Gorge Yourself
Friday
Standing at the edge of the River Ardèche in the Gorges Nature Reserve in southern France, my friend Kate and I both realise our only experience of being in a canoe involved hazy memories of a school trip more than a decade ago that wasn’t too successful. We contemplate our 32km, two-day canoeing trip through 25 rapids, with more than some trepidation.
After a few basic instructions from our instructor, Peter, we’re on the water, circling round and round, again and again, until our forgotten paddling skills return.
Admiring the towering 300-metre-high cliffs, inhaling lung-fulls of fresh air and feeling zillions of miles from the UK, I suddenly notice we’re only inches from a sneakily camouflaged rock and are about to hit sideways on – one of Peter’s ‘Don’ts’. Plastic hits stone, and in we go. Two minutes: that’s all the time we needed to capsize into the fresh forest-green waters of the Ardèche. We send big-eyed, vulnerable looks in Peter’s direction, who rescues our canoe.
Right, enough damsels in distress stuff, we need to man-up. Within five, we’ve done it again. ‘Peter…’ Back in our canoe, following the narrowing curves of the gorge, we suddenly see it: the stunning 60-metre natural bridge, Pont D’Arc, a landmark which makes the cover of every brochure for the region. It marks the begining of our 32km route. From this point, there’s no going back: the tourist trail through the gorges is only accessible on foot or by small boat. We thank Peter for his tuition, wave ‘Au revoir’ and wonder how on earth we’re going to tackle the 25 rapids ahead without him.
In the heat of the midday sun, we cruise past a small bay full of parents and their sun cream-smothered children splashing in the water. We beach ourselves in
a shady spot for some lunch, take a swim in the cool soothing water and raid our waterproof barrels of belongings for the Factor 30. The afternoon sees us wrestling a few more rapids and dreading ‘La Dent Noire’ (The Black Tooth). In fact, the white water never exceeds a mild Grade Two rating – the scariest part is not knowing what will be around
the next corner.
At 4pm, when we arrive at the Gournier bivouac area to pitch our tents, I’m redder than the tinned ratatouille we’ve got for dinner. Looking for lotion, the lady in first aid shakes her head: this is a listed nature reserve, and shops and sun cream there aren’t. It’s then that she starts spitting and snorting. She juts out her teeth. I think I want to run. Through her pigeon English and my GCSE French, I realise she’s warning me of some kind of hungry animal at night-time. I struggle to imagine any animal more frightening than her, then she oinks and I laugh. Wild boars.
We spend the evening chatting around the barbecue and looking at the stars before climbing into our sleeping bags to rest our aching limbs. At 2am, we’re awoken suddenly by the clutter of paddles as they hit the tent. Half asleep and terrified, I jump on Kate, convinced the footsteps belong to someone either stealing our soggy trainers or the left-over ratatouille. Kate grumbles: ‘It’s the boars’. I breathe a sigh of relief. Yes, of course. I knew that.
Saturday
Feeling a little stiff, we’re the last to set out – Gournier also plays host to early-rising school groups, families and couples. When we glide past a notable cliff top called La Cathédrale, a fine example of erosion’s craftmanship, we realise we haven’t seen a soul for miles. It’s just us, butterflies and the occasional jumping fish. It’s a shame when, four hours later, we cross the imaginary finishing line.
That evening, an hour’s drive to Burzet rewards us with a night at an idyllic old manor house, owned and run by a French couple, Béa and Daniel. We sit on the veranda sipping Saint-Peray, a refreshing local sparkling wine, as we listen to the trickle of the stream below, our mouths watering at the aroma of Béa’s home-cooked meal.
Sunday
With helmets and harnesses fastened, we follow our guide Noël to the start of the two-hour via ferrata trail in Pont du Diable, Thueyts. For those now thinking: ‘Via what?’, via ferrata is a ‘form of rock climbing where iron rungs have been inserted into the rock for you to step on and hold on to,’ explains Noel.
