochure on the guided nature walks sets the tone: "From the rocks to the isthmus on Cap Taillat. One of the most beautiful spots in the Var, with its granite coast, small fine-sanded beaches and a sea of many blues, featuring a number of remarkably rare and unusually adaptable plants…" About ten of us in all, some on their own, a number of couples with children, congregate around Denis Huin, a natural scientist. First stop after about a hundred yards, for a botany lesson at the edge of the beach. Our guide itemises the salt-loving species that grow in the sandy areas, which include rock samphire, Anthyllis barba-jovis, Thymelaea hirsuta, sea spinach, sea daffodils, wartweed and African tamarisk.
Barbary and Hottentot figs
These native plants have been joined by some more or less invasive exotic species, such as the Hottentot fig and the Barbary fig, perfectly adapted to extreme conditions: dry soil, heat and continual salt spray. The path leads us to a hill partially ravaged by an accidental fire during the summer of 2007. An opportunity for a safety lesson: in this case, it was a brush-clearing operation, prohibited in summer, which sparked off the fire. On the same hill, with an impressive view onto the emerald seabed below, Denis Huin launches into an explanation of marine flora, and tells us that posidonia is not in fact seaweed, but a flowering plant, very protected around the shores of the Mediterranean.
The pink granite of Escalet
We wend our way onto the isthmus, not quite as far the point. On this thin strip of sand, our guide's explanations are sometimes blown away by the sea wind, as he responds to a question on the migrant birds that gather on the three points, before embarking upon their Mediterranean crossing. Time to get back already. After an outing of three hours and three kilometres, we return to the Escalet beach, with its bathers and pink granite rocks lit by the setting sun, our heads filled with beautiful images, fascinating information, and lots of questions still to be answered. Give this type of walk a try, just once, you won't regret it!
The guided nature walks were initiated by the Var local council. The brochure is free of charge and includes over a hundred routes, half of which are on the Maures and along the coast. It is available in all tourist offices, which have made a number of contributions themselves, and are familiar with the guides and suggested walks. These outings are not only designed for summer visitors, they are organised all year round. Themes and routes obviously depend on the season, the temperature and limitations on entering the woods at certain times of the year.
Contact us
Comité départemental du tourisme du Var
1, boulevard Foch
83003 Draguignan
(0033) (0)4 94 50 55 50
Download brochures: http://www.acvsnet.net/DNN-ACVS/Accueil/KiosqueVar/tabid/76/Default.aspx
Fees: from 6€ for 1/2 day to 13 € a full day. Half price for 8-12 year olds, free for under-8s (with the exception of special excursions: underwater, with flippers and snorkel, horse riding, fishing, canyoning...)
Website
See the access map
Maison du tourisme du golfe de Saint-Tropez/pays des Maures
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Topic : Landscapes and nature
Published on : 2008/10/27
Tags : draguignan follow the nature guide on cap taillat
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