L'aiguillon between the Hers, its war memorial and horn craftsmanship
Accommodation in L'aiguillon
L'aiguillon brings together the course of the Hers, a layered local history, the tradition of horn comb making, and named hiking and cycling routes. Depending on whether you are more interested in the landscape, craftsmanship or getting active, you can focus on these themes separately. The war memorial and its design also provide a concrete starting point for exploring the village's history.
The Hers and the landscape
L'aiguillon lies where the Hers bends and then flows north through the gorge it has cut into the Plantaurel. Together, the river bend, gorge and direction of flow form a distinct landscape theme. The course of the Hers is therefore important for placing the village geographically: it links the bend near L'aiguillon with the gorge in the Plantaurel, then continues north.
War memorial and local history
L'aiguillon's war memorial stands in a village square. It consists of a vertical stone stele with a white-and-grey patterned marble plaque. The stele and plaque are two distinct design features. The stele was inaugurated on 5 November 1977. The memorial can therefore be understood both through its materials and form and through a precise historical reference point.
L'aiguillon's medieval history is also connected with that of Bélesta and Fougax. This historical connection adds links to these two named places to the village's other themes, without implying a route or itinerary.
Horn combs and factory history
Horn comb making was a thriving activity in L'aiguillon. José Da Fonseca holds the title “maître artisan en métier d'art” in the field of tabletterie; as a Brossier-Cornier, he specializes in horn combs. The Fabrique de Peignes et d'Objets en Corne is located on Route de Bélesta, 09300 L'aiguillon. Making horn combs at this factory requires sixteen steps. This number gives the craft a concrete scale as well as indicating its specialization.
The Le peigne de l'Ariège factory was established in 1930 by former comb makers who wanted to form a cooperative. Another company history concerns the Delpech factory: José Da Fonseca acquired it in L'aiguillon in 2000. It had previously been a workers' cooperative called Seguy-Bigou. Together, these details add industrial connections to the village's history while referring to different factory names and historical moments.
Hiking and cycling
The GR7bis is a difficult 14 km circular hike with 817 metres of elevation gain. From Lesparrou, the route reaches the village of L'aiguillon after 1.6 km along the Hers. The figures refer to different distances: 1.6 km describes the section from Lesparrou to the village, while 14 km and 817 metres of elevation gain describe the circular hike. The difficult rating adds a qualitative assessment of the route to these figures.
For cycling, “The Country of Textiles – Circuit No. 2” runs along the D16 through L'aiguillon and turns onto the D117 in the village. The two routes can be distinguished by their mode of travel and the details given for each: for the GR7bis, the focus is on its circular format, distance, elevation gain and difficulty; for Circuit No. 2, the route along the D16 and D117 is described.
Discover more destinations: Aleu, La Bastide-De-Sérou, Bagert, Madière, Roquefixade, Arrout, Durfort, Montjoie-en-Couserans.
For the broader travel overview: Ariège.