A safety briefing follows, and before long we are resisting the urge to look down at the sheer drop below as we tightrope walk, thankful for the taught iron rope above our heads to grip on to. To my relief, as we climb the first corner, I notice a more foot-friendly trail – flat pieces of iron large enough to accommodate half a foot. Fixing and un-fixing carabiners as we go, we pick up the pace. Before long I find myself on an aerial runway, screaming with child-like delight as my eyes scan the rocky river 90 metres below. On the other side of the gorge we continue the 462-metre ascent, the climb becoming more challenging as the rock slopes towards us, and we use all the power left in our newly toned arms to reach the end.
This all seems a distant and enjoyable memory hours later when I’m soaking in a hot bubble bath of essential oils at a spa in Val Les Bains. I have a ‘Life doesn’t get much better than this’ moment as a masseuse gently pummels my happy, aching self.
Five things not to miss...
1The ‘sucs’ in the Ardèche Mountains are one of the main attractions to Monts d’Ardèche regional nature park, particularly for hikers. These volcanic ‘bosoms’ bear the names Mont Gerbier de Jonc, Mont Mezenc, Mont Fol, Taupenas, Gouleiou and Les Coux. Your climb will be rewarded with magnificent views over the Cevennes, the Rhône Valley and the Alps. Take the seven-day ‘Piemont Ardéchois’ hiking tour.
2 The Ray Pic volcano is a popular landmark in the Ardèche thanks to its 40-metre waterfall (a 25-minute walk from the car park) with its successive vertiginous drops that make it seem to leap from one rock to the next.
3 The Ardèche has lots of sites perfect for canyoning, where you can slide down waterfalls, scramble over rocks and swim through pools. The best known are La Borne and Haut-Chassezac, but Fustugère and Roujanel offer a tougher challenge.
4 There are numerous mountain-biking trails criss-crossing the Ardèche, letting you enjoy the scenery at your own pace.
A good one is the 23km easy route from Issarles Lake to Mount Gerbier de Jonc. This natural lake, in the crater of an extinct volcano, is a listed site, formed by an underground explosion a million years ago. Its exceptional blue colour is due to its 140-metre depth. From here, cycle 8km to the historic village of Le Béage. Another 15km will see you at Mount Gerbier de Jonc for some spectacular views.
5 With its lakes and rivers, Ardèche offers some of the finest fishing in Europe. There are thousands of kilometres to fish for pike, carp, trout and lake herring. Pick up a fishing licence from bars, tabacs and tourist offices - about €20 for two weeks.
The family factor
A few ideas the kids will love...
1. At Les Castagnades d’Automne (chestnut festival) you can horse-ride from village to village through the heart of the Mont d’Ardèche regional park from mid-October to mid-November, when locals celebrate with a two-day chestnut roast, traditional dances and music. Web: parc-monts-ardeche.com
2. Sail down the Ardèche River in a traditional wooden boat for 4 to 6 people, piloted by two boatmen, for £63.50 per boat. Web: bateliers.net
3. The Montgolfier brothers invented the hot-air balloon, sending their first successful flight into the air in June 1783 from the town of Annonay, so why not hop into a balloon for a slightly different tour of the region? The first week of June each year sees 50 balloons take to the air and the first historic flight is relived with people wearing period costume. Web: ardeche-montgolfieres.com
Fact File
Getting there:
Fly with Ryanair from Stansted to Grenoble from £48 return.
Web: ryanair.com
Getting around:
Hire a car for five days for around £200 with National Citer. Web: citer.fr
Accommodation:
Le Clos des Bruyères hotel in Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, opposite Escapade Loisirs where you can hire canoes. Cost: approx. £47 pp per night. Web: closdesbruyeres.net
You can stay for a maximum of three days in the Gorges Nature Reserve and bivouack at either Gaud and Gournier. Cost: from £4.70 pp
La Clède in Burzet The manor house run by Béa and Daniel. Cost: from £45 per night. Web: laclede-ardeche.com
Grand Hotel de Lyon. From £48 a night. Web: grandhoteldelyon.fr
Activity Providers
Canoe the Ardèche with Escapade Loisirs.
Cost: £28 pp for a two-day trip.
Web: escapade-loisirs.com
To book a guide for via ferrata trail in Pont du Diable, Thueyts, contact the local tourist office. Tel: 00 33 (0)4 75 36 46 79
Web: thueyts.fr
Ardèche Adventures offers a programme of adventure breaks for families.
