M & M - Is that you?

Cevennes Walk, May 2002

Exchange rates; 1 Euro (1€) is about 65p, or to put it the other way £1 is about 1.5€

For the Aussies amongst you, 1€ is about $1.60

Sat 18 May - Edinburgh to Aix-en-Provence

Our flight was at 9:15, in our usual fashion we had set 3 alarms - for 6am. That gave us time for the necessary cuppa and some toast before heading to the airport.

There had been substantial flight delays on Friday due to computer problems with the air-traffic control system, but luckily our flights were not affected. We arrived in Marseilles at about 15:30 and it was pissing down. Found out bus to Aix-en-Provence fairly easily, had stopped to a drizzle when we arrived in Aix, just as well as we had to walk a bit to get to the in-town bus stops to catch a local bus to our hotel.

The Hotel le Mozart is just a wee bit away from the centre of town, which is probably why we were able to book a room, all other places we tried 3 weeks ago were already full. The room is pretty small but will be OK for 2 nights.

By the time we had got ourselves settled it had stopped raining, we were just heading out past reception when it started to drizzle again, so we zipped back to the room for our jackets - just as well coz 5 minutes later it was bucketing again.

The hotel is really only a 10 minute walk from the centre of town, we walked into the area that Lonely Planet recommends for good-value restaurants - we had decided on Vietnamese as we will get plenty of local cuisine on the walk. Liked the look of a place called Nem d'Asie, which had a good menu for €14. We both had assorted Nems (wee spring rolls) to start, then a bowl of noodles each, then shared some roast duck and some chicken with almonds. By the time Morag had some pineapple and I had some ice-cream we were well and truly full. Mind you we'd had very little to eat since that toast for brekky, just a small snack on one of the flights.

So we waddled back to the hotel just after 9pm and were asleep by 10, exhausted after a long day.

Aix-en-Provence

Slow morning - down for breakfast about 9-ish, to a very full dining room with only 1 lad rushing around serving the bread, croissant, rusks and tea/coffee. Weather is a huge change from yesterday, blue skies and sunshine, not a cloud in sight. We wandered into the city via the flower market - the locals were rushing around with their bunches of flowers and boxed cakes from the patisserie - getting ready for the typical French Sunday tradition of the big family Sunday lunch.

Aix-en-Provence is a very picturesque place, lots of very nice 3 or 4 storey apartments round the narrow meandering streets in the old town. All well-maintained and with very nice cast-iron railings. The main street in town is extremely wide and full of plane trees that provide lots of essential shade during the hot summers. Lots of big grand buildings in the street, mostly used as banks. Not at it's best at the moment though, as they are relaying a lot of the paving.

We'd managed to be in town on the day of a dance/music/acrobatic festival, mainly performed by the local children. At this stage they were just practising but there seem to be huge numbers involved. Found a program, most of the festivities are taking place between 14:30 and 18:00. So it was onward and upward to the north of town, to Park Vendome - built in 1665 as a country residence for the local cardinal - a very pleasant green park with a separate dog area! Just the place for a sunny afternoon.

The food market was also on in town, so we went back there and bought some cherries, apricots and some bready things with ham and cheese. Lots of wonderful looking produce on display but we're not set up for it. This would be a good area for self-catering so that you could sample all the delights available in the market.

We were going to go back to the park for lunch but found a shady spot near the market. Decided to go home via the Gare to find out train times for tomorrow, so we wandered back that way - the 12:00 and 14:03 trains are both possibilities. Getting pretty warm now so back to the hotel for siesta and escape the afternoon sun.

We'd read that at 16:30 there were Gregorian chants in the cathedral so we headed there for that - no sign of them. Seeing as the acrobats were on at 17:00 in front of the Hotel de Ville we headed for that - not a bad show, mainly adults but the best performer was a teenage lad using to long ribbons suspended from a high railing. He climbed up these ribbons and then proceeded to tie himself and the ribbons into various knots. There was also a big parade/dance by local teenagers that meandered through town.

Dinner time now so we wandered round to see what was available and found a Tunisian couscous place that looked good. Set ourselves down at a nice outside table (helps avoid the numerous French smokers). Started with a collection of dips, tabouli etc., and a "brick" (pastry with an egg filling), then shared lamb and merguez (spicy sausage) couscous. Choc mousse and sorbet for dessert - 32€ each menu.

Our hotel Aix-en-Provence was Hotel le Mozart, 49 Cours Gambetta, Tel: 04.42.21.62.86 fax: 04.42.96.17.36

Mon 20 May - Aix-en-Provence to Nimes

We knew what to do this morning and got to the brekky room for 8:30 and got our food straight away, by the time we finished at 9:15 people were queuing. We decided on the noon train so we had time to dash into town for an hour or so - it was damn hot already - then zip back to the hotel and pick up our bags and walk to the station (have found a short-cut).

The train rattled into Marseilles on time but the train to Nimes was 20 mins late - but we got seats OK and the air-con was on so we were happy. Arrived into Nimes mid-afternoon and the place was jumping. They have had a bull-fighting fiesta for the weekend and it was a special one to celebrate 50 years since the first fiesta - they have had bull-fighting in Nimes for a long time but had the first fiesta 50 years ago.

