Delights of the Ardeche, Heights in the Vercors

A cool cloudy day saw me labouring up to the top of Mt Aigoual passing a lean bare chested cyclist who arrived in a surprisingly short time after me at the 1567m summit. From there I descended to Florac and then left the Cevennes to enter the Ardeche region staying the night at Vosgues with its illuminated chateau. On the Tuesday (22/10/19) after the rain eased I took the VV down to Grosspierre the 40 mile trip being accomplished just before the weather closed in again.
I followed the Ardeche gorge through some torrential rain and dramatic thunderstorms before heading over to Le Cheynard where an empty lakeside aire was to be my base for a couple of days.
Sat almost at the junction of a Y shaped trio of VVs it was the perfect setting with just below me a massive weir resonating with the roar of the flooded river pouring over its edge.

However the next morning the storms had passed and a hot sun emerged encouraging me to cycle up to Lamastre on an enchantingly beautiful route.
Another fine day on the Friday gave me the opportunity to cycle right down to the swollen Rhone - a lovely almost constant descent through the gorge but of course a long uphill return.
On the Saturday I nipped in to town to get laundry done at the supermarket auto laundrette which even offered the option to be texted when the cycle had finished - is this the 'internet of things'?
Leaving the washing to dry in the van I then followed the 3rd arm of the trio to climb relentlessly up to St Greve, the reward being a 9 mile descent at a steady 18mph with no pedalling, I guessed this is what an electric bike would feel like so perhaps - one day. Current reservations around this move centre on weight - especially when lifting on to the rack and the need for mains power to charge up as an inverter off the leisure battery would soon stuff it!

Talking of weight I have been trying to minimise the overall weight of the van as it is near to its MTPLM figure of 2800 kg so left the spare larger and rarely used table and leg at home, some items of clothing, unnecessary books and other odds and sods but really I feel I am down to the minimum as I also carry quite a few 'get out of jail free' items such as the power pack, 12v winch, bottle jack, axle stands, trolley jack, generator, tools, service spares and the like. However I shed another few kilos by disposing of an unused insert cushion, replaced by a spare pillow and dispensed with one of the overhead bed boards that merely acted as a restraint for items in the overcab storage. I also now keep a few packets of dried food for emergencies rather than tins and endeavour to keep both water bottles full of clean water rather than keeping a litre of bottled water in the cupboard.

Over the years I feel I have refined the art of minimal living and feel confident that my low impact way of life is pretty environmentally friendly. My weekly water usage is about a tenth of the amount used per person per week in an average house, much of my electricity is from the solar panel, I tend to shop very locally producing little waste, most of which can be recycled  and whilst my gas costs are relatively high this is due to the exorbitant price of LPG rather than excessive consumption. Heating the van on the rare occasions it is required uses a very small amount of diesel and with the insulated windscreen and side window screens I stay very cosy. When cooking I tend to grill most food with saucepans sitting on the hob getting most of their heat from the grill below and much of the fridge power is generated whilst driving, although when parked up it uses a very small amount of gas. All my lighting is LED and the various devices I use are 12v USB rechargeable.
My annual mileage is slightly higher than the UK vehicle average but with an average MPG well above 40 in very mixed driving I feel that is acceptable as I have no other home based emissions.
My returns to the UK by air twice whilst away are hard to avoid, mainly as they are a condition of my post MI health insurance but I generally use Easyjet as they operate one of the most fuel efficient fleets and of course during those returns the van is sitting still.  I have looked at train travel but as an example Milan to Sheffield would cost £260 and take 20 hours each way - might be fun to do it one day though. Ironic though isn't it that I can fly home from Milan to Manchester for £20 but a train to Sheffield is then £28 and airport parking around £80....

Anyway that is for the future and after a very pleasant few days at Le Cheynard I moved down to Tournon back on the Rhone from where the Petit Train de l'Ardeche followed the gorges and valleys back up to Lamastre on the initial leg of my Y shaped cycling itinerary. The venerable steam engine was hissing away as people took photos and settled in to the wooden seating on the original carriages - I was glad to have brought a sit mat along although there were some very plush first class carriages available. In fact I rarely sat as you were able to ride outside on the carriage access which gave the best views as we climbed steadily through the mountains. The rhythmic clacking of the wheels and sedate pace made for a memorable journey with a half hour halt at the half way point. Here the bizarre velorail participants were waiting for us to clear the single track line before in a rather amusing and good natured convoy they all set off to pedal some 8 miles down hill in adapted carts.
Up at Lamastre we had 3 hours to explore the pretty town and enjoy a meal. I chose a smart bistro in the sun and later walked up to photograph an old Citroen I'd seen previously that looked similar to a friend's Morris Oxford.

The return journey was equally enjoyable and at the halfway point we stopped again and the mystery of how the pedal cars return was solved - in the funniest scene imaginable all the passengers return in one of two diesel powered rail cars with the fifty or so carts all linked together and trailing behind.



After a superb day I moved on towards the Vercors where at St Jean en Royans I stayed amongst 100 acres of walnuts at a free on farm aire where the following day I bought some walnut oil from the well stocked shop.
A stunning road through tight tunnels took me up Combe Laval to the Vercors plateau and my base for the next few days Font Des Urles a small village that has perhaps seen its skiing heyday.

I set off to walk over the limestone escarpment to the Ambles pasturage and took lunch at one of the mountain huts in the area. Similar to our much loved bothies back home these refuges are run by the local Department and provide free basic accommodation with a stove, compost loo and eating/sleeping areas. A generous supply of wood is provided and the interior felt very cosy as the previous night's inhabitants had had the stove lit. Across at the edge of the plateau was a simple shepherds hut - an A frame of timber and corrugated tin - but at this time of the year most of the flocks have been taken to lower pasture and the patou guard dogs with them. Thus over winter walkers are allowed to take their dogs to the area but only on leads as there is still the natural fauna of boar, chamois and deer to be protected.
I returned after 13 miles to the van where the solar panel had done its job leaving me with fully charged batteries and the prospect of a cosy night with the Eber needed for a couple of hours as we were at 1500m.
The following day was sunny and cloudless so I set off to a distant ridge and then its end summit with stunning views across the Vercors ranges - I had been here 30 years ago to tackle the Gouffre Berger away to the NE, at the time the deepest cave in Europe. I was lucky enough to capture a glimpse of a small group of chamois and a pair of eagles and returned as a chilly fog descended after 12 miles of energetic walking.

Yesterday I moved on to La Chapelle en Vercors to enjoy a lesser walk of 10 miles that took me up to a grand vantage point over the Grand Coulets - an impressive gorge with a now closed road that passed through more tunnels and under precarious overhangs. On the way down a cluster of fly agarics looked surreal under the pine trees. I had intended to stay at Lans en Vercors but when I arrived the aire's water and waste services had been removed so I returned to Villard De Lans and filled up from a very inefficient water pillar that required the use of an old washing machine flexi adapter sourced from a shop in Chefchaouen, Morocco. Down in the village the main run of shops was looking very festive with a combination of Halloween, All Saints Day, the onset of the winter ski season and Christmas all contributing to the scene.
I have now dropped in to Sassenages near Grenoble as unsettled weather has returned and seems likely to hang around over the holiday weekend. I hope to move up in to the Chartreuse when it clears as there are some 2000m peaks to be done but may squeeze in a bike ride along the Isere Valley tomorrow.
My intended visit to a friend's goat and bee farm in Italy may have to be delayed following damaging floods in the Alessandria area but if necessary I will call in after my return from the UK in mid December.
Beyond that we intend to visit Sardinia in the New Year as I continue a steady drift south.

Plenty more photos here and the odd location here.