Two Go For Cheese

[DBK]

Keep up the good work really enjoying this thread.

Thanks. We haven't done a lot this week but I'll post something of the latest stuff later today.

 

[DBK]

We are still in Provence but near the western edge at Fontaine de Vaucluse. To get here we had to drive through Manosque which is something I strongly advise you not to do - the traffic was dreadful. On a lighter note we saw a German MH parked in a village as we drove by and its registration number was WI LLY 9. Looking it up the WI means it comes from Wiesbaden and no doubt it is owned by a Wilhelm - or is he trying to tells us something else?

Blue dot in the middle is us, note Avignon on the left and the river Rhône which marks the end of Provence and the border with Languedoc-Roussillon.

Closer up.

The aire is the classic gravel car park but it is only a short distance from the village. The main draw here is the spring from which the river Sorgue emerges from the bottom of a cliff. It is marked in the bottom right of the map above as the Gouffre de Fontaine de Vaucluse.

So that's where we will start.

Old photo.

Probably hard to see but left of centre are two seated figures looking at a pool from which the water is flowing down the river. This is what it is supposed to look like.

This is what it looked like today.

There was a barrier stopping us getting closer but the cave is where the water should be coming out of - but it wasn't as this shot of the river bed immediately below this point demonstrates.

But only slightly further downstream there was water!

It was coming in from the side out of what I can only assume are smaller fissures in the rock and when the flow rate is higher it comes out of the main cave. Probably better to visit in winter and certainly not after a prolonged drought.

The village has some attractive corners, lots of restaurants and the usual shops catering for tour groups brought in by bus.

We did think about having lunch here but the prices were steep, €29 was the cheapest set menu we saw and individual plats were about the same price as you can get a menu for in a less touristy place. But the main reason we didn't bother is because we've learned places like this don't need to impress to keep your custom. Virtually all their customers are day visitors who won't be returning. Contrast this with a village restaurant which needs to win the locals over by serving good food at a competitive price.

The river, despite its late appearance further downstream than expected, was amazingly clear.

Outside the church was this statue of a man wrestling a dragon. There was no explanation I could see.

After lunch I walked Charlie in the woods above the aire (turn left then first right after about 50 yards if you come this way) on a geocache hunt.

Olive trees growing on a terrace at the bottom of this photo. Later I was walking through abandoned terraces.

The scenery of Provence never dissappoints.

This hut made from stones reminded me of ones we have seen in Corsica.

The geocaches were all animal themed and I didn't find them all. This one from what I could make out was inside the cave. Note the rocks fallen from the roof and the ones ready to fall next. I put this one down as a DNF - Did Not Find but it should have been more accurately described a DNL - Did Not Look.

This one might be a giraffe?

What this is meant to be I've no idea, I thought elephant at the time but duckling might be better. I've no idea the significance of the orange ball either.

This one was easier, a spider in a cage which you let down on a cord.

Interestingly place worth visiting, but bring your own food.

 

[GarryP]

Not far from the hill town of Gordes where we spent a delightful couple of days 30 years ago. There was at the time, a very nice walk/hike down to an abbey that was surrounded by fields of lavender. Great memories of the area.

 

[Chockswahay]

Deffo do Gordes!

 

[DBK]

An hour and a half of driving west has brought us to La Roque sur Cèze.

The map above might be a bit of an eyesight test but the Rhône runs north to South through the middle. Avignon is near the bottom on the right. We are near the top, a bit to the left of centre. Uzès where there seems to be a rolling MHF meet going on is towards the lower left. We've visited it before so will probably miss it when we move tomorrow but for those who haven't and reach this region it is recommended.

We are beside the Cèze river which flows parallel with the Ardèche just a little further north where it flows through the very popular but undoubtedly scenic Gorge d'Ardèche which if you havent seen you should.

And yes it's another CCP aire and quite a nice one. The ground sheet was an attempt to keep the dog Charlie clean - it wasn't very successful but it kept our feet clean!

This is a closer look at the location.

