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A lovely dawn seen from our expertly chosen breakfast table on the ferry.
Here at Ouistreham, where the Orne flows into the sea, it was surprisingly cool, though of course 7am temperature in France is 6am in English terms.
Very atmospheric to begin with on the wide and misty Orne. Up soon was the famous "Pegasus" or Bénouville bridge which was destroyed in June 1944 by special forces arriving by glider just before the Normandy landings.
After this the route was quite boring for a stretch -- a typical railway path sunken into the landscape, nothing much to see.
I came up for air from the path at Thury Harcourt, and found a well-equipped town on a little hill, where I spent a good hour visiting the baker and grocer, and reading in a café.
I learnt later that Thury Harcourt features prominently in Michel Houllebecq's 2019 novel Seratonin, which I'm told anticipates the rural French "Gilet Jaune" movement. One for the reading list.
With the saddlebag stocked for lunch I pushed on up the "Suisse Normande" path. After Clécy the route left the path and set out on more interesting (and hilly) lanes.
Lunch up at the Roche d'Oetre where there's a good looking cafe and various trails and footpaths to explore the area.
Some more climbing after lunch on quiet rolling lanes up to Rabodanges, then over and down to Putanges, an attractive mini-resort on the Orne. The municipal campsite, by the river was basic, but with hot showers and at a cost of 5.90€, more than fair. Dinner at the friendly Hotel Lion Verd was very good and also excellent value.
After 95k of road following very little rest on the ferry, sleep closed in fast.
This was the third time that I've made this journey from Romsey to Portsmouth, and travelling on a Friday afternoon reinforced how it's a ride divided into two halves by the river Hamble. I generally like setting off early but as my Channel crossing wasn't till 23:00 I didn't leave Romsey till around 2pm after a hot standing-room-only train journey from Bristol. Passing through the Southampton conurbation on a Friday afternoon emphasised that Hamble divide. I don't think I got buzzed by a single black Range Rover on the far side of that boaters' paradise.
Plenty of kitesurfers parked up on Meon Shore.
Crossing into Portsmouth proper via the Gosport Ferry is a real treat, even though with a bike it's more than £7 for the 5 min journey.
I arrived at Pompey in good time, so took a little nap up on the old harbour wall, at Curtain Moat where there are some comfortable benches, some with poignant dedication to citizens past .
Then whiled away a couple of hours amongst the Friday night Old Harbour crowd until embarkation time.
No cabin on the ferry this time but by chance ran into my friend Judy, whose house I'm visiting this week in Mayenne. She'd had to return to the UK for a few days. It was a lovely surprise and good to have a ferry companion - - especially one so expert on this crossing. That meant we were always ahead of the crowd when getting to the bar or to breakfast. No more wandering around the labyrinth in circles. Instead I had Judy to lead the way straight to the best banquette on Level 8, or the least busy tray of croissants. One piece of intel which was particularly valued was the location of the showers for foot passengers. Contrary to what I'd been able to discover on Brittany Ferries' website or via so-called AI, they do exist. A small win for human intelligence.
Travelling at night without a cabin? Be aware that the "reserved seats" don't recline far and the room itself may be cold. On the way back, from the outset, I'll lie on the floor in my sleeping bag, and maybe I'll get more / better rest.
This tour was largely based on the "France en Vélo" book by John Walsh and Hannah Reynolds published by Wild Things in 2014. (Wild Things also publish Jack Thurston's excellent Lost Lanes books).
I took the first 21 stages of their itinerary from St Malo to Nice, and then turned south at Mende as my terminus was to be in the southern Cévennes.
I retained almost all of their major way points but re-planned the routes using cycle.travel to use the most minor roads and tracks available, as I wanted as little traffic as possible and I wasn't in a rush.
The full route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50090678
Some stats:
Just short rides today connecting up my 4 trains, to travel from the edge of the Cévennes back to Bristol.
1) Alès to Nîmes
A fast downhill 10km from the campsite at Cendras got me to the station at Alès quicker than expected where I joined a small group of early birds waiting for the doors to be unlocked at 06:40. The most chatty by far was a woman in headphones on a day trip to Nîmes. Somewhat further along the "spectrum" than me, she'd been at the station for an hour already, if I understood correctly. She was sporting some bright red trainers, but already, so early in the day, was suffering with her feet.
