Day 2 of our first section - St Privat to Saugues

October 4th 2008

Instead of the 14 miles we expected yesterday, we covered about 20, all those false turns and mistakes. I didn't ache though showing that the exercise routine and gets against the walk works although it is quite funny to see especially when two of us are doing it together.

I didn't sleep well last night and remember struggling to find the bathroom in the middle of the night in the pitch black. I was trying so hard not to wake Teresa and I kept ending up in the shower room, glad I wasn't on camera for that.

The sun was shining when we drew back the curtains and the view from whence we'd come yesterday was clear, interesting to see where we'd walked trying to find our sleeping spot. It was cold though so layers were applied.

There were only two of us for breakfast, think the others must have been sleeping it off. We feasted on freshly baked bread and jam and then were given a lift to St Privat to start this second section.


Now a green dragon is not what you expect when you arrive in a small rural French village but there was one none the less just across the road from a little shop selling all we needed for lunch, fresh bread, cheese, ham and some fruit. Nearly makes you want to have lunch already.

It seemed to be all ups for the first part of the journey but it was steady and I had plenty of opportunity to take photos in this wonderful morning light. The sky was an amazing blue and there were plenty of colours against giving great contrast. The church in amongst the trees looked mysterious as we looked back on it.

Here are some of the coloured plants and berries we passed.

3 kms into the walk we came to the hamlet of Rochegude and from the photo you can see the bells of the chapel to the left and the tower on the rocky outcrop. This tower is all that remains from the chateaux.

Both chapel and tower are built on or into the rock. The Chapel is dedicated to St James and inside was beautiful with sunlight streaming in the window.




Being so high the views are amazing and later in the day we were in a position of being able to look back across the valley at this place.

In the hamlet itself, everywhere you turned there were carved of sculptures of different types of mushrooms and owls and other birds. The mushrooms reminded me of the wonderful ones we'd eaten the night before.

A short break like this is always good and on the way down over very stony ground it was really important to concentrate. Here Teresa leads the way.

Lots of oak trees here, many extremely old but everywhere you looked there were new saplings rising up. The colours were lovely.

Although autumn this whole area seemed so alive
and there was a scent of mushrooms too, perhaps just like those we'd had for dinner.


Here I am too, having a rest in the heather, very appropriate.

I feel very privileged  to be walking in this wonderful scenery and weather and for the ability and support of my family to be able to take this time out and go and do what I love.  This opportunity to recharge my batteries and be out in nature really does bring great benefits.

I'm also grateful to have Teresa as my walking partner. The wrong person would change the dynamic completely and Teresa and I seem to be falling into the way of this well. We are very in tune from everything from the time to take a break to what we should stop and see and what we should eat, such a lovely and easy way to be.

After missing a turning and getting a little confused, we managed to get back on track and on the road down to Monistrol d'Allier these are the stunning colours that awaited us.

The town/village of Monistrol is a hub of hydroelectric power and the road, rail and river all come together here. The metal bridge is quite a sight and we weren't that surprised to find it was built by a certain Monsieur Eiffel, I wonder why.

We took our time walking across enjoying the views and taking photos from this vantage point above the river Allier.








We had been looking forward to a snack in the cafe here but it was not to be. The cafe closes early on a Saturday so all dreams of a chocolate chaud were dashed. Probably for the best!!

The hot chocolate might have given us the energy for the long climb up though out of the valley. However, the views behind gave us a good excuse to stop and catch our breath. 

We stopped to admire this cross and my eye was caught by the columns to the left of it which looked so similar to those of the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. I know there are some in Scotland on the Isle of Staffa but I'd never come across them anywhere else.

Closer examination further up the road gave me a chance to see them again and they do look familiar, made me feel at home. Of course have not got round to any further research into this but that's OK.

The road was becoming long at this point so it was lovely to see a sign directing off and up, yes up a path. This one took us past the Chapelle de la Madelaine which is thought to have been a grotto originally but then was developed into a chapel in the 17th century. It wasn't open but we could peer in a little.

Our next destination was the hamlet of Escluzels and once again pretty signage showing the way.  There was a fountain there to refill our bottles. The French are so good at supplying these and it's comforting to know that running out of much needed water is quite difficult.

From Montaure further on we could see back to Rochegude and there was what looked like an instrument of torture but I'm assured was for strapping the oxen etc to so that could be shod.

From this point we have about 5 miles to go and once again we consider a stop for a drink in Le Vernet de Sauges but again there is nowhere open. This is where snacks become so important so if you are reading this take note, I always encourage walking companions to have some snacks. Nuts, dried fruits and small sugar shots are ideal and water of course.

Some interesting things to photo graph in this area.

The next bit was probably the most boring of the day as we had to road walk for a fair distance and felt as if we were going far further than we had to. I think we were both a little concerned that we'd made a mistake like the day before.....

 Thank fully the sun and blue skies stayed with us and when we started to go down we were back on track and we had sculptures again including that of La Bête du Gévaudan - Saugues. 

The Beast of Gevaudan is , according to what I'm told, an animal responsible for a series of attacks against humans which occurred between June 30th 1764 and June 19th 1767  These attacks, often fatal, numbered between 88 and 124 and took place mainly in the north of the old country of Gevaudan which is roughly the current Department of Lozere.





The "Beast of Gevaudan" was apparently likened to a wolf, an exotic pet and even a werewolf.

A bit of excitement here but good to know all this happened many years ago.

This is the view from the hillside looking down on Saugues and good to know that  we are nearly there.

The first priority Teresa and I agree on after a walk is finding somewhere to have a beer and if possible finding somewhere in the sun so we bypassed the hotel to find our little bit of heaven. On this occasion it was a tabac in the square with a couple of seats in the sun just for us. How good to take the rucksack off, relax and sip that wonderful golden nectar.

As we sat and discussed the day we were able to wave at some of the others doing the same walk that we'd met along the way. There were the three men of seemingly varying levels of fitness who we'd seen on day one, the German couple who I think we'd seen at some point every day and the two women who were staying in the same hotel.

Often little more that a wave, a smile and a 'hi' is exchanged but it's the acknowledgement that we are all on this same journey that's very apparent and therefore the understanding of what we are experiencing.

Two beers later, well too tempting to resist and we head to the hotel for a hot shower and a wonderful meal... and a great night's sleep.