There are a few restaurants here, the village attracting quite a few visitors but the one furtherest from the village is a two minute walk from the aire. The Auberge des Cascades is where we went for lunch at the very early for us time of 12:15 but I'm glad we did. The waiter asked if we had a reservation and looked concerned when I said we hadn't. He checked the list and fortunately decided they did have a spare table. By halfway through our meal every table was occupied so it looks like we grabbed the last spare one.

This is part of the menu.

We don't eat large lunches so we went for the €16 Menu du Jour which is only served for lunch Monday to Friday. They had a "Specials" menu the waiter was trying hard to push and I'm sure the dishes would have been excellent but we stuck to the cheapest thing on the menu.

And we had no regrets. The starter was an Assiette de Charcuterie and we were expecting a few slices of ham and a bit of pâté. This is what turned up. The salad had a good dressing and pesto on top. The pale thing in the middle is a bit of butter for your bread.

The main dish was pork. It doesn't look very attractive perhaps but it was tasty.

The pud was a pear tart with a strong flavour of almonds.

All delicious and generous portions I struggled to finish.

We washed it down with a bottle of a very local white, we drove through the vineyards just a few minutes before arriving at the aire.

But one of the reds on the menu caught my eye.

The top one and another very local one by the name, the Cuvée des Cascades is 15.5%!

Good cooking is alive and well in France if you find the right place. Of course luck plays a big part in the finding. The restaurant you reach turning right out of the aire towards the village was virtually deserted when we walked past it. This was telling.

Afterwards we needed a walk to recover so we visited the village, crossing the very narrow bridge over the Cèze on the way. This is an interesting bridge, barely a car wide and if a van or small truck approaches there is no room for it to pass a pedestrian - walk quickly is my advice.

The village is built on a hill or more accurately, given the name of the place a "roque" I suppose.

The way up is steep and all narrow cobbled streets. Here are a selection starting with the obligatory church shot

There were several plaques describing bits of history. This one talks of "notable men of letters" although none of their names were ones I've heard of.

You can't get to the very top, the château is private and discourages even a proper view of it let alone a visit. But the view is worth the climb.

The building in the middle is where we had lunch.

The obvious things you can draw from the photos above is firstly the extraordinary state of repair of the place, every wall has been recently pointed and secondly - hardly anyone lives here, it's all second homes and holiday lets.

The other attraction here and at the bottom of the map above, are the Cascades du Sautadet.

After yesterday's experience I wasn't sure if we would see a cascade or a dribble but fortunately this time there was some water.



It's slighty artificial as the top of the cascade is a weir but the rest is natural. I suspect the weir is to hold back the water probably for water mills.

The red flag visible above is part of the attempt to stop people swimming. There were signs fixed to the rocks everywhere and this banner above the path.

There is a path to the cascades either side of the river. If you take the right bank or village side the sun will be behind you for photography. Sometimes I get this aspect right.

On the walk to the auberge earlier we had spotted the vines beside the road still had grapes on them.

Later this afternoon, as you can see above they came to correct this. At the start of the clip you can see the belts of "fingers" which strip the grapes from the vine.

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[DBK]

Deffo do Gordes!

Gave it a swerve today as we've been before but it is worth visiting if only to see what a striking location it is, perched on the top of a hill.

 

[DBK]

Quick update, I've just been out to walk Charlie and the grape harvesting machine is still working. It's pitch black out there. Rain is forecast here for Saturday so I guess they want to bring the grapes in before then.

 

[nicholsong]

DBK

Your photos are wonderful, no doubt helped by the light in Provence and the region.

We had planned to be there now but Basia's Mother dying meant we cannot be there before about mid-Oct so maybe getting a bit chilly for some places like Mt. Ventoux.

We are going by air to Crete instead to give Basia a break.

Next year we can go where we want for as long as we want.

 

[DBK]

DBK

Your photos are wonderful, no doubt helped by the light in Provence and the region.

We had planned to be there now but Basia's Mother dying meant we cannot be there before about mid-Oct so maybe getting a bit chilly for some places like Mt. Ventoux.

We are going by air to Crete instead to give Basia a break.