Web: ardecheadventures.com
More information:
Web: ardeche-guide.com
Standing at the edge of the River Ardèche in the Gorges Nature Reserve in southern France, my friend Kate and I both realise our only experience of being in a canoe involved hazy memories of a school trip more than a decade ago that wasn’t too successful. We contemplate our 32km, two-day canoeing trip through 25 rapids, with more than some trepidation.
After a few basic instructions from our instructor, Peter, we’re on the water, circling round and round, again and again, until our forgotten paddling skills return.
Admiring the towering 300-metre-high cliffs, inhaling lung-fulls of fresh air and feeling zillions of miles from the UK, I suddenly notice we’re only inches from a sneakily camouflaged rock and are about to hit sideways on – one of Peter’s ‘Don’ts’. Plastic hits stone, and in we go. Two minutes: that’s all the time we needed to capsize into the fresh forest-green waters of the Ardèche. We send big-eyed, vulnerable looks in Peter’s direction, who rescues our canoe.
Right, enough damsels in distress stuff, we need to man-up. Within five, we’ve done it again. ‘Peter…’ Back in our canoe, following the narrowing curves of the gorge, we suddenly see it: the stunning 60-metre natural bridge, Pont D’Arc, a landmark which makes the cover of every brochure for the region. It marks the begining of our 32km route. From this point, there’s no going back: the tourist trail through the gorges is only accessible on foot or by small boat. We thank Peter for his tuition, wave ‘Au revoir’ and wonder how on earth we’re going to tackle the 25 rapids ahead without him.
In the heat of the midday sun, we cruise past a small bay full of parents and their sun cream-smothered children splashing in the water. We beach ourselves in
a shady spot for some lunch, take a swim in the cool soothing water and raid our waterproof barrels of belongings for the Factor 30. The afternoon sees us wrestling a few more rapids and dreading ‘La Dent Noire’ (The Black Tooth). In fact, the white water never exceeds a mild Grade Two rating – the scariest part is not knowing what will be around
the next corner.
At 4pm, when we arrive at the Gournier bivouac area to pitch our tents, I’m redder than the tinned ratatouille we’ve got for dinner. Looking for lotion, the lady in first aid shakes her head: this is a listed nature reserve, and shops and sun cream there aren’t. It’s then that she starts spitting and snorting. She juts out her teeth. I think I want to run. Through her pigeon English and my GCSE French, I realise she’s warning me of some kind of hungry animal at night-time. I struggle to imagine any animal more frightening than her, then she oinks and I laugh. Wild boars.
We spend the evening chatting around the barbecue and looking at the stars before climbing into our sleeping bags to rest our aching limbs. At 2am, we’re awoken suddenly by the clutter of paddles as they hit the tent. Half asleep and terrified, I jump on Kate, convinced the footsteps belong to someone either stealing our soggy trainers or the left-over ratatouille. Kate grumbles: ‘It’s the boars’. I breathe a sigh of relief. Yes, of course. I knew that.
Saturday
Feeling a little stiff, we’re the last to set out – Gournier also plays host to early-rising school groups, families and couples. When we glide past a notable cliff top called La Cathédrale, a fine example of erosion’s craftmanship, we realise we haven’t seen a soul for miles. It’s just us, butterflies and the occasional jumping fish. It’s a shame when, four hours later, we cross the imaginary finishing line.
That evening, an hour’s drive to Burzet rewards us with a night at an idyllic old manor house, owned and run by a French couple, Béa and Daniel. We sit on the veranda sipping Saint-Peray, a refreshing local sparkling wine, as we listen to the trickle of the stream below, our mouths watering at the aroma of Béa’s home-cooked meal.
Sunday
With helmets and harnesses fastened, we follow our guide Noël to the start of the two-hour via ferrata trail in Pont du Diable, Thueyts. For those now thinking: ‘Via what?’, via ferrata is a ‘form of rock climbing where iron rungs have been inserted into the rock for you to step on and hold on to,’ explains Noel.
