Hallo, My teenage daughter and I are planning to walk the Chemin de Stevenson in late July/ early August this year. We will travel from U.K. by train. I have two questions: 1. As we may not have time to do the whole route, is there anyone who can recommend parts that they have liked most? in terms of scenery and atmosphere? 2. Is it essential that we book gites well ahead of time? Or can one just pitch up? Do you recommend carrying a tent?
I would be very grateful if there is anyone who can answer these questions and would also be interested in any impressions and advice that you may be able to give. I look forward to hearing from you. thanks, Jenny Timberlake
Hey Tom, Im afraid I never heard of the RdS until your post. Looks well good! I must say it is not an area of France I am terribly familiar with but I did paddle the Ardeche many years ago and it was STUNNING! Love it. Im not sure how much your route follows the Ardeche gorge but I guess you could save some time by paddling for a few days. Loads of places to hire and I saw quite a few canoes pulled up on the banks in the evening with tarps over them for shelter.
As for the gite: I have never used gites in France but from what I understand from other people who have done lots of trekking in the Pyrenees it can get really busy so you might want to book. Carrying a tent or a bivy bag is always good in case a place is full when you get there (if you haven't booked). I know in Switzerland quite a few huts are happy for you to camp outside and use the facilities for a small fee and/or if you eat there. But again, never tried it in France.
Hope that helps! Sounds like a nice trip, post some pictures when you are done
Jenny. I cannot any advice specific to the Chemin de Stevenson. Although I have travelled in the Cevennes, and it is lovely, I have never walked there.
But I can offer some advice about gites. You will find they vary enormously in type and quality. Some are barely less than small country hotels, inns or auberges, with good meals and wine; at the other end of the range, some are no more than basic bunk houses, and you will have to self cater. Some are like B&Bs. A great many are similar to old style youth hostels, where you take communal meals, and are expected to converse in French with others sat around your table. You won't have to do a chore before you can leave, but may be expected to make your own bed and arrange your sheet sleeping bag. Sometimes you have your own bedroom, sometimes a dormitory, sometimes a dormitory to yourselves.
In general, you are expected to book a gite in advance. I have usually done this from the local tourist office the day before (they will have a more reliable and extensive list of local gites than your guide book). But that has been walking in September when things are relatively quiet. July/August is peak koliday season in France and accomodation will be in short supply at popular places: I would recommend booking as far in advance as you cn manage.
I was in the Cevennes a coupla months back. Didn't do any camping and only puttered about a bit on Mont Lozere - which was nice, and more remote and higher than I'd imagined. Didn't see any campsites or huts up high mind.
Organised campsites in the Ardeche tend to be rammed full in August. I think the Cevennes is a little more off the beaten track, but I'm not sure.
Le Chemin de Stevenson GR 70is a very popular walk with the French. So I think doing it In July/August it is going to be in the French holiday season and busy. There is a website I think its www.stevenson.org which will give details of accommodation but its in French. There is also a fairly up to date Cicerone guide as well as a Topo guide to the GR70. Because its popular there are Gite d'etapes at regular intervals, I think you can do it by walking between them and many are not much more expensive than campsite fees. I think it would be wise to book at that time if using these. I've walked and camped the whole way once from Le Puy to St Jean Du Gard. Train to Lyon and then train back from Nimes. The following year I walked and camped the Cevennes bit which I liked best. Ryanair to Nimes, train to La Bastide Puylaurent and then flew back from Nimes. Public transport is very sparse, so if you want to start along the route you are best on a rail route Langogne or La Bastide Puylaurent. Buses from St Jean Du Gard to Nimes need to be checked although Ales is on the railway.