Next year we can go where we want for as long as we want.

It's been a few years since we have been this way and I'm realising we should have been back sooner. It really is a delightful area.

Best wishes for your break in Crete. From my limited experience of a couple of flying holidays the south of the Island has warmer weather than the north coast - which of course is where we stayed! But lovely people.

 

[DBK]

We moved all of 10km today as the crow flies, stopping at a small Intermarché supermarket on the way to stock up for the weekend. The aim was to visit the village of Montclus, which is in the top left of the map below. Our starting point was La Roque sur Cèze in the lower right.

We hadn't intended to stay at the CCP aire here as it doesn't look very attractive in the images in the CCP app and we were going to go back to Goudargues where there is another CCP aire which looks better. But having arrived we did decide to stay, it's only for one night and the location isn't bad, surrounded by forested low hills and cliffs.

The aire also has evidence of something I've not seen on an aire before. It is regularly visited by wild boar!

There are signs everywhere of their activities and some of the earth dug up was still damp so they have probably been around as recently as last night. Charlie may have to be posted on sentry duty tonight in case they have a nibble at my tyres.

Hoof print.

Soon after arriving we walked down the road to the village. There is a car park but it has 1.9m height barriers but you could probably get away with parking on the side of the road just short of the barriers.

On the way we passed this interesting tree.

I can only think it is a variety of medlar but the fruit lack the characteristic "dog's bottom" I associate with medlars. Any suggestions gratefully received!

Our first glimpse of the village.

Lavander grew in rows between the village and the vines in the foreground. It has been harvested now.

I was initially unimpressed when we arrived. The remains of the castle are just a shell and firmly locked up.

But we poked a bit deeper and found some interesting alleys.

Montclus is one of the Beautiful Villages of France (BVoF) but I found La Roque sur Cèze better. I didn't think this was a BVoF as I didn't see any signs when we visited yesterday but having just checked it is. However, Montclus does actually have people living in it and there is even a small primary school. At 12 all the children tumbled out and ran down the hill to eat their packed lunches at a group of benches.

This bridge over the Cèze is just below the village. The gauge for water level is a bit redundant.

A smaller bridge can also be found close to the aire.

It isn't very high which explains the sign on the approach. Not one I've seen before!

After lunch I did a bit of geocaching and encountered a few unexpected things. Look closely at the cliff in the middle of this photo.

Zoomed in.

A solar panel on a cliff! Near the bottom of the cliff was a small building which I think was something to do with the water supply. It had an antenna on the roof so I guess the panel provides power for some type of data link. The building was surrounded by trees so the panel had to be above them.

The most interesting find was this.

There was a geocache close to it called the "Monastère bénédictin troglodytique" and the description of the cache says this was indeed an ancient monastery and was later used by the Knights Templar as a chapel in the XII and XIII centuries.

The river here was very slow moving.

By the side of it I found this curious feature.

It will have been formed by the water rolling a rock or several rocks around the original depression, gradually making it deeper. This is not unusual and you can often see these features but I haven't seen one where the erosion made a hole in the bottom!

I've not much to report on the cheese front. I need to eat it faster so I can look for different ones and try and find some proper cheese shops.

But this one isn't bad and should improve over the next few days.

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[Riverbankannie]

Have got behind on this thread so just catching up, I wouldn’t be investigating what was in some of those geocaches !

Not far from the hill town of Gordes where we spent a delightful couple of days 30 years ago. There was at the time, a very nice walk/hike down to an abbey that was surrounded by fields of lavender. Great memories of the area.

Deffo do Gordes!

We bypassed Gordes as we wanted to visit nearby Roussillon, a painter’s paradise, where red ochre paint comes from, I believe.

 

[DBK]

Have got behind on this thread so just catching up, I wouldn’t be investigating what was in some of those geocaches !




We bypassed Gordes as we wanted to visit nearby Roussillon, a painter’s paradise, where red ochre paint comes from, I believe. View attachment 668509View attachment 668510
View attachment 668508

There's a lot to see in this area of south east France. I'd like to return but next time it will be earlier in the year. There's a lot of limestone and it will be thick with orchids.

