Rayssac hiking trail (short version)

2 points of interest

• 

  History and heritage

  The Dairy

  Part of this building housed the village dairy, which was rented by the Roquefort Société caves. A Société female worker manufactured the cheeses in this premises with the milk collected in the village and the surroundings (around 15 to 20 cheese loaves per day). After that, cheeses were put together and transported by cart once a week to the Roquefort caves.

  The dairy ceased to operate in the mid-1950s. From then on, the village people took their milk to the dairy in Vabres l’Abbaye.

• 

  History and heritage

  Grauzou aqueduct

  During the 19th century, issues related to water shortages were already a topical concern. This is how, as early as 1862, a project for the implementation of an irrigation canal from the Dourdou banks took shape. The man behind this project was Hippolyte Barascud. This controversial 9 km irrigation canal plan came into existence with the initial works beginning around 1865. The canal stretched from Montlaur to the Montet farm (south of Vabres l’Abbaye). This structure built nearby the river was to suffer from the vagaries of the stream. The floods of the Dourdou caused the silting-up of the canal and its deterioration. In the end, this canal was helpful for a little over a century. The costs and the time required to keep it operational outweighed its convenience.