Two weeks in France

Well me and my wife, Louise, decided to take a two week trip to France, mainly to do some open boating. So we loaded up my big green van with kit, kit, and more kit and set off for the Massif Central to check out some of the great open boating on offer.

First up was the river Allier. Flowing northwards out of the northern end of the Massif the Allier cuts it's way through spectacular Basalt and granite gorges, and has a real wild feel to it.

The chapel of Sainte Marie des Chazes on the Allier

We paddled two sections, the first on the lower section of the river was a fairly straight forward class two with some great scenery and some amazing towering basalt cliffs. A perfect introduction/warm up.

The get on at Prades and the towering basalt cliffs.

Me preparing lunch, baguette and cheese!

The second section we ran was the middle gorge section, above the barrage. After swinging round the first corner we were to enjoy about 16KM of wilderness with no sign of human activity except for the railway line cutting its way through the gorge with us. Apart from that it was just us, the river, the trees and the wild life. It was only as we got to within 2KM of the get off that we saw any one else!

Setting off into the wilderness, below Chapeauroux, Allier.

After that we set off for the Tarn. The Tarn flows roughly westwards through the Massif, cutting a huge gorge through a limestone plateau. The plateau above rises to over a 1000m, and the gorge cuts through it over 300m meters deep.

The water in the Tarn was amazingly clear, due to most of its water bubbling up from springs and resurgents along the rivers length. We were able to see the river bed in amazing detail, and watch huge fish everywhere.

Clear water, incredible scenery and sunshine on the Tarn

We only paddled one section on the Tarn. From the campsite we were in at Le Vignes to Le Rozier. This is probably the shortest section of the river, but also the section with the harder rapids. Peaceful and quiet on the river, combined with easy shuttle from the road running alongside the whole way. We were amazed to see huge Griffin Vultures circling on thermals all the way down the river.

Me taking it easy on the Tarn

More great scenery on the Tarn

Looking down into the upper Tarn Gorge

Then we hit the road again and drove to the Ardeche. The Ardeche cuts its way southwest off of the Massif. The higher sections offer some paddling, but the main event on the Ardeche is the spectacular Gorge. The river cuts its way through another Limestone plateau, and creates a 28KM gorge. The gorge is a national park and protected, but it is also one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Massif Central. There are vast numbers of hirer companies at the top of the gorge and people hire boats and either paddle the whole gorge in one go, or can book into one of the two official bivi sites and do the trip over two days.

We avoided the hustle and bustle of the gorge tourists by camping in a small campsite on the plateau above the river. It was well worth the small amount of extra driving by being small, quiet, friendly and a quarter of the price of the more touristy sites!

Looking down off of the plateau above the Ardeche

We opted to do a two day trip, take it easy and enjoy the scenery, rather than having to charge through in one day. Most of the people who hire opt for the one day option, and so are all on the river fairly early in order to get down in the river in time. If you take your time, the mass wave of hire boats has pretty much passed by mid morning and it becomes more peaceful again.

In the gorge on the first Day

The scenery in the gorge is amazing. Vast limestone cliffs dropping upto 300m straight into the river, and trees and shrubs packing anywhere that isn't vertical. The Ardeche was easily the warmest river we paddled, and at times the river felt warmer than the air!

Le cirque d'Madelleine, Day two

We spent an eventful evening at the bivi site. Just after getting our tent sorted, the sky turned black, the wind started howling down the gorge, and thunder and lightning started to flash and crash all around us. For twenty minuets or so the weather was terrible, torrential rain, monster hailstones, booming thunder and wind that nearly blew us away. Just as we began to question our choice of making a lightweight camp on the river, the skies clear, the sun came out and normality resumed, like nothing had happened!

Looking down from the top of Le cirque d'Madelleine

The number of people opting for the overnight trip was tiny compared to the hordes of people paddling the gorge in one day. This meant that we we put on the river on the second day we had the river almost to ourselves. With a following wind we were able to make our way down the 14KM of the second day with out having to put too much effort in. The final 2KM we managed without a single paddle stroke, Louise stood up and acted as a sail and I just ruddered!

Then it was just a case of sorting a shuttle, so I set off up the gorge road with my thumb out! Just as I was beginning to consider if it was a good idea to try and get a lift (after about an hours walk in the blazing sun!) I was picked up by a German couple and dropped back at the van, Result!

I even had some time for some playboating!

We also managed to get in some rock climbing on some wonderful bolted limestone cliffs, and of course lots of lounging, book reading, taking it easy, eating and enjoying being on holiday!