 

[Ingwe]

We moved all of 10km today as the crow flies, stopping at a small Intermarché supermarket on the way to stock up for the weekend. The aim was to visit the village of Montclus, which is in the top left of the map below. Our starting point was La Roque sur Cèze in the lower right.

View attachment 668440

We hadn't intended to stay at the CCP aire here as it doesn't look very attractive in the images in the CCP app and we were going to go back to Goudargues where there is another CCP aire which looks better. But having arrived we did decide to stay, it's only for one night and the location isn't bad, surrounded by forested low hills and cliffs.

View attachment 668441

The aire also has evidence of something I've not seen on an aire before. It is regularly visited by wild boar!

View attachment 668452

There are signs everywhere of their activities and some of the earth dug up was still damp so they have probably been around as recently as last night. Charlie may have to be posted on sentry duty tonight in case they have a nibble at my tyres.

Hoof print.

View attachment 668506

Soon after arriving we walked down the road to the village. There is a car park but it has 1.9m height barriers but you could probably get away with parking on the side of the road just short of the barriers.

On the way we passed this interesting tree.

View attachment 668442

I can only think it is a variety of medlar but the fruit lack the characteristic "dog's bottom" I associate with medlars. Any suggestions gratefully received!

Our first glimpse of the village.

View attachment 668445

Lavander grew in rows between the village and the vines in the foreground. It has been harvested now.

View attachment 668434

I was initially unimpressed when we arrived. The remains of the castle are just a shell and firmly locked up.

View attachment 668438

But we poked a bit deeper and found some interesting alleys.

View attachment 668451View attachment 668446View attachment 668436View attachment 668433

Montclus is one of the Beautiful Villages of France (BVoF) but I found La Roque sur Cèze better. I didn't think this was a BVoF as I didn't see any signs when we visited yesterday but having just checked it is. However, Montclus does actually have people living in it and there is even a small primary school. At 12 all the children tumbled out and ran down the hill to eat their packed lunches at a group of benches.

This bridge over the Cèze is just below the village. The gauge for water level is a bit redundant.

View attachment 668437

A smaller bridge can also be found close to the aire.

View attachment 668450

It isn't very high which explains the sign on the approach. Not one I've seen before!

View attachment 668439

After lunch I did a bit of geocaching and encountered a few unexpected things. Look closely at the cliff in the middle of this photo.

View attachment 668432

Zoomed in.

View attachment 668448

A solar panel on a cliff! Near the bottom of the cliff was a small building which I think was something to do with the water supply. It had an antenna on the roof so I guess the panel provides power for some type of data link. The building was surrounded by trees so the panel had to be above them.

The most interesting find was this.

View attachment 668444

There was a geocache close to it called the "Monastère bénédictin troglodytique" and the description of the cache says this was indeed an ancient monastery and was later used by the Knights Templar as a chapel in the XII and XIII centuries.

The river here was very slow moving.

View attachment 668449

By the side of it I found this curious feature.

View attachment 668435

It will have been formed by the water rolling a rock or several rocks around the original depression, gradually making it deeper. This is not unusual and you can often see these features but I haven't seen one where the erosion made a hole in the bottom!

I've not much to report on the cheese front. I need to eat it faster so I can look for different ones and try and find some proper cheese shops.

But this one isn't bad and should improve over the next few days.

View attachment 668443

Beautiful photos and interesting narrative DBK. Thank you (also Riverbankannie.)

We’re at Millau and went for lunch in the market. We’re both cheese lovers but currently we’re collecting local honey. Mostly as gifts for our neighbours but keeping plenty for ourselves.

At the restaurant, we had a dish that is prepared for two. It is a whole baked cheese Mont d’Or served with two types of ham, sausage, three large boiled potatoes and a small salad. €32 and a quart of vin rouge to wash it down with.

Tomorrow is an Ultra-Marathon (100kms) at Millau and the site we’re on is filling up with runners and their support teams. We hope we can leave ok tomorrow. We’re heading to Barjac tomorrow and then onto Saint Flour. We saw the latter thirty years ago and promised we’d return sometime. We’re also bagging rivers for wild swimming. SWMBO has so far swum in the Dordogne, Tarn, Dourbie and hopefully the Lot and Truyère.

