Vélosud - Véloroute V81 - Lestelle-Bétharram à Baliros

Lestelle-Bétharram is the first great site of Pyrenean Marian pilgrimage. Legend has it that at the riverbank of the Gave of Pau, young shepherds found a statue of the Virgin Mary. The priest at Lestelle,(“the star” in béarnais), wanted to keep it but the statue kept returning to where it had been found. The faithful built an oratory dedicated to what the church called “the Morning Star”. The story also goes that a young girl washed away by the stream called on “Holy Mary”, the protector of the place. A branch was extended towards her and she was saved. This “beautiful branch” (“beau rameau” in French), is “beth arram” in béarnais, which gave the name to the place. The Oratory became a Catholic shrine and, long before Lourdes, countless pilgrims flocked to this place of Marian devotion.

Built in 1930 to relaunch the mining of iron in Baburet, the footbridge was a key component of the railroad that linked the mine with the train station of Coarraze-Nay. From the 16th to the 19th century, the Baburet iron deposits supplied many forges in the Pays de Nay and the valley of Ossau. The closure of the forges in 1866 led to the shutting down of the mine. In 1930, to meet the needs of new factories all over France, the mine reopened and the railroad was built. After the final closure of the mine in 1962, the railtrack was dismantled. The renovated footbridge now plays a part in the new era of low environmental impact travel.

Farms with sculpted lintels and gates

La Minoterie was an industrial wasteland. This former flour mill, which had fallen into oblivion for 15 years, has been rehabilitated into a place of modern art where artworks are exposed all year in temporary exhibitions.

The bridge crosses the Gave, which flows from Pau to Nay.

At the Baudreix leisure centre you can find an equipped lake with a sandy beach, a water slide, waterski ropeway and water jump as well as a climbing wall, games for kids, a fitness trail, tennis and basketball courts and a picnic area.