Our hotel - Hotel Central, is a very narrow, 4 floor building in the old town. Unfortunately it doesn't have a lift, so it was a struggle to haul the suitcases up the 3 flights to get to our room - a very tired, compact room! After a nap and shower we headed out into the packed streets at about 6pm. Lots of the streets had been closed and there were lots of food stalls around, lots of jazz bands, loads of people standing at stalls drinking....we wanted to sit down to eat though, so we looked for a restaurant mentioned in the Lonely Planet. Couldn't find the street so we headed back to the main area and sat outside at a Vietnamese place with a 9.50€ menu - turned out to be all served on one plate, 2 nems, rice, salad, meat. Not a patch on our first Viet. meal, but the Vietnamese sangria (yep, made with lychees) wasn't bad. The outside table let us do lots of people watching, the place is really packed with revellers.

Found some people mucking about with a truck, with a big audience. Turned out there were bulls in the truck which were released and ran down the street surrounded by horse-riders (not bull running like Pamplona). The whole bull-thing is a total mystery to us, cannot see the attraction at all.

Wandered home and on the way found the restaurant we'd searched for earlier - just round the corner from our hotel.

Our hotel at Nimes was Hotel Central, 2 Place du Château, 30000 Nîmes, Tél :33 (0)4 66 67 27 75, Fax : 33 (0)4 66 21 77 79.

Tue 21 May - Nimes

A good thing about being on the third floor is that you can easily leave the window open all night, almost makes it worthwhile struggling up the narrow winding stairs with the cases. It's pretty warm here, but did get chilly enough during the night that we had to put a blanket on the bed.

Breakfast is the usual bread, croissant, jam, tea/coffee. Headed first to the bus station to check bus times for our day trip to Uzes and Pont du Gard. Decided to do this trip tomorrow and spend the day in Nimes, so headed first to the Roman arena, this was built in 1AD to seat 23,000 and could be flooded for sea battles and the like. Still used today for concerts and for the bullfights. Romans hadn't invented lifts so there are lots of steps to climb, but the place is in very good condition.

From there we wandered to the covered market - not the best we've ever seen but a good range of cheeses, meats etc. Got ourselves a picnic together and wandered over to the local park, which is a huge place with some lovely statues, canals through the park etc. Found a shady spot for our ham, goats cheese and tomato sandwiches, then wandered up to the top of the hill to the Tour Magne. There are 144 steps to the top and doesn't it feel like it! This was originally a small watchtower, built upon by the Romans to make a large watchtower. More recently some local fella had taken a lot of the interior away searching for some hidden treasure described by Nostradamus, of course none existed!

Good views over the town though, and the very flat countryside surrounding. From there we wandered down to the Roman Temple of Diana in the gardens, then to the main area with the canals etc. Back in town we wandered into the Maison Caree, a small square building with columns that is all that remains of the original Roman forum in Nimes. It was once used as a stable but is now a main part of the town's attractions. Back to the market for our first set of cakes on the trip so far, which we devoured in our hotel room.

After a long and well-needed nap we wandered the very short distance (30 metres) to the restaurant we had searched for last night, which serves Provencal fare. The joint was quite busy and we were lucky to get a table. I had some sort of fish paste concoction (it was cassolette, not the cassoulet I'd mistaken it for), Morag had a nice salad with local ham, and gesiers (we're still not sure what they are). Next I had a very nice piece of grilled salmon while Morag had a huge steak (Cote de Taurean). All accompanied by a bottle of the local Rose (Costieres de Nimes). Dessert was a nice chocolate truffle ice-cream for me and disappointing creme caramel for Morag.

Had an interesting time watching local diners, who were mostly fellow tourists. Three girls (well, 30-ish) from London on the next table squabbling over what to have and how much wine to have and talking about the absent one whenever any of them went to the WC. Did a bit of a wander around the block after dinner to wear a bit of it off - didn't really work, still full! Awful night's sleep as it was very noisy outside - the Hotel Central lives up to its name.

Wed 22 May - Nimes (Pont du Gard and Uzes)

After brekky our first job this morning is to try to change some old Francs to Euros. Spent a bit of time arranging our day-packs first as it is raining ever so lightly, which is a bit of a relief really. Banks won't change our Francs, we have to find an office of the Banque de France, luckily there is one in town and it's on the way to the bus station.

We're planning on the 11am bus to Pont du Gard, a 45min trip away. The Pont is part of a Roman aqueduct built to move water from a spring at Uzes to Nimes, 45 km away. It has three sets of arches and the entire aqueduct has a steady decline of about 34cm per km. Enough facts, needless to say it's a very impressive sight (OK, more facts, it's 50m high by 275m long). By now the light rain had cleared and the sun had come out, it was getting quite warm and a little muggy.

After viewing the pont from various vantage points we had a quick bite to eat from the nearby visitors centre before catching the next bus to Uzes (pron. 'oo sez). Uzes is a very pretty little town, all stone buildings and a rabbit warren of little streets. There's also a nice big square surrounded by arcades running under the front of the buildings. These areas are used for cafes and small shops. There is also a hugs duchal palace in the middle of town. After a good wander around we found a nice patisserie and had some choc cake and apple tart.

The bus back to Nimes arrived at 16:45 and took about 45min. Went home via Monoprix where we bought some tops for Morag's new niece, just time for a quick nap, out again at 7pm for dinner. Had hoped for crepes but all three in town were closed - good organisation that! Nothing for it but to go back to the same place as last night - Le Menestrel. I had the salad and steak that Morag had had the previous night, Morag went for a salad with red mullet flambéed in pastis, then a duck and mushroom dish that was very nice. For dessert we both had their 3 choc cake.

Thu 23 May - Nimes to Montpellier

It was absolutely pouring with rain over night and still a bit wet while we ate brekky. Our brekky waitress told us how it gets up to 50c during August and theres nothing you can do but stay inside. Sounds ghastly! Luckily we didn't need to get out early, we could take our time to get to the train - via the post office for Morag to buy a supply of stamps for postcards.