 

[DBK]

The mystery fruit has been identified by none other than he of the huge pony tail Bob Flowerdew via Twitter. It is Persimmon, not the cultivated ones you buy in shops but the original wild version.

Diospyros virginiana - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[DBK]

Beautiful photos and interesting narrative DBK. Thank you (also Riverbankannie.)

We’re at Millau and went for lunch in the market. We’re both cheese lovers but currently we’re collecting local honey. Mostly as gifts for our neighbours but keeping plenty for ourselves.

At the restaurant, we had a dish that is prepared for two. It is a whole baked cheese Mont d’Or served with two types of ham, sausage, three large boiled potatoes and a small salad. €32 and a quart of vin rouge to wash it down with.

Tomorrow is an Ultra-Marathon (100kms) at Millau and the site we’re on is filling up with runners and their support teams. We hope we can leave ok tomorrow. We’re heading to Barjac tomorrow and then onto Saint Flour. We saw the latter thirty years ago and promised we’d return sometime. We’re also bagging rivers for wild swimming. SWMBO has so far swum in the Dordogne, Tarn, Dourbie and hopefully the Lot and Truyère. View attachment 668533

We are heading in the general direction of St Flour but won't arrive until early next week. There is a CCP place there so I guess we will have to call in!

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[Janine]

I love the way you always manage to find interesting 'stuff' DBK . Keep it coming!

 

[Riverbankannie]

Beautiful photos and interesting narrative DBK. Thank you (also Riverbankannie.)

We’re at Millau and went for lunch in the market. We’re both cheese lovers but currently we’re collecting local honey. Mostly as gifts for our neighbours but keeping plenty for ourselves.

At the restaurant, we had a dish that is prepared for two. It is a whole baked cheese Mont d’Or served with two types of ham, sausage, three large boiled potatoes and a small salad. €32 and a quart of vin rouge to wash it down with.

Tomorrow is an Ultra-Marathon (100kms) at Millau and the site we’re on is filling up with runners and their support teams. We hope we can leave ok tomorrow. We’re heading to Barjac tomorrow and then onto Saint Flour. We saw the latter thirty years ago and promised we’d return sometime. We’re also bagging rivers for wild swimming. SWMBO has so far swum in the Dordogne, Tarn, Dourbie and hopefully the Lot and Truyère. View attachment 668533

Looks yummy but we might have to ask for extra cheese instead of the meat

 

[DBK]

I love the way you always manage to find interesting 'stuff' DBK . Keep it coming!

Janine, thank you but don't assume much of this is planned. The word "serendipity" is probably appropriate!

But I am learning to look for what might be called the blank bits on the map. For example we have been driving up the Cèze River for the last couple of days on a route which is parallel to the Gorge d'Ardèche immediately to the north of us. The Gorge is a must if you haven't done it before but it is very popular.

 

[KiwiKampers]

The mystery fruit has been identified by none other than he of the huge pony tail Bob Flowerdew via Twitter. It is Persimmon, not the cultivated ones you buy in shops but the original wild version.

Diospyros virginiana - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Drat! I wanted to take the credit for identifying your mystery fruit but I was just too late.
The persimmon is my favourite tree in my orchard. The fruit are delicious, as I’m sure you know, and the autumn colours are a delight. The fruit in your photo is several weeks away from being ripe which is a shame because it would have been nice with the cheese you’ve bought.

 

[Roger S]

Beautiful photos and interesting narrative DBK. Thank you (also Riverbankannie.)

We’re at Millau and went for lunch in the market. We’re both cheese lovers but currently we’re collecting local honey. Mostly as gifts for our neighbours but keeping plenty for ourselves.

At the restaurant, we had a dish that is prepared for two. It is a whole baked cheese Mont d’Or served with two types of ham, sausage, three large boiled potatoes and a small salad. €32 and a quart of vin rouge to wash it down with.