Thank you very much for all the useful information. We have now decided to fly to Lyon which is relatively cheap and then get a train to Le Puy. We will then get a bus to Le Monastier -sur-Gazeille, missing out the first section which apparently is not the most interesting. We will then walk the rest of the route, staying in gites. As you have suggested, it would be wise to book gites at that time of year so we will plan out our schedule and then book accordingly. The official site which you mentioned Nick is very good but does have that minor disadvantage of being in French! There is however an excellent brochure in English which you can download from the site: http://www.chemin-stevenson.org/en/documents-a-telecharger.html This gives lots of useful information about accommodation, the route and transport links. The Cevennes section definitely does look like the best part and it was actually a small section of this, which we walked while on holiday a couple of years ago, that inspired us to do the rest of the walk. Hope the rest of it isn't a disappointment after that section! Nick, I would be interested to know how you found the camping along the route? Did you wild camp or were there frequent enough campsites? And presumably you pass through enough towns/villages on the way to be able to buy food regularly? Thanks again and any further information and advice would be much appreciated.
We walked it a few (7?) years ago as a inter hotel walk. We paid Sherpa to do the work for us , hotels and bagage transfer etc. Not our usual style but we just didnt have the time that year. We walked in early September, weather was slightly unseasonable. Daily towns were not a problem, but quality of hotels varied a lot. Researching afterwards in some cases it was a case of the best(ish) of what there was. In terms of backpacking (our usual mode) I think wild camping may be a struggle. My memory suggests it was something like Derbyshire, with sufficient habitation to deter you. Also water may be a problem?
We enjoyed the walk, it is certainly different. There is a Cicerone Press guide that is worth getting a copy of.
Tom,If you can I should check with the tourist office in le Puy about buses to Le Monastier as when I did it in september 4 years ago there were only about 4 a week!! I arrived at Le Puy by train from Lyon at about 5pm then walked to Coubon where there is a campsite. My stages were Coubon- Goudet [via le Monastier], Goudet-Landos[campsite north of Landos but stayed at municipal Gd'E in Landos. Landos-Langogne[municipal campsite in Langogne closed in sept so stayed at lac de Naussac site] Langogne- Luc, Luc -Chasserades[did not go to Notre Dame des Nieges] Chasserades-Le Bleymard, Le Bleymard-Pont de Montvert, Pont de Montvert-Florac, Florac-gare de Cassagnas, gare de Cassagnas- St Etienne Vallee Francaise, St Etienne VF- St Jean du Gard. There were campsites at all these places, the smallest was at Luc which is near the station, pay at the cafe opposite. Lac de Naussac site seemed far better than Langogne site. Some of my stages were short You could do Luc to La Bastide Puylaurent taking in NDdes Nieges and then LB Puylaurent to Le Bleymard easily. It could be as well to allow a spare day particularly if the weather is poor on Mont Lozere.
Thanks Nick, Your information has been really useful and I have passed it onto my mum and sister who are doing the walk. I will be on a separate trip in the Pyrenees at that time so will not be accompanying them but if I were, I would definitely be considering camping! Apart from being cheaper, it can give so much more freedom (although less so in areas where wild camping is difficult) and there is something very satisfying about carrying all that you need to survive on your back. Thanks to everyone else as well for your advice. It has all been very useful.
I haven't done the R de St but have walked a fair old bit in the Cevennes. I'd agree that August is real, real french holiday time and I wouldn't think of using Gites d'Etape without booking.I have, however, had wonderful food in the Gites there and would recommend them.
I have both slept in Gites and more often bivvied out. To echo someone's comment, water can be a problem. A lot of paths follow ridges, and although there are springs, they can be very hard to find if you don't know where to look. Being able to speak (and understand) french is a great help just for this.
When I've been there, I've been following not Stevenson (whose book I love) but Capt. W. E. Johns, of 'Biggles' fame, who had a much more interesting female protagonist, Joan Worralson of the WAAF. She was parachuted into the Cévennes in 1942, to organize a secret aerodrome on the Causse Méjean to refuel Spitfires flying out to Malta.
At the end of her time there she had to get out quickly, and ended up walking to the Camargue with the migrant shepherds who used to bring their flocks up to the Cevennes in the summer, then back to teh Camargue in the autumn.
Amazingly, this stil goes on, and I've walked with these guys from the plains up to the Cevennes. But the paths they follow - 'drailles' in French - do follow ridges, and so water, although available, can be hard to find.
It is actually one of my favourite areas in Europe, partly because the difficult agricultural conditions have attracted all sorts of hard-working but 'alternative' french people who are the jewel of their very very civilized country.
