Sidobre

The Sidobre is a granite massif of about a hundred square kilometres where weathering along joints has rounded the rock into huge separate blocks, left piled and balanced across woodland and heath. Several are named: the Peyro Clabado is estimated at around seven hundred and eighty tonnes and rests on a base of a few square metres; the Roc de l'Oie is shaped like a goose; the Trois Fromages sit stacked. Some balanced blocks, called rochers tremblants, can be made to move by hand despite their weight. It is also one of the largest granite quarrying areas in Europe, and working quarries sit among the walking trails.

The landscape

• Peyro Clabado - a block of around 780 tonnes on a tiny base.
• The rocking stones - balanced blocks that move under hand pressure.
• The named rocks - the Goose, the Three Cheeses and others on the trails.
• The working quarries - active granite extraction across the massif.

When to go

April to October; the woodland trails are muddy in winter. Autumn colour among the boulders is good. Summer is comfortable here because most routes are shaded.

Practical notes

The sites are spread out and a car is needed between trailheads. Some rocking stones no longer move because of past damage. Quarry traffic uses some of the same roads.

Nearby

Castres lies west; the Montagne Noire is south.

Key facts