Tomorrow is an Ultra-Marathon (100kms) at Millau and the site we’re on is filling up with runners and their support teams. We hope we can leave ok tomorrow. We’re heading to Barjac tomorrow and then onto Saint Flour. We saw the latter thirty years ago and promised we’d return sometime. We’re also bagging rivers for wild swimming. SWMBO has so far swum in the Dordogne, Tarn, Dourbie and hopefully the Lot and Truyère. View attachment 668533

I wish you well with the marathon.

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[Ingwe]

I wish you well with the marathon.

I’m told the first 75km are the hardest.

 

[Ingwe]

We are heading in the general direction of St Flour but won't arrive until early next week. There is a CCP place there so I guess we will have to call in!

The CCP site at Saint Flour is where we’re heading. We’ll be there next Monday or Tuesday. Drive safely.

 

[DBK]

The CCP site at Saint Flour is where we’re heading. We’ll be there next Monday or Tuesday. Drive safely.

Might see you there.

 

[DBK]

A longish drive today which took us over the Cévennes. The first part of the drive, before we reached the Cévennes, was quite demanding. A narrow road with a fearsome ditch which would have eaten the 'van if I had dropped a wheel into it. What we did see of interest were two hunting parties, all wearing orange vests, not for protesting on this occasion but to stop their fellow hunters mistaking them for a boar. A check on-line told me the wild boar hunting season started about two weeks ago on the second Sunday in September. It is a week earlier in Corsica and a week later further north. What I wasn't expecting was to see their quarry but on a quiet stretch of road a wild pig suddenly appeared and ran alongside of us for a short period. I only had to slow down slightly to keep pace with it as it was running very fast. I guess it had been flushed out by one of the hunts. I didn't see any dogs but I'm sure they must use them or perhaps just human beaters making a noise?

We have come to the Lac de Naussac.

Which on a larger scale is here. We are at the blue blob just above the centre.

You can see the green sweep of the Cévennes which we crossed below us. We've visited the Cévennes before and if you haven't I can recommend the area. Places to stop are limited but it is worth coming here. The map above suggests we may have been between the Cévennes and the Monts d'Ardèche but all the signs we saw today referenced the former.

But the Lac de Naussac needs to be called the Lack de Naussac because as you can see the lac is... er.... lacking somewhat...

But we do have a bit of grass on our pitch!

In the afternoon we went for a walk around part of the lake, or rather the somewhat shy lake.

Note the grey clouds! Shortly afterwards Mrs DBK commented on the number of fish in the lake and indeed lots of rings were appearing but it wasn't fish it was rain! We sheltered under a tree and the shower only lasted 10 minutes, allowing us to complete our walk.

A lazy day tomorrow as we will stay here a second night.

 

[Littlewheels]

We love France and for Motorhomers l don’t think it can better catered for ,however, the one thing that to me is quite obvious and that the lack of Wildlife they appear to kill anything that moves. I’ve seen them in shooting parties no more than 100m apart moving forward on open areas where any Bird or Animal wouldn’t have a chance. Not good.

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[Nirvanauk]

We love France and for Motorhomers l don’t think it can better catered for ,however, the one thing that to me is quite obvious and that the lack of Wildlife they appear to kill anything that moves. I’ve seen them in shooting parties no more than 100m apart moving forward on open areas where any Bird or Animal wouldn’t have a chance. Not good.

Around here shooting season starts soon. They are still young and can only fly to about head high yet still get blasted out of the sky. And if its anything like last year nobody wants the birds for food so they get a JCB to dig a hole and at the end of the day just bury them.

 

[DBK]

We love France and for Motorhomers l don’t think it can better catered for ,however, the one thing that to me is quite obvious and that the lack of Wildlife they appear to kill anything that moves. I’ve seen them in shooting parties no more than 100m apart moving forward on open areas where any Bird or Animal wouldn’t have a chance. Not good.

I seem to recall the right to hunt is held very strongly in France. No government would dare take on the hunting lobby. Imagine yellow vests with guns!