The next Nimes-Montpellier train was a TGV and it was only slightly more expensive than the following train (half-hour later), so we experienced the TGV (Train á Grand Vitesse). Unfortunately it spent most of the journey crawling along quite slowly, bit of a waste of a 300km/hour train but it was only a half-hour trip. Lots of hustle and bustle at Montpellier station and big queues for tickets, but we wanted to buy our tickets for tomorrow as there seems to be only one direct train to Genolhac, 12:12 to 14:18.

Got the tickets and found our hotel only to be told that the room booking had been cancelled. It is a long story but is to do with firstly trying to book the room on an internet site, anyway it turns out there's a book festival in town and rooms are in short supply. We left our bags at the hotel and found the tourist office, and found a room in a more plush hotel near the centre of town. The room wouldn't be ready until 2pm so we left our bags there and went for a wander around town - found some sandwiches for lunch.

Back to the hotel and into our room, which is very nice. Can just see the main square from the wee balcony and the opera house is across the narrow alleyway from our window - we can hear a singer practising and she's very good. Even better the room is big enough to open suitcases without tripping over them all the time, even better than that the street outside is pedestrian only, so we hope it will be quiet.

Went for another wander at 3-ish to check out the sights of Montpellier. There were huge black clouds overhead but it never actually rained. Headed to the west of town to see their wee Arc de Triomphe (1692) and big garden space with a huge aqueduct leading away from a hexagonal water tower. Didn't find out whether the aqueduct was meant to move water in or out.

The cathedral was next on our list, Cathedral St Pierre is most notable for its huge portico - a monstrous construction. Unfortunately the tourist map we have doesn't show the gradients - there's a lot of steep hills this side of town! Back home via the Esplanade de Charles de Gaulle for a nap. We'd spotted a few creperies near the main square so decided to catch up on that feed of crepes we'd fancied in Nimes. Started with a shared Nicoise salad before having our ham/cheese/egg crepes, followed by sweet crepes, all washed down with lovely French cider - dry with the first course and sweet with the dessert. Mmmm, mmm! Luckily we ate early and were ready to evacuate the restaurant when locals came in with their dogs and started lighting up fags.

Our hotel in Montpellier was the New Hotel du Midi, 22 boulevard Victor Hugo, 34000 Montpellier, Tel. 04 67 92 69 61, Fax 04 67 92 73 63

Fri 24 May - Montpellier to Genolhac

We didn't have to rush this morning as check out is at noon and our train is at 12:18. The hotel breakfast is a bit pricey at 10€ each so we head the short distance to the main square (Place de la Comedie) and sit under the sun umbrellas for a cafe brekky for 4€ each - watching the world go by. We had both slept pretty well as the hotel was quiet - as expected.

After petit dejeneur we wandered into the old town and along to the covered market, as well as a chance to buy lunch it's a chance to inspect all the local cheeses, pates etc. Got our picnic bits for the train journey and then wandered back to Place de Comedie where the book festival was underway. Many authors ready to sign books - we'd heard of none of them as they were all foreign (surprise!). There were English books available though - even Women's Weekly cookbooks, even WW French Cooking (11€) - wonder what the locals think of that!

Back to the hotel to collect bags and check-out, then a 10 min walk to the Gare, we had some spare time so Morag rang her folks to get an update on the progress of her new niece.

When our train arrived at 12:18 loads of people got on-board, of course it's lunchtime and a lot of students were heading home to Nimes for lunch - thankfully the train cleared a lot when it arrived at Nimes. By the time we were approaching Genolhac the train was only one-third full, so there was plenty of space to get stuck into our picnics.

It was a pleasant trip up the valley to Genolhac but when we arrived our host was not there to pick us up. We'd phoned the night before to confirm our arrival time but were not quite sure how well they had understood. After 10 mins we rang again and he said he would be there in 5 mins. Soon we heard the phone ring in the cafe/hotel opposite and a woman comes over the road to tell us that our host has no car available, it's only a few minutes walk.

Well it would have been if we hadn't missed part of her instructions and ended walking all the way through town before realising we should have taken a turn to the left back near the station. When we finally walked up the right street he was out the front pacing up-and-down, presumably worried that we'd been kidnapped by the People's Front of Genolhac or some such. When we spoke to them last night the Mrs had misunderstood and thought we were arriving at 4:20pm rather than 14:20, so the Mrs had taken the car for the afternoon.

Anyway, we slumped into our room for a nap as it was quite hot outside. About 5pm we headed out to explore the village at leisure - quite a nice little place with an old church, nice river with old bridge, lots of old buildings etc., and the obligatory petanque court.

Had a good pre-dinner bath then headed down to the dining room a bit before 8pm, Morag had crudités with anchovy dip and I had terrine to start, then we shared a yummy lamb hot-pot - melt in the mouth stuff (only fault is that it was accompanied by rice when it was crying out for mashed tatties or cous-cous). The room soon filled up and the Mrs was turning people away. The dining room decoration is a bit tired but the owners are a young couple who have just taken it over, so we presume it will be redone soon-ish. I had fromage while Morag finished her meal with an apple and nut tart - all-in-all the food was excellent.

Had a post-dinner wander round the village - watched the local teenagers zooming round the place on their motorbikes (all unregistered), before heading back to the room to prepare for tomorrow's walk. Getting ready the maps, notes, boots and sticks etc.

