Cheddar Youth Hostel

There aren't many youths here.

The Causses of Crime

Travelling east to west across France is no easy matter in places. From the southern edge of the Cevennes several departements ate traversed in order to reach the hills of the Albigious. But it is not the numbers of administrative boundaries that interest but the physical features. Huge limestone plateaus (or Causses) straddle whole regions. There are several from Gaillac to Millau to Lodeve. Vast and featureless they are forbidding places. Exposed rock, scree and low thorny scrub, there would be little to orientate by on foot or horseback.

The French are not squeamish however and have driven huge roads across.and through the causses. The Foster bridge is of course well-known but.at times it is simply the sheer scale of things that is awesome.

Col de Redares

It is a winding road that picks it's way through the slopes to deliver you at a small col amongst woodland. From here you can gain the ridge to the south and follow this with views to either side. Chestnut forest managed for la chasse.
At some point you must leave the ridge and we chose a sweeping descent through tiny villages. Perhaps the prettiest of these was Monoblet. Several locals sat drinking pastis outside a small, brightly-coloured bar opposite a church. We dropped on down back to St Hippo.
There are at least a couple of markets here a week.  There was none this evening and we passed across the square and back up to the campsite. A shower and swim to cool off.

Nimes

We went to Nimes recently. It was during our transition from Vercors to Les Cevennes. Provence was en route and Nimes too good to miss.
The campsite was a large municipal just beyond the edge of town. As such it was impersonal but with the bus stopping just outside it was at least convenient.
As a city, Nimes is pleasant enough. Wide, busy boulevards and an old quarter where it is somewhat cooler. The main attractions are the Roman buildings. There is the Maison Caree, a water tower and a coliseum all virtually intact and described as being the best preserved examples in the world.
The Maison Caree is like a model and there is so much light bouncing around that it was almost surreal. We didn't get to the water tower. It sounded impressive enough. It was apparently to there that water was transported via the Canal du Sud and Pont du Gard to supply this important city.
The coliseum is very impressive. We did the audio tour and Stanley was particularly impressed with the descriptions of different types of gladiator.
The Romans may have achieved a lot but were barbaric beyond belief. Political prisoners were fed to lions and bears as a firm of entertainment. This was apparently not popular with the local audience though.
We liked Nimes a lot but were glad to leave that campsite. Our current location, where we'll be till we travel to Albi is at least as good as the second in Pont en Royans where we spent five nights.
Photos of Nimes to follow when I can get them off Stanley's iPod.

St Jean du Gard

The roads of the Cevennes were constructed in the 17th century to permit the transportation of coal and ithe materials through these hills. They were perfectly engineered at an almost constant gradient of around 6%. They are ideal for cycling.
This afternoon we rode over several with the longest being the 8 km out of St Jean where we took our coffee under the plane trees.
The road climbs through the holly oaks and up into pine and then chataigners. It is very dry and the crumbly roadside cliffs have worn away to reveal the roots of the trees. At the top Mont Ventoux was clearly visible rising from the plains of Provence some 70km to the East.
Cloud has been building all afternoon and down in Hippo the air was heavy as we sat with our drinks and cakes bought with our bread. As we sit now under the awning it is raining. The bloke sat outside the tent next to us with his bottle of the local Cigalois has declared this to be formidable.

Les Cevennes

St. Hippolyte, or Hippo as it is known locally, is a quiet place with little influence of tourism unlike Anduze and other nearby towns. Huge cliffs on the northern side mark the entrance to the Cevennes and to the south the plains stretch towards the Languedoc. It is in a valley to the north that we are now installed. The campsite is friendly and busy. The smell of the pizza oven hangs in the air. Someone strums a guitar. It is once again very hot.

We are camped amongst poplars with our awning creating a pleasant space and our basil plant adding to the aromas. There is a warm breeze.

Families are lunching and the pastis are being drunk. Laughter drifts across.

There is a bloke here from Margate. Brings his bike every year. He's suggested rides and may accompany us on one sometime. This afternoon though it will be just Stanley and I who will take the road over to Jean du Gard.

The Thing about Camping

The thing about camping is the simplicity. It's about stripping everything back to the bare bones of existence.