Spain is the place to go for wildlife - wolves, bears and numerous birds of prey. They take conservation very seriously there.

 

[Littlewheels]

I seem to recall the right to hunt is held very strongly in France. No government would dare take on the hunting lobby. Imagine yellow vests with guns!

Spain is the place to go for wildlife - wolves, bears and numerous birds of prey. They take conservation very seriously there.

Sad but true no doubt.
l am in Spain now and have had proper here since 1986 based in Andalusia, l believe there are 450k Gun Licenses issued in this region so goodness knows how many there are actually out there, l do know l never go out into the Campo on a Sunday as l am well aware l might not retur home.
On the bright side if there is one to represent the Wildlife there are restrictions on what can be shot, for instance on our Golf Course where Wild Boar can be a nightmare in a drought as they come down to soft land to dig. There are many and to control the numbers we had to get a Licensed Gunman and Certification from Seville to be allowed to Cull a certain number.
They were also trapped and the young removed to wilder parts but the regislation was strictly followed.
Finally, l have never seen Birds of Prey legally shot at, they are protected here with feeding stations for the Griffin Vultures where Corpses are put out. Quite a scene as it’s like an Airport as they come in to feed.

 

[Ingwe]

A longish drive today which took us over the Cévennes. The first part of the drive, before we reached the Cévennes, was quite demanding. A narrow road with a fearsome ditch which would have eaten the 'van if I had dropped a wheel into it. What we did see of interest were two hunting parties, all wearing orange vests, not for protesting on this occasion but to stop their fellow hunters mistaking them for a boar. A check on-line told me the wild boar hunting season started about two weeks ago on the second Sunday in September. It is a week earlier in Corsica and a week later further north. What I wasn't expecting was to see their quarry but on a quiet stretch of road a wild pig suddenly appeared and ran alongside of us for a short period. I only had to slow down slightly to keep pace with it as it was running very fast. I guess it had been flushed out by one of the hunts. I didn't see any dogs but I'm sure they must use them or perhaps just human beaters making a noise?

We have come to the Lac de Naussac.

View attachment 668926

Which on a larger scale is here. We are at the blue blob just above the centre.

View attachment 668928

You can see the green sweep of the Cévennes which we crossed below us. We've visited the Cévennes before and if you haven't I can recommend the area. Places to stop are limited but it is worth coming here. The map above suggests we may have been between the Cévennes and the Monts d'Ardèche but all the signs we saw today referenced the former.

But the Lac de Naussac needs to be called the Lack de Naussac because as you can see the lac is... er.... lacking somewhat...

View attachment 668925

But we do have a bit of grass on our pitch!

View attachment 668931

In the afternoon we went for a walk around part of the lake, or rather the somewhat shy lake.

View attachment 668927

Note the grey clouds! Shortly afterwards Mrs DBK commented on the number of fish in the lake and indeed lots of rings were appearing but it wasn't fish it was rain! We sheltered under a tree and the shower only lasted 10 minutes, allowing us to complete our walk.

A lazy day tomorrow as we will stay here a second night.

Great post! Last year, we drove across the Corniche des Cevennes, a road that takes you on top of the world. We ended up at Mende a lovely medieval town and had our first frost of the year when we awoke to the sound of locals scraping their windscreens.
Tonight we are on a site at Barjac, just the other side of Mende. Mrs Ingwe’s swim in the Lot was abandoned due to the unappealing access points to the slow moving river. Tomorrow we pass through Mende en route to Le Malzieu-Ville another delightful medieval village of which France has many.

 

[DBK]

Great post! Last year, we drove across the Corniche des Cevennes, a road that takes you on top of the world. We ended up at Mende a lovely medieval town and had our first frost of the year when we awoke to the sound of locals scraping their windscreens.
Tonight we are on a site at Barjac, just the other side of Mende. Mrs Ingwe’s swim in the Lot was abandoned due to the unappealing access points to the slow moving river. Tomorrow we pass through Mende en route to Le Malzieu-Ville another delightful medieval village of which France has many.View attachment 668996View attachment 668995

Le Malzieu-Ville looks a nice spot.

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