Molly & I packed the bikes, some supplies, 28 pairs of pants and left. A long drive saw us at Robin and Lorna's (http://www.chaletverger.com/) for an overnight stay complete with a warm welcome, good food and a bottle of Bruichladdich.
By early afternoon on the second day we had arrived on the shores of paradise for two weeks of walking, cycling, eating, relaxing and ignoring the rest of the world.The Gorges du Verdon is Europe's equivalent to the Grand Canyon. Situated an hour or so from the Cote D'Azur, twenty miles of massive cliffs enclose a river that has to be seen to be believed. The Verdon river empties into the man-made Lac du St Croix which now occupies the valley that used to be home of the original village of Les Salles.
The valley was flooded in the 70's and the new village 'Les Salles sur Verdon' sits on the east bank and overlooks the turquoise waters. Very much a holiday destination, tourism is the main industry here and we were doing our bit to help.
After a few days we hit the trails and had the first excursion along the GR4 from Moustiers St Marie towards the Gorge. Great views (above) with fresh air, wildlife, picnic lunch and a camping stove for a very English cuppa at lunchtime. The best bit ? We didn't see another soul all day until we got back to the car :-)
- with the exception of this little fella ! Scampering across a tiny ridge with precipitous drops either side. Molly later identified this as a Chamoix. We heard a few more in the scrub, but they blend in awfully well. Much as the thought of 'fresh meat for lunch and something to clean the windows' was very appealing, we decided to settle for the picnic.A couple more days on the beach and we head
off for the town of Castellane where we dump the car and cycle the GR4 (again) back towards the Gorge. It's a tough'ish ride and it's not all like the photo of Molly spinning past the Cadieres de Brandis. I've been on this route before and most cyclists tend to ride it the other way - it certainly would be easier - but for those of us with only one car, the tarmac at the end is MUCH easier anticlockwise.
There's a push before you hit the top of the
pass and begin the decent past Rougon to the
car park at Le Point Sublime (right). This is
where you weave between the broom, gorse and herbs growing naturally over the mountain side - it smells like a giant herb garden. At the left of the picture you can also see the road back to Castellane which follows the Verdon river the whole way. A fabulous and quite relaxed end to a great day out. Only about 30 miles in total, but with the hills and the heat it feels a lot longer.
We had another few days off, visited the coast to get the car wing mirror fixed, but managed to salvage the day by taking the bikes and going for a trawl round Frejus with a nice light lunch and then soaked up the views on the seafront with a diet coke.
The final planned walk was through the Gorge itself, along the Sentier Martel from Le Point Sublime to Le Chalet Maline. We parked at Maline, caught the cheap minibus to the other end and walked back to the car. Once again, lots do this walk the other way but I find it's better to cross and greet other folk rather than walk close to somone else all day when all you really want is peace and quiet ! For those that watch Top Gear, these are the cliffs that Leo Houlding climbed in the race against Clarkson in the Audi during the 2007 (?) series. The area is oustanding, but very busy with grockles in the summer months. They have also recently re introduced the European Vulture into the area and so if you like your birds (as we do) it makes for an almost prehistoric atmosphere as they quietly circle around the Gorge (2000' above your head) presumably looking for dead tourists.
The two weeks passed far too quickly and , as usual, we came home and thoughts turn immediately to planning the next one ...
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