Our hotel at Genolhac was Hotel du Mont Lozere, ph 04 66611072, fax 04 66612391

Walk day 1, Sat 25 May - Genolhac to Villefort

Here is a map of our walk, each day's route is a different colour: day 1 is red, day 2 is green, day 4 is blue, day 5 is orange, day 6 is purple and day 7 is yellow.

* new 13/10/2002 - The travel company (Inntravel) have some good info about this holiday on their website (click here) and a personal diary from the walk by one of their reps (click here).

Our first day walking so it's our first early alarm for the holiday - 7am. Breakfast is the same old bread, croissant etc affair. The Mrs at the hotel is panicking about us having our bags ready for 9am cause hubby has to deliver them to Villefort then get back to start on lunch. No problem, sun-screened, picnics packed, boots and stick at the ready by 9am.

There is a choice of walks today, 12km/5hrs or 15k/6.5hrs, we decide on the shorter option as we don't want to overdo it on the first day, also if you do the longer walk then a short section of it will be repeated later in the trip. It's a cloudy/sunny sort of day, looks like it might rain (it didn't).

At first we walk out of Genolhac on the busy main road but are soon on a "residents only" track - uphill. The area is heavily forested so as we climb we can see lots of other hills, all tree-covered. Up over the top of the "Col de l'Anise" then down to the village of Concoules. After Concoules we are soon off the made road and on to an ancient road, "la Régordane" - often just a grassy trail through the woods. ALl the way along there were heaps of wildflowers along the side of the trail. No idea what any of them are but they're very colourful.

Also, as we pass through each village all the gardens are out in full flower. Roses seem popular here, lots of big Irises too - some in gardens, some along the trail (growing wild?). We pass through a couple more villages: Vielvic, St Andre. Nice enough little places, often a mixture of attractive stone places and concrete horrors (the French seem to still have a disastrous love-affair with concrete). There was supposed to be a double bridge in St Andre, but we couldn't find it.

Just after St Andre we found a handy rock-wall on the side of the path where we could sit and eat our picnic in (relative) comfort. Our ham and lettuce rolls were supplemented by some cheese left over from yesterdays train-picnic, and we had some containers of delicious tabouli - a bit dry but with a nice spicy flavour. Munched on apples as we resumed our walk. The path was often damp now and sometimes it was sunny and sometimes chilly in the breeze.

Only a couple more hours walking and we had arrived in Villefort and into the Hotel Balme. We have a nice big room with a big bath and views over the central square in town (so might be noisy?). This hotel's main claim to fame is the reputation of the owner/chef, Michelle Gomy.

After a good siesta we explored the town a bit, another mixture of old stone and modern concrete (but not too much concrete thankfully), before sitting down for 10 mins to watch some locals play petanque. This was a notable game as there was a female player - ooh la la! Later we see a poster for a big petanque tournament the next day out at the sports centre.... so thats what they were practising for. After that is was a hot bath and ready for dinner. The bath is a bit short for one of us but fairly deep so not bad.

At dinner we asked Mrs Gomy (typical French hotel, hubby is the chef, wifey is the waitress, this one was big enough that wifey was head-waitress with 2 assistants) which of the set-menus we could have. She indicated that we could choose any, open slather then, so just a matter of avoiding pig's trotters and the like. Morag decided on the 28€ menu which had no choices, so for some strange reason I had to have the same (some strange thing about them being an ensemble?!?). Never mind, it was delicious, seared scallops in a green/yellow/red pepper sauce to start, then lamb chops (3 each) in a parsley sauce with rice and moulded spinach. After that we selected some cheese from the platter, then dessert was apple and caramel cake with ice-cream for Morag, for me a chocolate nem (yep, some chocolate in a deep-fried spring roll, I'm not really sure that it worked but it was different!).

The dining room was packed, including a table of about 25 locals, one of whom must have been really embarrassed by the silly little beardy-moustache thing he had one his face as he couldn't bring himself to take his sunglasses off all evening. We just about needed a wheelbarrow to get us out the front door for a promenade, there was a choral concert up at the local kirk so we wandered up there and sat at the back to listen for half-an-hour or so.

Our hotel in Villefort was the Hotel Balme, ph. 04 66468014, fax 04 66468526.

Walk day 2, Sun 26 May - Villefort to La Garde Guerin

Supposedly it is not such a long walk today so we had the alarm set for 7:30. breakfast was just after 8am, and was the usual stuff, but great coffee and some home-made jam. Waitresses were still clearing up the big table from last night so goodness knows what time that finished. After final packing we went downstairs to pay for last night's wine - turns out that an English couple we'd seen in the dining room last night were also Inntravellers on the same walk, but had spent an extra night at Villefort which is why we didn't see them in Genolhac.

We set off just before 10am, heading north out of town. Before heading off round the lake we take the detour up the Chandelette Rocks to the old chapel of St Loup. Great views from here over the lake and the various valleys and gorges that surround the lake. Also spotted a couple of types of wildflower we hadn't seen before. The Lac du Villefort is man-made, having been created in the 60's to provide hydro-electricity.

Once down from the hill it was along the road and across the lake via a road bridge then turning north again to walk along the western edge of the lake. It was a nice walk along the shore, sometimes in woods and sometimes not. When in the woods we sometimes came across areas where the top few inches of turf had been really turned over, presumably truffle-hunting!

