rhone valley 2b

Sun 29th mar
Rain's stopped but strong winds again, not cycling anywhere in this. Walk into Avignon and take audio tour of the Palais des Papes. Quite interesting but insufficient written info in english to back up audio.Good bookshop, could have spent a few euros there but didn't want to carry a load of books back to UK. Visited Musee Lapidaire with its collection of Gallo Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian sculptures. Battened down tent and put in earplugs as wind very loud.

Mon 30th mar.
Nice and sunny but still blowing a gale. Revisit Villenueve les Avignon to explore fort St. Andre. Not bad but info poor. Have a wander round La Chartreuse, one of the largest Carthusian monasteries in Europe. Quite a bit to see there with rooms covering daily monastic life, herb gardens, cloisters and the like; plenty of rooms to wander round; not bad.

Tue 31st mar
Wind died down a bit but decide to stay on another day. Most campsites open tomorrow so it'll give more choice when planning. Laze around in morning then visit the Requien museum in Avignon. Only a small natural history museum but had some interesting exhibits; local wildlife, prehistoric fossils, local geology and a good section on early plant hunters, botany and herbalism. Extremely good considering it was free.

Weds 1st apr
Winds died but now it's raining. Start packing in hopes it'll ease off. Finally stops about 11 so set off for Orange, not far but want to see the roman theatre and triumphal arch there. Quiet roads and rugged scenery make a nice journey. Roman theatre very impressive, enough standing to be still used. Quite informative audio tour as well. Large temple next door but unable to wander around that. Triumphal arch was unfortunately covered in polythene whilst being cleaned so saw little of that. Get to campsite late afternoon and manage to pitch just before rain starts again.

Thur 2nd apr
Still raining in morning, hang around until 11 but no change, decide to push on anyway. Head along N7 to Mornas and have a wander round this fascinating village with its clifftop castle complete with gibbet and cage hanging from the battlements. Continue along N7 to Mondragon where I can finally get onto minor roads to Pont St. Esprit. Rain now stopped and sun making an appearance. Follow Rhone to St. Just then into Ardeche gorge to campsite at St. Martin d'Ardeche. Take short evening stroll along river to view village of Aigueze hanging off gorge top. Judging by all the broken trees and branches there has been serious flooding here at some time.

Fri 3rd apr.
Beautiful day, walk into village to get supplies then spend rest of day walking along the Gorge de l'Ardeche. Wonderful scenery with crystal clear river winding through steep gorge and wooded hillsides. Difficult to get decent photos though with bright sun giving a flat and hazy light. Would like to canoe along the river someday.

Sat 4th apr
I'd noticed hairdressers in village so decide to get haircut. Wash, cut and blow dry later I head off back to Rhone valley and north to Viviers. Scorching hot day but the winds up again, not as bad as previously but still a nuisance. Campsite at Viviers looks closed although sign on gate and my guidebook says it opens 1st april. As i'm peering into the half shuttered reception a bloke appears and tells me they are not open yet but I can pitch for the night. "how much for the night?" I ask, "nothing, because we're not open" he replies. Excellent. He also hands me an english map and guide to Viviers so after pitching I head into the town. It's the sort of place that gives you a crick in the neck. Mainly medieval, it has seen so much history they've designated it as a protected area, almost an open air museum. Narrow cobbled alleyways climb up the hillside, flanked by tall stone buildings linked by arches to stop the walls tumbling in. Some of the buildings are occupied, others empty and in disrepair. Viviers lies north of a narrowing of the Rhone valley, the Defile de Donzere, theoretically the northern limit of mediterranean climate.

Sun 5th apr
Wind up again, a bit stronger but still manageable. Head east across Rhone to Chateauneuf du Rhone then north to Montelimar. Disappointed with Montelimar, it seems a bit grubby, plus all the nougat shops were shut. Back west across Rhone to Rochemaure with its hilltop village and castle cascading down from a rocky pinnacle. Very hot and sunny but there is still a dense haze which makes photography tricky, can only just make out hills on other side of valley. Carry on to Cruas and quite a nice campsite. Pitch up then walk into village to look round romanesque abbey church then follow signs up hill to fortified abbey and village. Extraordinary place, virtually a deserted medieval village, a real sense of stepping back in time. Although in ruins there is still enough to give a good idea of what it must have been like.

Mon 6th apr
Decide to stay another day to take photos of old village. Whereas yesterday the place was empty, today there are workmen scattered around. There seems to be a renovation programme under way to make all the areas safe to visit. Hope they don't ruin the character of the place. Also managed to get a bit of info about the medieval village from tourist office, it's a basic photocopied leaflet in french but better than nothing. The leaflet says there is an ambitious 20 to 30 year project to reconstruct the village complete with trades, inhabitants and exhibitions. Should be interesting especially as one of the houses was supposedly occupied by a sorcerer (next door to the grand prior as it happens)

Tues 7th apr
Cloudy and looks like rain but the wind is a southwesterly. Set out for Tain L'Hermitage. Really pleasant ride with wind behind me for a change. Steep wooded limestone hills to the left with the odd castle etc. Rhone to the right and the Rhone Alps in the distance. Only encountered a brief shower but otherwise an ideal day for cycling. Campsite at Tain is right by N7 so lots of traffic noise also 14.50 euros a night as they work on price for two people and the 'computer' won't adjust the price for one person. At Cruas it was 5 euros a night and a better site.

Weds 8th apr
Cross Rhone back onto west bank and head north to St. Clair du Rhone. Steep limestone hills to left, either wooded or cleared for vinyards. Interesting romanesque church at Champagne, randomly dotted with carvings of grotesques and symbols. Cross Rhone again and find campsite down long track just south of St. Clair. Very nice site right by a small river with quite posh facilities. Cycle into St. Clair to look round but it is an uninteresting place.

Thur 9th apr
Decide to cycle along east bank today for a change as it should be a quieter road. Near Vienne things get busier as major road, minor road, motorway and railway squeeze together. After Vienne the minor road is sandwiched between motorway and railway; lots of industry along the river banks. Cross Rhone again about 12km south of Lyon and things get hillier as climb up to Charly. Nice descent into St. Genis-Laval to a grotty campsite. There's loads of dusty cycling trophies in the reception and an old sticker saying the site is (was)recommended by the french cycle touring association. In fairness they are modernising it but meanwhile it's old style french loos and shabby showers. Into Lyon tomorrow where finally leave the Rhone and pick up the Saone river.