thermal currents like a crowd of paragliders! There are also swifts, swallows and crows; by the river banks are kingfishers, dippers, wagtail and inoffensive grass snakes which live off the fish.
On the lower slopes on the Mediterranean side of the Cevennes, where it is hotter and drier, one is frequently alerted to rustling in the undergrowth. This could be attributed to the thousands of tiny lizards, which abound everywhere, a grass snake or a viper, which are rarely seen, or one of the huge iridescent green lizards which at 60cm long are the largest in Europe. The air is alive with the rasping noise of the crickets and other insects. One of the more fascinating is the preying mantis, which does look as though it is praying but has the reputation of eating its mate!
But the most curious creature I have seen in the Cevennes was when I was walking round the Mont Lozère in the pouring rain; suddenly at my feet slithering across the path were four lizard-like creatures, black with big bright yellow spots. These are called spotted salamanders, and they only come out when it is raining hard, normally preferring to rest in swamps and ponds.
SOUTHERN CEVENNES
WALK 1
Circuit de L’arre
| Start point | Central square – Le Vigan |
| Height gain | None |
| Difficulty | Easy short walk with no height gain |
| Time | 1hr 45mins (plus time to look round the museum) |
| Maps | Cartes IGN 2641 ET Top 25 Mont Aigoual/Le Vigan |
| How to get there (from Le Vigan) | The walk is from the town itself. Park behind the town hall (Mairie) where there is a lot of space and make your way to the main square. |
| Signposting | Yellow splashes on the first half but not very obvious Red/white splashes of the GR after the bridge at Alvèze |
This is a very pleasant, easy walk along the Arre river and could be combined with a visit to the interesting Cevenole Museum installed in a former silk-weaving factory. It enables the visitor to see what life used to be like in the Cevennes region. One of the rooms is dedicated to traditional crafts, such as basket- and barrel-making, gold prospecting in the rivers, pottery and ironwork. There are informative displays concerning the chestnut industry, silk making, sheep raising and bee keeping, which were the sources of income until the end of the 19th century. Also shown are models of the different styles of architecture – the farms in the Causses area being quite different from those in the mountainous regions.
The Arre river rises in the St-Guiral area of the Mont Aigoual and flows down the mountainside through the town of Le Vigan. It is joined by numerous other mountain streams before itself joining the Herault after 25km. Like other rivers in the area the water level can suddenly rise dangerously high if there has been a lot of rain. For information concerning the town of Le Vigan see Introduction, ‘Southern Cevennes’.
(1) From the western end of the square with the church up on the right, go down the Rue Pierre Gorlier, where there is signpost indicating‘Musée Cevenol’(with a bookshop on the corner). Follow this narrow street over a bridge, then cross the road to the right signed‘Musée et Vieux Pont’(still the Rue Pierre Gorlier). Go along here and turn left on the Rue des Calquires, passing the museum on the right.
Musée Cévenol, Rue des Calquières, Le Vigan. Tel. 067 81 06 86. Open times: November to April – Wednesdays only, 10.00–12.00 and 14.00–18.00; May to October – every day except Tuesdays, 10.00–12.00 and 14.00–18.00
(2) Turn left on the Rue du Pont just before going under the bridge and then take an obvious hairpin back onto the bridge. There is a lovely view to the right of willow trees and the river Arre rushing over rocks when the water level is low enough; there is a weir on the left, but a new bridge further on mars the view. On the other side of the bridge take the first turning right on the Rue Cap du Pont ignoring a yellow cross (10mins).
(3) The narrow road passes a large rock and continues with houses up left and open fields with the river beyond on the right. At a pillar (where is the other one?) keep on the road and then straight ahead at a crossroads – you are now going through woodland. Go past gates on the right and then you can see La Fabrèque, a big run-down, ugly-looking house which used to belong to the Count of Sporta of the nearby village of Montdardier. There are no yellow splashes here (20mins).
(4) Turn right on a narrow paved drive, which goes to the left of the building and then continues down over a dry riverbed by an aqueduct covered with vegetation. On the left are dilapidated gates and sinister tall pines surround the whole area. There is a partially hidden blue splash on the aqueduct wall (25mins).
(5) Do not continue up the overgrown jeep track but go right and then immediately left on a narrow path through the pines with a moss-covered wall to the left. Continue upwards (the wall goes off to the left) through mixed woodland and then chestnut trees, going up man-made log steps. The path meets a wider track (to the left is‘privé’). Continue right on the main track which zigzags up the hill. At the top ignore the track going left but continue round the contour of the hill on a flatter path which then starts to descend. On the corner, there is a gate and a sign on the right saying‘Sentier Communale de Vigan/Avèze’(40mins). The path goes into the open and narrows as it continues through bushes with a vegetation-covered wall left. There is now a good view of the Roc de L’Esparon over on the right (see Walk 3).
The walled narrow track continues down past an orchard into a shallow little valley with a stream flowing through and a number of vegetable gardens, each with its own wooden hut. The path becomes a grassy jeep track and continues over the pretty little stream at the Pont de Mousse and up to the right along the other side of the valley. It is interesting to note that these allotments are well irrigated as the water from the stream has been diverted into narrow channels between them.
(6) The track meets the D48A (50mins), which goes up left to the hamlet of Loves. However, go right and continue on the road round a corner (ignore the junction right signposted‘Le Caila’) past some houses to a T-junction at the main road to Avèze.
(7) Go right on the road (you can see the village of Avèze left) for a few minutes and then left on a quaint stone bridge across the river where there is Camping Municipale on the other side (1hr). The red/white splashes of the GR7 now appear.
The river here is very attractive as it flows over stones, and there is a stony beach which is a good place for a picnic – beware of broken glass though!
(8) Turn right after the bridge onto a narrow road, which soon reaches the main bridge from Avèze. Do not cross the bridge but go straight over onto a narrow path, which follows the river all the way to Le Vigan. This is a pleasant flat path where bushes and willow trees border the riverbank – you can hear the traffic over on the left. It crosses a number of watercourses coming down into the river, passing orchards and a pylon opposite a high weir. The river becomes more rapid, and stretches of the cobbled path are raised and man-made.
The path continues under a metal bridge where there is a sluice gate and an old mill on the other side. The river becomes calmer now before going over another weir. The main river flows to the right round an untidy island of willows, and there is a wide channel beside the path which leads to a dam – the water has obviously been channelled off here to use for some former industrial process.
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