There were quite a few little streams coming into the lake with a variety of size and type of bridge. It was a very well-cared for path. Once we'd come to the northern edge of the lake we turned south for a while along the eastern shore heading south, this led us to the holiday village/camping area, currently deserted. This was a good place for a picnic, sitting on a rock wall in the shade overlooking the lake. We had two big baguette pieces each, one with dark ham, one with light ham, some delicious cheese, and cherries. We decided to leave our half-melon each until later, along with the apples. Did get a wee surprise when a wee little furry thing scuttled along under our feet and into a hole at the bottom of the tree - not sure if it was a mouse or a vole or what, but it sure moved fast!

By now it was 1pm and getting hot in the sun, so we refreshed sun-screen and set off again, but there was very little shade for us as we headed uphill out of the holiday village and onto a high ridge - back on "la Regordane". So we were quite happy when we turned a corner in the path and could see La Garde Guerin in the distance. That last bit of the walk seemed to take a long time but was probably only half-an-hour. We arrived at the hotel about 2:30pm, just in time for a siesta. Our bags hadn't arrived yet, so we were woken by the owner bringing one of them up to the room, I nicked downstairs and picked up the other one.

After really good showers we headed down for dinner about 7:30pm and had the obligatory pre-dinner pastis (on the house, bonus!). It's a relatively small dining-room, seating about 28, with about a dozen of us in, but had a huge fireplace with a small fire in it to ward off the chill of the evening. No choice for dinner, our host Phillipe "proposed" a rocqefort with apple/apricot terrine to start (in creamy sauce), then fish in a creamy sauce with tagliatelle. This was followed by more cheese then dessert was a chestnut terrine with a dab of choccy mouse. It was an OK meal but not as good as most that we get on the Inntravel trips.

We planned a promenade after dinner but Morag's tummy was a bit dodgy so we didn't get far before heading back to the room. Morag went straight to sleep while I watched "The Horse Whisperer" in French (couldn't understand a word of it, with some films that can add to the effect, especially Schwarzenegger type films, but it didn't help much with this one). Tomorrow is a "rest day" here so we intend to take it easy as there's a long walk the next day.

Walk day 3, Mon 27 May - La Garde Guerin environs

We both slept soundly, according to Inntravel breakfast here is "wonderful", but the only difference from the usual was that the bread was toasted. The owner, Phillipe, is a very friendly chap so we put in a special request for some plainer food for dinner, we think the rich food, creamy sauces and the like, has caused Morag's tummy upset. He is fine with that and promises us salad and chicken breast with potatoes. Also put in an order for one picnic lunch, which will be enough for us to share (along with yesterday's apples).

For today's walk the thing to do is to walk into the Chazennac Gorge, the recommended route takes some 4 or 5 hours. We decided to take an easier option and spent the first hour or so exploring the absolutely beautiful little village. There's the ruins of a castle, lots of wee cobbled streets with wee stone houses. No concrete. The hotel itself is a 16th century baronial residence.

Kept bumping into the other Inntravel couple, who had the same idea of exploring the town before heading for the gorge. After a while we headed out of town on a farm path, not expecting to head to anywhere in particular, after a while there was a turn to the left and we found ourselves at the edge of the gorge. The gorge is a huge slice out of the landscape and we were easily able to wander down into it along a path and get great views in either direction along the gorge.

It had been a chilly morning so we sat in the sun for while before climbing back out of the gorge and wandering back to the hotel to pick up lunch. By now the clouds were coming in again so we sat in the hotel courtyard for the picnic (the hotel dining room was packed with a busload of French tourists having lunch) and as we finished it started to drizzle rain. So we headed back to the room to write postcards, do the diary, etc etc. By the time we woke from a siesta there was a heavy shower of rain passing.

Diner was a big improvement over the previous night, started with a nice salad with chick-peas, sweetcorn and tomatoes on lettuce. Then the chicken breast with lentils and a potato/pepper/onion salad (obviously the chef couldn't bring himself to put something as plain as potatoes on the plate). After some cheese we had dessert - a nice wee cake with raisins and prune. All that was accompanied by a bottle of Saumur Champigny.

Our hotel in La Garde Guerin was Auberge Régordane, tel 04 66468288, fax 04 66469029.

Walk day 4, Tue 28 May - La Garde Guerin to Tourev

Today will be a long walk so we hope to get started early, but brekky doesn't start until 8am and just as we arrive in the brekky room Phillipe is dashing out to the desk to do a check-out. By the time we've eaten, packed, paid the bill, and collected picnics it's half-9.

The other two Inntravellers (Aubrey and June) have started walking just before us but we catch them just as we approach the lake as they had taken a wrong turn. Our walk today takes all the way back to Villefort (via the direct route) then further south to Toureves, about 18kms. So this first part of the walk retraces the last hour or so of Sunday's walk until we reach the holiday camp, then we walk straight down the eastern edge of the lake with some nice views over to the lakeside path we'd used on Sunday.

We spent a bit of time in Villefort, posting our postcards, buying some extra supplies - yoghurt, dried fruit, dry biscuits. So it was 11:30 before we set off again, uphill out of town just behind A+J, caught up with them and walked with them for a while as we started a long uphill section.

They soon left us behind on the long-uphill stretch, must be fitter than us! We were happy to plod along uphill and occasionally look back to the very spectacular view of the lake and surrounding hills. It took us until 13:30 before we got to the top of the hill, but we pressed on for a little as the map showed some trees ahead and it was quite hot so we were keen to find a shady spot for our picnics. At this point we were surrounded by low shrubs - mainly broom - and large rocks.

About 2-ish the path went into a small wooded area and we were able to sit in the shade for our picnics - ham and bread, salad (more of the tomatoes/chick-peas/sweetcorn stuff), and some of the yoghurt we'd bought in Villefort. After a while Aubrey and June came along behind us, they'd sat among some rocks just off the path and we'd gone past them. The four of us set off together on the rest of the walk to Toureves, thankfull that it was now downhill.

