Tour Madeloc is a Majorcan watch tower built in 1285 by James II of Majorca to protect his territory of Roussillon against attacks from the north by the king of France and from the south by his brother, Peter of Aragon. It was renovated by Vauban in the 17th century and is now used as a TV relay station. It's allegedly 650 or so metres above sea level, but my old map shows it as 360 metres! (The download from my Garmin gadget will reveal all in due course. ) It is just about visible from Maison de la Forêt.
Leaving the others to build sandcastles on Argeles Plage, Sue and I drove up a minor road from the high point of which it was an easy walk up to the tower. We passed another battery emplacement dating from the 1880s on the way up.
Today's pictures were taken in the vicinity of the tower.
There were quite a few people about and an abundance of flowers, with lovely views of the coast, from Banyuls to north of Perpignan, and of a fine selection of vineyards.
The path took us south of the tower and on to a short section of GR10, before reaching a col from which a narrow, contouring belvedere took us all the way back to the start.
9km - a great way to spend a sunny afternoon on the Vermillion Coast, and leaving us plenty of time to enjoy a most lavish barbecue with David and Jan.
I even finished my holiday reading - a funny little book by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg called 'The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules.
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