Terry Cudbird: A ramble around France
In the second in an ongoing series, Oxford Ramblers member Terry Cudbird writes about his amazing circumnavigation of our Gallic neighbour. Having studied French history as a student, Terry was drawn to the country – eventually covering over 4,000 miles, taking countless pictures and building an excellent website for those wanting to retrace his footsteps. For our second ramble, Terry ventures into Languedoc…
An ancient language lies behind the name Languedoc; literally it was the southern third of France where the inhabitants used to speak different versions of the tongue of Oc, as opposed to the Langue d’Oil of the north. Raising sheep used to be very important in the region, and the old drove ways used by shepherds to move their flocks are a boon to the walker.
Crossing the moor land towards the sumit of the Pic de Nore, the wind rushed at me from the north and I had difficulty battling forward. I turned right into the swirling mist and reached more woods on the far side. Suddenly the tempest ceased and all was calm. The Refuge du Trilby brought a pleasant surprise. A group of horse riders had stopped for lunch and a log fire was roaring in the hearth. Spirits were already high. “Venez boire un coup avec nous!” Someone poured me a glass of red wine and then another. Eventually they left a bottle and said “help yourself.”
I first saw Mont Lozere (above) close up as I approached Pont de Monvert from the south and I felt a sense of elation. A high plateau opened up with clusters of huge rounded rocks which looked as if they had been scattered at random from a plane. Stone walls divided this lunar landscape into fields of mown grass over which skylarks sounded their warning cries. A hawk hovered in the distance. The plateau on which I stood was like the stage in a vast amphitheatre of mountains, with the slopes of Mont Lozere as the upper rows of the circle. To reach it the walker ascends a horseshoe valley. If you want to grasp the scale of la France profonde you should stand on this mountain’s summit. The arch of the heavens on a clear day is immense.
In our next installment, Terry heads towards Rhone and the Alps of Provence. For more on his Languedoc route, include maps, places to stay and more photos, please visit www.walkingaroundfrance.com
- This entry was posted on: Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
- Filed under: Blogs
- Tags: France, global walks, long-distance walks, Oxford Ramblers, Terry Cudbird
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