At first we went through forested areas where the main interest was the various waterfalls coming down the hill from our right. After a while the trees thinned and the valley on our left was revealed, with some magnificent arrangements of huge rocks - very good for photos. This was a great walk with really beautiful scenery on our left.

About 4:30pm we did the final small descent to our next resting place - Gite de Tourevès. This is not a hotel, rather it is a country-house with a small farm, we have our own room and there are also dormitory rooms with bunk-beds. After ditching our boots and day-packs we sat outside downstairs for a while with a refreshing drink and chatted with our host Jacques - who restored the house from a ruin over the last 24 years. Meanwhile his partner Michelle cooked dinner for the 6 of us. There are great tables/benches outside the house where we sat for our drink, from here you have great views over the valley and surrounding hills.

After showers the six of us sat around the dinner table - firstly a yummy soup that we were surprised to learn was made from only courgette and onion - seemed like it should be more complicated than that. Then it was salad with some grilled chevre (goats cheese), then the main course of veal with vegetables (ahhh, vegetables at last: carrots, champignons, and chestnuts), then we had fromage, then pear tart. What a wonderful feast it was - delicious home-cooking, what a change from the far too nouvelle-cuisinish stuff at La Garde Guerin. Lots of enjoyable chit-chat as well, along with copious amounts of the red table wine that followed Jacques home-made aperitif. Hit the sack at about 10:30pm, we think, had had no siesta today and with the long walk (Jacques assures us it was 21.6kms) we were asleep as soon as heads hit pillows.

Gite de Tourevès, tel 04 66611001, fax 04 66611001.

Walk day 5, Wed 29 May - Tourevès / Genolhac circuit

Cereal for brekky is a bit of a treat, as is being able to sit outside and admire the view while eating brekky. After a leisurely start to the day we headed off on the circuit down to Genolhac and back. It is supposed to be a longer route down to Genolhac - about 2 hours - then a short climb back up. By not paying attention to what we were doing we took the circuit the wrong way round, still it's not so bad as it means we're sure to get into town before all the shops close at 12 noon.

So our down route was a zig-zaggy path through some woods and into Genolhac, arriving just up the road from the hotel we stayed at earlier in the trip. Into the centre of town and found a patisserie and set ourselves up with 2 savoury and two sweet pastries, then found a seat under a tree in a fairly quiet spot-- necessary cos it was quite hot. Watched all the shops closing and everyone deserting town at 12:15, ready for their 3 hour lunch break.

After scoffing the pastries we wandered through town and found a cafe with nice outdoor shady area, sat and drank a coke each, and made use of the cafe toilets. The cafe is right next to the town's petanque centre - an impressively large area with lots of trees to supply shade. Being this close to such a large petanque court we reckon the cafe owner must be the local millionaire!

At about 1:30pm we decided it was time to head back so wandered out of town, our route took us past the railway station. Who should be sitting on the veranda of the cafe opposite but A+J, who are doing the circuit the right way round so arrived in town after the shops had shut, so no option but a cafe lunch. One of June's boots had come apart, the sole had come away from the toe of the boot, it was held together with a bandage tied up with a nice bow and looked quite comical.

After a chat we headed out of town, at first our path was quite shady but after a while we were out of the shade and it was getting quite hot. This is the downside of doing the circuit the wrong way round, the afternoon path has no shade. Good views down to Genolhac though, and over the rest of the valley. After a while the path went behind a hill and we had views over the other side of the ridge into the next valley. Really good scenery, just a bit hot! Back to the path surrounded by broom and large rocks, then soon back to the Gite at about 4:30pm - ahhh, time for a cool drink.

We started chatting to today's new arrival, Nele (pron: Neylah) is from Belgium and is doing a 30 day walk in the area, she has her accommodation pre-booked, one night in each place, so has to keep moving. Nele is also carrying her pack everywhere, sounds far too much like hard work for us! I was getting a bit weary so decided to head for the shower, so I left Morag chatting...

Nele had eyed off our oranges we'd been eating that afternoon, cos she hadnae eaten anything since breakfast, so when offered one of our yoghurts she gratefully accepted and scoffed it down! A little while later some other new arrival, also from Belgium, arrived, Marc and Simone.

Dinner this time was 9 of us around the table, Jacques home-made aperitif was made from the leaves of cherry trees, and very nice it was too. Starters was a salad with tomatoes/aubergine dip, then guinea fowl with tatties, followed by a choice of cheeses and then fruit tart. Yum!

By the time all that was devoured, along with lots of vin de pays, it was after 10pm and our eyes were hanging out, so time for zzzz's.

Walk day 6, Thu 30 May - Tourevès to le Merlet

Another excellent brekky with the great scenery, farewells to the Belgians and then us four Inntravellers piled into Jacques car and he drove us up the hill to a spot where the road and the trail meet. It is possible to walk up but takes an hour or more, it would be too much to do before the long walk we have as it is. We're dropped off at a spot where there are fantastic views over the valleys and hills, such a good viewpoint hat they have put an orientation table here.

A+J head off while Morag and I are still taking photos so just the two of us wander along the path for a while, more broom and boulders. Early on there's a pretty spot with a stream, old house, and three great old beech trees, one of which has grown round a large rock that's now firmly part of the tree! Shortly after this point the path becomes a bit hard to follow, A+J were ahead of us and lost the route so the four of us had to go backwards a bit to find it again. Lots of broom and rocks again but also a huge gorge over to our left with a big ridge going part way into it, couldn't see it too clearly from out path and it was a little too far away for a detour, but still quite spectacular.

