Hostens and the Leyre: Five Lakes in the Landes Forest and a Canoe on the Little Amazon
Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
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225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
Hostens and the Leyre: Five Lakes in the Landes Forest and a Canoe on the Little Amazon
225 + 100 XP
In the pine forest of the Landes de Gascogne, the Domaine départemental d'Hostens is a mining landscape gone back to nature: its five lakes are the open-cast pits where lignite was dug from the 1930s for the power station beside them, and when EDF left for good in 1967 the département took the site over. White sand was brought in to turn the Lac de Lamothe into a bathing beach in the early 1970s, while the Lac du Bousquey was kept as a fishing and bird reserve. To the west, the Leyre runs 116 km to the Arcachon basin under a tunnel of broadleaved trees that locals call the forêt galerie, or the petite Amazone, and canoes are hired along its banks.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Walk or ride the trails between the five lakes of the Domaine d'Hostens and work out which of them were dug rather than dammed, then follow the Mios-Bazas cycle track, which runs on the bed of the old railway that served the lignite workings
2
of 4
Swim from the supervised beach on the Lac de Lamothe, the pit given a floor of imported white sand in the early 1970s, then take a rowing boat, a pedalo or a kayak out on it and finish the afternoon watching birds over the Lac du Bousquey, which is kept as a reserve and has no swimming
3
of 4
Paddle a canoe down the Leyre from Belin-Béliet and see how much of the sky the forêt galerie closes over you, then look at the colour of the water against the white sand of the bed — the iron in the soil turns it red-brown, which is why nothing here is drinkable even though it is clean enough to swim in
4
of 4
Drive south to Moustey and stand at the Hourc d'Eyre where the two head streams meet: compare the calm clear water of the Petite Leyre with the dark, faster Grande Leyre, and see how far downstream the two colours run side by side before they mix
Walk or ride the trails between the five lakes of the Domaine d'Hostens and work out which of them were dug rather than dammed, then follow the Mios-Bazas cycle track, which runs on the bed of the old railway that served the lignite workings
Swim from the supervised beach on the Lac de Lamothe, the pit given a floor of imported white sand in the early 1970s, then take a rowing boat, a pedalo or a kayak out on it and finish the afternoon watching birds over the Lac du Bousquey, which is kept as a reserve and has no swimming
Paddle a canoe down the Leyre from Belin-Béliet and see how much of the sky the forêt galerie closes over you, then look at the colour of the water against the white sand of the bed — the iron in the soil turns it red-brown, which is why nothing here is drinkable even though it is clean enough to swim in
Drive south to Moustey and stand at the Hourc d'Eyre where the two head streams meet: compare the calm clear water of the Petite Leyre with the dark, faster Grande Leyre, and see how far downstream the two colours run side by side before they mix
Before you go
The water of the Leyre is not drinkable anywhere along its course, though it is clean enough to swim in; carry your own. In a hot summer the river runs shallow and you may have to get out and walk the boat in places, so ask the hire base at Belin-Béliet about levels before you set off. Belin-Béliet is about 12 km west of the pin. Swimming at Hostens is supervised only in the bathing season, and the Lac du Bousquey is a reserve with no swimming at all.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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