glucose tablets and/or chocolate (useful if your energy flags)
Swiss Army knife with as many attachments as possible
waterproof cape or poncho which goes over everything including your rucksack (useful when pouring with rain and for sitting on)
lightweight sweater
lightweight wind and waterproof jacket
water bottle – note it is essential to take lots of water if the weather is hot; do not drink from streams or dubious village fountains
picnic (buy a crusty baguette at the local bakery before you set off and eat it with fresh cheese or ham – much nicer than sandwiches!).
Optional extras include: altimeter, camera, binoculars, mobile phone and reference books.
Flowers and Vegetation
Due to the different geographical and geological areas of the Cevennes, the flora is very diverse and many species are endemic to the region. The Causses are limestone, and the water drains away into underground grottos and rivers. The upland regions of the Mont Aigoual and Lozère are shist and granite, with plenty of water, where temperatures in winter and summer are extreme. The southern Cevennes has a Mediterranean climate.
The leafy Arre valley around Le Vigan is where spring arrives first, with flowers such as primroses, violets, periwinkles, snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils making their appearance long before the snow has left the upland heights of the Aigoual and Lozère – in June and July the slender catkins and white flowers of the chestnut trees which cover many of the hillsides are very attractive. This is an area with a southern flavour, and up to 500m the Mediterranean vegetation prospers. The air is alive with the smell of herbs such as thyme, and there are clumps of blue flax and aphyllanthes. There are various species of evergreen trees, such as the kermes oak (often called scrub oak, with prickly leaves), holm oaks, (which have glazed, water-retaining leaves), juniper bushes, boxwood and species of pine. Higher up are the chestnut forests (see Introduction, ‘The Chestnut Industry’).
On the summit of the Rochers de la Tude (Walk 4) are stately asphodel lilies and tall white heather in May. Here the difference in vegetation between the northern and southern slopes is quite marked – the south smelling of herbs and creamy rock roses, while the north is colder, with species of orchids, the charming blue columbines (aquilegia) and, lower down, the yellow laburnum trees.
Up to an altitude of 1000m the Mont Aigoual is covered in trees (see Introduction, ‘Southern Cevennes’, for an explanation of the reforesting of the area). It is a young forest consisting of pines and beech, and is often rather dark; this prohibits the growth of many varieties of flowers, with the exception of the white wood anemones which cover the slopes in early spring while the trees are still in bud. However, in the open glades you can find different species of crane-bill, amongst others, and the beautiful pink martagon lily which flowers in July. In a boggy area on the Cascades d’Orgon walk (Walk 16) the author was excited to see for the first time fragile looking, hairy-stemmed orange tulips. There is also a species which is rare outside the high Cevennes, called Arabette des Cevennes, which looks rather like a species of sweet pea. It flowers in the summer on riverbanks.
The higher grassy slopes of both the Aigoual and Mont Lozère have carpets of daffodils, narcissi, hairy anemones and crocuses in the early spring, and even in the Alps I have never seen so many varieties of orchids, sometimes covering whole fields. Later tall yellow gentians, arnica, pink willow herb, blue monkshood and various species of daisy replace them, but in many places the sheep have cropped the grass clean.
Above 1500m both mountains, but particularly Mont Lozère, are covered in heather, myrtle bushes, gorse and broom; in some areas, peat bogs hosts their own species of feathery grasses and delicate white wind flowers.
The vegetation that has grown swiftly in the last 50 years is broom – the dense bushes cover the slopes in June with their yellow flowers and peculiar smell. For many Cevenese this brash yellow symbolises the gradual decay of the region, as it grows on the slopes which were once used for pasturing cattle and sheep – now, with the huge flocks disappearing, the persistent broom has taken over, and the only way to get the land back to pasture is to burn the bushes.
Village of Les Bondons (Walk 18)
The stony nooks and crannies of the limestone causses and gorges turn into flowery rock gardens as the pink moss campion, the creamy rock roses, white saxifrage and blue violets create a kaleidoscope of colour. Lichens and mosses cling to the more vertical slopes of the gorges. The causses have their own species of white potentilla and also an orchid called Ophrys d’Aymonin, which resembles a fly orchid – hunted for unsuccessfully by the author! Often used as barometers and attached to doors of houses, because their flowers open and shut according to the humidity, are the huge Carline thistles which grow on the upland steppes; unfortunately they are so often picked that they are becoming rare. The only bushes that survive the onslaught of the herds of sheep are the prickly blackthorn (sloe bushes), which tend to circle the shallow water-filled depressions called lavagnes.
If you want to discover orchids then walk up the rocky Gorges du Tarn (Walks 21 and 22) in May when it has just rained – the author saw more species in one day than ever before, including red and white helleborines, purple broomrape, birdsnest orchid and the rare spiky lizard orchid.
Suggested books: Mediterranean Wild Flowers by Marjorie Blaney and Christopher Grey-Wilson (Harper Collins). This is a complete guide with over 2000 illustrations. It includes illustrations of the different pines and deciduous trees to be found in the southern area.
Flore du Parc National des Cévennes – obtainable at the park shop in Florac (French only). Lots of photos of the flora to be found in the national park and on the Causses.
Wildlife
The Cevenese people have always been great hunters and probably needed to be in order to survive. The new ecology movement has been slow to get off the ground amongst the older farmers, though an awareness of the need for conservation is growing amongst the younger generation.
With the setting up of the Cevennes National Park in 1970, certain species have been reintroduced to the area, such as the Grand Tetras (capercaillie) (see Mont Lozère walk), the mouflon (a type of sheep originating from Corsica), black woodpecker and the bald-headed vultures on the edge of the Causse. As all the animals are protected the numbers of deer, mountain hares, badgers, foxes, squirrels, pine martens and wild boar have increased, as have birds such as owls, thrushes (once trapped) and woodpecker.
Wolves have, as yet, not been reintroduced, probably because of the flocks of sheep, but in the 17th century a certain wolf became a legend. The Beast of Gévaudan, as it was called, took a liking for the tender flesh of young girls and killed over 50 people, striking terror to the whole region before being shot by a local hunter.
Weathervane in Pompidou village(Walk 28)
On the windswept Causses I have seen hares, weasels, stoats and small deer, though there seems precious little for them to eat and very little cover. There is a wide variety of bird life; you can hear the larks and the cries of the pipits and see the hawks hovering overhead. On the cliffs surrounding the gorges are birds of prey such as buzzards, eagles and the bald-headed vultures, the latter recently introduced – it is a moving experience to watch these enormous birds with a tremendous