It was getting toward lunchtime so we found a nice shady little spot amongst some trees (virtually the only trees we'd come across, apart from the beech trees) to enjoy picnics: lovely tabouli, slice of omelette, bread/cheese, sausage & a nectarine -- polished off the lot. A+J set off before us, when we set off, just around the corner was the workshop of a local chap who is one of the best knife-makers in France. We didn't drop into his workshop for a look (apparently he's happy to see visitors), the are tailor-made hunting knives, made to fit the shape and size of your hand.

After a bit more walking we caught up with A+J again just as we neared the Tarn River. The source of the river is further to the east than we are going, but the two of us took a little detour to look at an old stone bridge just off the path - Pont du Tarn. It's quite hot and the river is crystal clear - very tempting. We'd earlier passed some locals, and the lady had just had a dip in the freezing water. Some shady areas along the bank are a nice respite from the sun for a while, but then the trail is out in the open again - gasp. After walking along the river for quite a while we reach a descent that takes us down a hill absolutely covered with broom and through a nice little town called Felgerolles, then onto a little road that leads to Gite le Merlet.

This Gite is a real working farm, a lot of the land is still wild but the farmer is slowly clearing some areas for crops, leaving other areas wild for his bees. When we arrived the lass at the gite (Michelle) didn't speak a word of English - the owner was away for the day. It turned out that she was a bit taken aback as she'd been expecting us two but not the other two. Luckily they had two rooms available, very nice room too, plenty of space, nice bathroom and comfy bed.

We ditched our packs and boots and headed back out to their shaded outdoor table for a bottle of delicious home-made apple juice and watched an enormous swarm of bees fly over the gite. The juice revived us but we really only had time to get showered and changed before it was 7-ish and time for dinner. Once again dining is just one big table with all the guests sat round it, when we entered the dining-room the people already there were very proud of themselves for waiting until we arrived before getting stuck into aperitifs, which were farm-made Elderflower syrup (just a wee nip) topped up with white wine - delicious.

Michelle had cooked the entire meal which started with huge bowls of salad , then dishes of grilled sausages with yummy tatties, then a nice selection of cheeses, followed by cranachin for dessert. It was all great entertainment as the other guests were 6 Monagasques (ie. from Monaco) on a motorcycle tour of the area, three blokes riding the bikes and three "chicks" on pillion, when I say chicks a couple were thirty-somethings, the other I'd say 50-ish. Anyway, all 6 of them were real livewires and of course all spoke good English (and who knows what else). The younger of the "chicks", Evelyn, had made herself at home instantly and was in the kitchen helping Michelle and getting drinks etc. It was a real "make yourself at home" place. Once again the carafes of wine flowed free and we hit the bed exhausted at about 11pm (I think).

Ferme Auberge le Merlet, tel. 04 66458292, fax 04 66458078

Walk day 7, Fri 31 May - le Merlet and Pont de Montvert

Our last walking day, we hope not to walk too far as it's getting pretty hot in the afternoons, and we're pretty tired after a long walk yesterday, and we want to look round the town of Pont du Montvert. Breakfast is excellent with cereal available as well as bread, coffee/tea. Also all the jam and honey is made on the farm. AND a totally MAGIC coffee machine (you pressed a button, it ground some ground beans, dripped hot water through the grounds - a proper coffee with no effort!).

Set off on the route down to Pont du Montvert about 10am, expecting it to only take an hour or so but in the event we arrived in Pont du Montvert just in time to get some pastries before the shops close. We thought we'd have to walk along the road, but the route down at first took us through Phillipe's farm, then through a small village, then back into the fields and onto a road for 100 m until we reached a bridge over the Tarn. At this point we headed off on an alternative trail that went over the hill, A+J were in the same spot at the same time and took the road around the hill. We all arrived in Pont du Montvert at about the same time.

The town is a beautiful little place, moderate sized stream running through it with the bridge (of course) which is very old and picturesque and has on one end a bell-tower that looks very old (16th century I think we discovered!?). With three or four hotel/restaurants and a camping ground this would be a good town to stay in - except that le Merlet is nearby and is excellent.

After taking lots of photos we sat on the stone wall by the river for the pastries we'd bought, then had a bit of a chat with A+J who were having lunch at an outdoor cafe. So it was 1-ish before we set off on a bit more of a walk. We decided to cross the river and go up the hill and walk along part of Stevenson's Trail. This route is quite famous in France and is the trail that Robert Louis Stevenson describes in his book "Travels with a Donkey". We would also be able to take in the hamlet of l'Hermet.

In retrospect it was all a bit of a mistake as it got far too hot for us to do this route at this time of day. The hill over the other side of the river was really steep and took quite a long while to ascend, once we got to the top there was no shade (and no cooling breeze). Along we went and finally found the little loop in the path that took us to l'Hermet, which is a little collection of farmhouses, quite picturesque. It was a small climb out of l'Hermet but quite hard to find the path, so that took us a while too. So it was 3-ish before we arrived back at the hill above Pont du Montvert - nice views over the village on the way down.

We stopped at the cafe in the village for a refreshing cool drink (and found out that France had lost to Senegal in the world cup, it'll be a sombre mood at dinner tonight!). It was still nearly a two hour walk back to le Merlet and geez it was hard-work, really hot out in the sun and quite a bit of it was on the road, hotter still, and a slow uphill climb. Then the final track back on Phillipe's farm was a quite steep uphill bit to finish us off - extremely tired when we got back. Thank goodness for the farm-made apple juice, which was really cold and wonderfully reviving. After sharing a bottle of that we were nearly back to normal.