I wasn't expecting that the local 06:58 stopping service from Alès to Nîmes would involve any bike aggro, especially as I've used this service several times in the past without problem. But this morning the conductor was insistent that on Saturdays (and for the whole of July) a bike reservation is required. Needless to say, when the train pulled into Nîmes half an hour later I was the only cyclist amongst the handful of passengers.
2) Nîmes to Paris (Gare de Lyon)
On both the TGV and Eurostar you must remove both wheels from your bike to fit it into a bag not longer than 130cm.
I'd bought one of these; however on a touring bike you'd also need to remove mudguards and luggage rack to properly conform to that size and fit into one of their very small luggage shelves. It's extraordinary that bikes are clearly a complete after-thought on both TGV and Eurostar. I did talk to a chap at Nîmes who'd managed to get a booking for an actual bike rack on a different TGV, allowing him to travel without disassembly. What a luxury! I don't believe that proper bike racks are ever offered on the inOui varient of TGV which I was using. The upshot was that I had a lot of bother and ended up standing with my bike next to lav for the 3 hour journey to ensure that nobody came a cropper and ended up falling down the stairs to the lower deck. A very poor show I felt, but it stayed friendly and I did persuade the guard to give me a fan - very useful on this day of "canicule" and an inOui souvenir to treasure.
3) Paris (Gare du Nord) to London St Pancras
A pleasant 15-20 min ride from the Gare de Lyon to the Gare du Nord. Total transfer time was 40 mins including disembarkation, reassembly & travel. At the Eurostar baggage handling office (once located), the bike goes back in the bag and you trust that it will magically appear at St Pancras. Which it did. But I failed to think through that for this leg the bike is freight, and so you really need to protect vulnerable parts like fork ends, chain rings etc with cardboard. My bike came back with minor damage. The departure area at the Gare du Nord is very cramped and there's no tap for drinking water. It's a pretty stressy experience, with multiple passport controls and security checks.
4) London Paddington to Bristol
Plain sailing. I'm so familiar with this journey, and I think that the GWR network is one of the best in the UK for cyclists.
Less fuss than any of the 3 French trains. Next time I'm touring in France I will avoid TGV and Eurostar. I'll take local trains to a Channel port and use a ferry.
In case you're counting: days 24 and 25 were taken as Cevenol holiday at Notre-Dame-de-la-Rouvière. They passed in a medley of walking, gardening, river swimming, apéros, fine dining and particularly in wonderful homecooked vegetarian meals and great hospitality. 🙇🏻
In the house I found a relief map of the Cévennes which shows my route from Mende south to the Val d'Aigoual.
Now it's time to return home. For better or worse I'm planning to take my bike on multiple trains. Alès-> Nîmes -> Paris-> London-> Bristol
Today started with a long climb to the Col d'Asclier. Quite a bit of elevation but steady gradient and plenty of shade.
Some little onion terraces tucked in above Notre-Dame-de-la-Rouvière.
The view back down to Notre-Dame-de-la-Rouvière from close to the Col de la Tribale waypoint (croissant stop).
Nearly at the top
View all the way down from Col de l'Asclier. A couple with a donkey were resting at a picnic table nearby.
Then a long winding descent south east through Millérines to L'Éstrechure in the Vallée Borgne, before a detour north to have lunch at the Bar/Restaurant Le Panier in Saumane. It's a favourite from previous visits. Simple and popular. Today there was no skimping with the capers.
Once I got rolling again after my long lunch break I realised I still had quite a way to go, and not all downhill.
Not much water in the Gardon, I noted here in between Saumane and L'Éstrechure.
Straight down the Vallée Borgne to St Jean du Gard and then over up to the Vallée Française to Mialet (where I didn't visit the Musée du Désert) and Générargues (where I didn't visit the Bambouseraie).
Some more hot hills to get to St Jean du Pin and then to Alès, a big former mining town on the Gardon. North along the river to Cendras to a huge campsite with restaurant, and all kinds of entertainment and semi-organised fun.
Early start tomorrow to get a train to Nîmes to catch the TGV to Paris. Last night we had a dry run with my "Virgoule" bike bag, made in Lille from recycled hot air balloon fabric. To take a bike on either the TGV or Eurostar you need to remove both wheels and pack it into a bag not longer than 130cm. And then stagger around with that plus your panniers and saddlebag. Should be an interesting day.
Made in the Cotswolds. Published by Éditions Système D Ltd.
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