A safety briefing follows, and before long we are resisting the urge to look down at the sheer drop below as we tightrope walk, thankful for the taught iron rope above our heads to grip on to. To my relief, as we climb the first corner, I notice a more foot-friendly trail – flat pieces of iron large enough to accommodate half a foot. Fixing and un-fixing carabiners as we go, we pick up the pace. Before long I find myself on an aerial runway, screaming with child-like delight as my eyes scan the rocky river 90 metres below. On the other side of the gorge we continue the 462-metre ascent, the climb becoming more challenging as the rock slopes towards us, and we use all the power left in our newly toned arms to reach the end.
This all seems a distant and enjoyable memory hours later when I’m soaking in a hot bubble bath of essential oils at a spa in Val Les Bains. I have a ‘Life doesn’t get much better than this’ moment as a masseuse gently pummels my happy, aching self.
Five things not to miss...
1The ‘sucs’ in the Ardèche Mountains are one of the main attractions to Monts d’Ardèche regional nature park, particularly for hikers. These volcanic ‘bosoms’ bear the names Mont Gerbier de Jonc, Mont Mezenc, Mont Fol, Taupenas, Gouleiou and Les Coux. Your climb will be rewarded with magnificent views over the Cevennes, the Rhône Valley and the Alps. Take the seven-day ‘Piemont Ardéchois’ hiking tour.
2 The Ray Pic volcano is a popular landmark in the Ardèche thanks to its 40-metre waterfall (a 25-minute walk from the car park) with its successive vertiginous drops that make it seem to leap from one rock to the next.
3 The Ardèche has lots of sites perfect for canyoning, where you can slide down waterfalls, scramble over rocks and swim through pools. The best known are La Borne and Haut-Chassezac, but Fustugère and Roujanel offer a tougher challenge.
4 There are numerous mountain-biking trails criss-crossing the Ardèche, letting you enjoy the scenery at your own pace.
A good one is the 23km easy route from Issarles Lake to Mount Gerbier de Jonc. This natural lake, in the crater of an extinct volcano, is a listed site, formed by an underground explosion a million years ago. Its exceptional blue colour is due to its 140-metre depth. From here, cycle 8km to the historic village of Le Béage. Another 15km will see you at Mount Gerbier de Jonc for some spectacular views.
5 With its lakes and rivers, Ardèche offers some of the finest fishing in Europe. There are thousands of kilometres to fish for pike, carp, trout and lake herring. Pick up a fishing licence from bars, tabacs and tourist offices - about €20 for two weeks.
The family factor
A few ideas the kids will love...
1. At Les Castagnades d’Automne (chestnut festival) you can horse-ride from village to village through the heart of the Mont d’Ardèche regional park from mid-October to mid-November, when locals celebrate with a two-day chestnut roast, traditional dances and music. Web: parc-monts-ardeche.com
2. Sail down the Ardèche River in a traditional wooden boat for 4 to 6 people, piloted by two boatmen, for £63.50 per boat. Web: bateliers.net
3. The Montgolfier brothers invented the hot-air balloon, sending their first successful flight into the air in June 1783 from the town of Annonay, so why not hop into a balloon for a slightly different tour of the region? The first week of June each year sees 50 balloons take to the air and the first historic flight is relived with people wearing period costume. Web: ardeche-montgolfieres.com
Fact File
Getting there:
Fly with Ryanair from Stansted to Grenoble from £48 return.
Web: ryanair.com
Getting around:
Hire a car for five days for around £200 with National Citer. Web: citer.fr
Accommodation:
Le Clos des Bruyères hotel in Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, opposite Escapade Loisirs where you can hire canoes. Cost: approx. £47 pp per night. Web: closdesbruyeres.net
You can stay for a maximum of three days in the Gorges Nature Reserve and bivouack at either Gaud and Gournier. Cost: from £4.70 pp
La Clède in Burzet The manor house run by Béa and Daniel. Cost: from £45 per night. Web: laclede-ardeche.com
Grand Hotel de Lyon. From £48 a night. Web: grandhoteldelyon.fr
Activity Providers
Canoe the Ardèche with Escapade Loisirs.
Cost: £28 pp for a two-day trip.
Web: escapade-loisirs.com
To book a guide for via ferrata trail in Pont du Diable, Thueyts, contact the local tourist office. Tel: 00 33 (0)4 75 36 46 79
Web: thueyts.fr
Ardèche Adventures offers a programme of adventure breaks for families.
Web: ardecheadventures.com
More information:
Web: ardeche-guide.com
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