Dinner was a little more subdued than last night, we had watched the Monagasques set off on their bikes early this morning, they were replaced by some quieter French and Belgian couples. But Michelle's food was just as good, starting with the huge bowl of salad, then grilled chicken breasts with creamy carrots & tatties, and then a nice selection of cheese again, followed by an apple/pear slice for dessert. Once again the aperitif was Elderflower syrup drowned in white wine, followed by copious amounts of red table wine.

Nele had arrived at the gite in the afternoon -- she'd walked via another place from Toureves, and was most impressed at the accommodation. She'd been helping Michele in the kitchen after she arrived, and had been fed up on leftover ratatouille from last night's vegetarian dinner. Having only done 10 days of her 30 day trek, there was a fair bit of walking still to do. We offered to lend her the plastic map holder we use, for the remainder of her trek and she jumped at the offer.... I'm sure it will rain before she finishes, and folding & reading maps in the rain is NO fun.

Sat 01 June - le Merlet to Marseilles

We didn't have to rush, unlike A+J who's train was at 8am, ours was at about 10:30. So we had a leisurely breakfast, then packed away the walking gear, maps, stick etc, ready to load into Phillipe's car. Our cases - which were far too big - only just fitted into the small car he had borrowed from a mate - his wife is away on holidays in Tuscany with his nice big car.

It was a wibbley-wobbley road down to Genolhac but we got there in plenty of time despite being held up by a Lada driver. Just as we got to Genolhac there was a caravan heading the other way which poor Philippe would probably sit behind all the way to le Merlet.

Our wee local train was nearly empty, we changed at Nimes onto a bigger regional train which was also pretty empty, rolled into Marseilles about 3pm. We had a couple of hours wait in Nimes for the connecting train, so Mal minded the cases at the station, and Mo raced off into the city to do some shopping. The heat hits as soon as you come out of the train station, we had to carry the cases down quite a grand staircase at the front of the station then it was a roll downhill for a few blocks until we hit the hotel. We had made a booking but I suspect they had no record of it, but they had a room for us so we headed for it, it was even hotter than outside as it was on the sunny side of the hotel. After sorting ourselves out we headed out to wander down to the harbour.

There was quite a nice breeze there and we wandered all the way along to a park at the end of the harbour, with a small hill in the park there's a great view back toward the harbour and over town with big stripy cathedral and old castle. Quite a grand view, and obviously a popular spot for wedding couples to have their photies done -- there were 3 parties up there for the time we were there.

Wandered back from there via an area where Lonely Planet says there are a few good restaurants for bouillabaisse, found one recommended by LP and just for once were let down. I suppose we'd been spoiled over the last week or so but in this place the waiters attempt to be smart made him look like a git, the food was ordinary. On the evidence of this I won't be rushing to have bouillabaisse again - or to return to Marseille, looks to me like that walk along the waterfront counts as "Marseilles, tick".

By now the hotel room had cooled a bit but still quite warm. Slept fitfully with the heat and noise.

Sun 02 June - Marseilles to Edinburgh

Once again the timing is good for us, not an early flight so we don't have to rush. At 8€ each the hotel brekky is pretty pricey but it's a buffet so we decide to go for it in the hope that it's more than bread and coffee. Yep, fruit, yoghurt along with the bread etc.

Packed up and head for the train station to catch the airport bus, damn, what was downhill before is now uphill. Carrying the bags down the steps now means carrying them up, puff, puff. And it's about 30c at 10am. Too hot for us, but the bus has air-con, thank goodness.

The rest of the journey is just the typical air trip, change at Paris, Paris to Edinburgh flight delayed by the usual air-traffic control computer system failures, but only for half-hour this time. So we're back in Edinburgh with the sky grey, the rain softly falling and the temperature a wonderful 17c - much better.

Arrive home to see our side of the street all partitioned off, lucky to get a park. The water main junctions are all being replaced on Tuesday so the water will be off Tue/Wed. This is a bit of a disaster considering the size of the pile of washing we have to do, but that another story....

Top

Aye, that's us: May 2002, a walk in the Cevennes

Aix-en-Provence

Nimes

Nimes: Pont du Gard

Nimes: Uzes

Montpellier

Genolhac

Walk day 1

Walk day 2

Walk day 3

Walk day 4

Walk day 5

Walk day 6

Walk day 7

Marseilles

Cevennes Walk, May 2002

Sat 18 May - Edinburgh to Aix-en-Provence

Aix-en-Provence

Mon 20 May - Aix-en-Provence to Nimes

Tue 21 May - Nimes

Wed 22 May - Nimes (Pont du Gard and Uzes)

Thu 23 May - Nimes to Montpellier

Fri 24 May - Montpellier to Genolhac

Walk day 1, Sat 25 May - Genolhac to Villefort

Walk day 2, Sun 26 May - Villefort to La Garde Guerin

Walk day 3, Mon 27 May - La Garde Guerin environs

Walk day 4, Tue 28 May - La Garde Guerin to Tourev

Walk day 5, Wed 29 May - Tourevès / Genolhac circuit

Walk day 6, Thu 30 May - Tourevès to le Merlet

Walk day 7, Fri 31 May - le Merlet and Pont de Montvert

Sat 01 June - le Merlet to Marseilles

Sun 02 June - Marseilles to Edinburgh