Summer break at Saint-Sauveur-Camprieu (Gard) from 16 to 20 August 2011
Presentation
Situated in the far west of the Cévennes, the Aigoual massif will be our 'playground' for this 2011 summer holiday. Mont Aigoual (1567m) is notorious for its capricious weather, and the Météo-France exhibitions in the summit observatory will give you all the information you need to understand this very special climate.
Another lesser-known facet of the massif will also be highlighted, namely the Aigoual state forest. It deserves a historical approach before you explore it. It is the concrete expression of man's action on nature, for better or for worse. In the middle of the 19the In the 19th century, the Aigoual forest was shrinking under the dual impact of excessive grazing and excessive exploitation by glassmakers, who demanded ever more for their furnaces. Serious flooding was rife in the valleys, with considerable and even dramatic consequences. The Water and Forestry Administration tried to reforest the area, but this provoked a great deal of opposition, as a choice had to be made between the forest and the grazing areas.
In the end, thanks to an exceptional effort, forester Georges FABRE and botanist Charles FLAHAULT succeeded in regrowing thousands of hectares of forest. The most common species are spruce, larch, Austrian black pine, hooked pine, beech (faou in Occitan), sessile oak and chestnut. On the steepest southern slope, the different levels of vegetation are clearly visible. Four arborétums remain from this period, veritable open-air laboratories.
Granite is omnipresent in the massif, the causses are the kingdom of limestone, and schist is confined to the Cévennes valleys. These three rocks form the bedrock of the region, shaping some superb landscapes. The causses offer vast stretches of barren desert with little vegetation. Water is scarce in this permeable terrain, where the rock very often outcrops. The flora, on the other hand, is extremely rich. Large birds of prey love these vast, sparsely populated areas, where the sky is their domain.
The Cévennes valleys, a land of "greenhouses" and "valats", are places where people live. Villages and hamlets are built along rivers or perched on promontories. These mountains were the scene of the Camisard War. Men and women of the so-called "reformed" religion fought against the royal desire to impose a single religion on its subjects. Massacres, deportations to the galleys and imprisonment were the lot of those who chose to fight, while others preferred to flee with their wealth and know-how to countries of refuge (Switzerland, Holland, Germany, etc.). Here, in these parts, freedom of expression and tolerance are sacred values. Later, Pastor Rabault St Etienne took part in the debates that led to the drafting of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. During the Second World War, the Resistance found the area to be an ideal breeding ground, and although the topography of the terrain lent itself to this, men and women quickly came out of hiding in search of freedom.
International meeting at Cap de Côte (FR-30-1189)
Lhe annual meeting will take place on Saturday 20 August 2011, near the Cap de Côte pass (FR-30-1189) on the slopes of the formidable Col de la Lusette (FR-30-1351). This pass faces due south and has a rough, bumpy road. It has all the characteristics of a hard pass. It has an irregular gradient and some difficult sections with short sections at 15 or even 17%. A pass that leaves no one indifferent, and one that will leave its mark for many years to come!
We'll be welcomed on the outskirts of the gîte-refuge, on a lawn with a shady grove kindly placed at our disposal. From here, a concrete path a few hundred metres long will give us access to the "Serre de la Toureille". This is a marvellous vantage point overlooking all the southern Cévennes and beyond (from Mt Ventoux to Canigou). It is from here that the fire brigade keeps a preventive watch throughout the dry season.
The weather
At this time of year, the temperatures are generally very pleasant, but you'll need to bring your cycling kit with you, as the Aigoual can always hold a nasty surprise in store!...
Tours
Nur meeting point will be at St Sauveur Camprieu, at an altitude of 1000m, on the D986 between Espérou and Meyrueis. This is a charming mountain village surrounded by meadows and forests, with an artificial lake and, above all, the Bramabiau abyss (le bœuf qui brame, in Occitan), where the Bonheur stream emerges after a short underground journey.
We will be riding in the Cévennes National Park, where off-piste riding is strictly prohibited. Mountain bikers should stay on the paths and tracks. Beyond this point, progress will be on foot only. Picking flowers is strictly forbidden.
The proposed routes are designed to enable as many members of the Confrérie as possible to take part. There will always be the option of shortening the route or offering a more restricted itinerary. Around sixty passes will be accessible during this tour, as well as a number of BPF sites. Some passes appear on several circuits and are therefore repeated. However, if a pass is crossed more than once on a given tour, it will only appear the first time. The passes are listed in the order in which they are crossed on each tour.
Non-walkers won't be forgotten either, with numerous walks and visits to sites such as the Jonte and Tarn gorges, Aven Armand, Millau and its viaduct, the Roquefort cellars, etc...
Accommodation
The centre of gravity will be the "Pont du Moulin" holiday village in Saint-Sauveur-Camprieu. This establishment has all the facilities we need to make our stay a success. The "Térondel" campsite next to the holiday centre also rents mobile homes. It will be an excellent addition to the range of accommodation on offer, bearing in mind that the commune where we are staying also has a parking area and spaces for camper vans.
Most of the rooms at the Pont du Moulin centre are configured as "mini flats" with two bedrooms, one with 2 beds and the other with 3 (including a bunk bed), with shared bathroom facilities for both rooms (see typical plan opposite). Priority will be given to couples in the 2-bed rooms, and individuals in the 3-bed rooms.
There is also a hotel on site (the Auberge du Bonheur) and a number of holiday lets. The village of l'Espérou, 7km away, is served by an excellent road and offers two hotels and four stopover gîtes. Many itineraries pass through this village.
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