The Ardèche: more than gorgeous gorges…
The Ardèche is probably best known for its gorges, river and wine, but there’s a lot more to it than that, as journalist Catherine Cooper discovered on a recent trip…
One of the most recent new attractions in the Ardèche, in South Central France, is the replica of the Caverne du Pont d’Arc. The cavern, which was discovered in 1994, features surprisingly elaborate cave paintings dating back to around 36,000 years. But in order to preserve it, instead of allowing visitors, they’ve built a very impressive replica, alongside a museum with plenty of interactive exhibits. Tours are available in several languages, including English.
Silk, silk worms and spectres at the chateau
We also visited Château des Roure – a 15th-century château which has been in the same family for ten generations. As well as stunning views over the landscape, it also has various displays showing how silk was made in the past and present (it used to be an important local industry), including real silkworms at their various stages of life. The tour ends with a terrifying visit to the cellar where a “ghost” tells the story of how she, as the lady of the house, was accidentally killed by drunk guards many centuries ago. All the commentaries, including the ghost story, are available in English.
For this section of our trip we stayed in Huttopia – a campsite which has everything from simple blank pitches through to luxurious cabins. We opted for a “Cahutte” – a wooden hut with a small kitchen and bathroom downstairs topped by a canvas tent which was reached by a ladder. Outside there was a terrace with a table, comfy chairs and a gas BBQ. The huts are scattered through a wood and feel quite private giving you the good bits about camping with little of the inconvenience (I am not a natural camper). On site there are also a couple of pools surrounded by wooden decking, a restaurant/bar which also serves breakfast (so you can get away with not cooking or going to the supermarket if you want to) and a children’s play area.
Surf and sliding at Splashworld
The second part of our short trip took us to the equally pretty Vaucluse, where we visited Orange’s famous Roman amphitheatre and watched nougat being handmade (and tasted it too, of course) at Nougat Silvain. But the highlight of this part of our trip was our visit to France’s biggest water park Splashworld.
“Soft-opened” last year and only fully-opened this year, the park is a much more relaxing experience than most – mainly because there’s a private beach area with a drink service and also the brilliantly luxurious Kapa Cabanas, Balinese-style huts with cushioned loungers, tables, chairs, a fridge and waiter service.
As well as somewhere nice and calm to retreat to, the water park offers 15 attractions including a surf-simulator, Europe’s largest aquatic structure for kids, an eight-lane slide for racing, and Europe’s longest freefall slide – it’s the height of a 14-storey building and you’re likely to reach speeds of up to 80 kph.
There’s also a gentle lazy river, but we spent most of our time on a series of slides which you descend on giant blow-up rings or in pairs on things that looked a little like rubber dinghies except with holes in. Some were faster than others, some were in the dark, some shot you upwards at certain points and one even turned you round to do the latter half of the slide backwards.
We stayed at Hôtel l’Hermitage, an unpretentious, reasonably-priced hotel in a 19th-century mansion with very pretty grounds and an outdoor pool.
Both areas are good for cycling and canoeing (whether you prefer something calm or something more whitewater) – there are also plenty of vineyards and pretty villages to explore.
For more information visit www.ardeche-guide.com and www.provenceguide.co.uk
Biog:
Catherine Cooper is a freelance journalist living in France. You can read her blog at https://catherinecooper.wordpress.com/
