The old sand mines

A walk through an underground sand quarry—now that's a change of pace! A huge thank you to Olivier for telling me about this place, which I knew absolutely nothing about. It's indeed a hidden underground tunnel in the forest, right next to paths that are never used. How lucky I am to be able to share such a place with you.

Unlike underground mines, quarries are often little known, probably because they aren't subject to an operating concession. Moreover, the exploitation of this site was nothing short of meteoric. It's an old underground sand quarry. The silica was extracted for the local glass industry.

Excavation began at the very end of the 19th century and was completed just before the First World War. When operations resumed, the glassworks was relocated. After years of abandonment, the site was bought in 1950 with the intention of establishing a mushroom farm. The site is still active today and occupies a very large portion of the underground area.

It's an authentic and beautiful place. There's very little unsightly graffiti, except for a few red slashes. You'd actually have to go back and scrape them off, since the walls are quite crumbly. I hope you enjoy your visit down there!