We left Gap and headed to Gorge de Verdon. This place was recommended to us as a ‘must see’ place. We did a quick search to see where we could park and found a municipal campsite that was open to the end of October.
It was a bit out of our way but well worth the trip. The roads were narrow and steep, with lots of hairpin bends that gave us a few anxious moments! The views were stunning.
We arrived at the campsite and were pleasantly surprised. We had heard that municipal sites were basic campsites but they have everything we needed.
We had our pick of where we wanted to park, there were lots trees but we managed to find a pitch that still had the sun shining. Out came the chairs and we opened a bottle of Alsace Riesling that we had picked up in Crémieu.
As the evening approached we took a short stroll down to the lake, less that 200 metres. Just in time to catch a beautiful sunset.
The beach was a pebble one with the largest pebbles I have ever seen.
That night we ate in the van and had a very quiet nights sleep.
The following morning the sun was shining so we pumped up the paddleboards and took them to the lake.
The lake was flat and there was very little wind. We put the kayak seats onto the boards and set off up the lake. We had seen on the map that there was a channel that took you up to the gorge but looking out across the lake we couldn’t see it! We kept going until we saw the channel.
As we rounded the corner we saw the bridge we had driven over the day before. This was the entrance. We paddled under the bridge and along the Gorge. The views were spectacular, I can see why they call it the Grand Canyon of France.
Being off season there were only a few other people who had hired pedalos so we felt we had the whole place to ourselves.
I would highly recommend doing this if you are ever in this area.
The following day we continued on our journey. Next stop Castellane but first we needed to get there. It was only 32 miles but wow, what a road. We meandered along very narrow, windy roads with sheer drops to the side. The whole drive took about an hour and a half! The mountains overhung the road in places and we wondered if we would get under them with our solar intact!
We were very glad to arrive at our next Aire.
Our next spot for the night was directly under the Chapelle Notre-Dame Du Roc which is a little chapel on the top of a mountain.
We decided to take a walk up to the chapel. Sign post said 1.5km, about half an hour. We were a lot slower! Coming back down, yes, probably managed the half hour.
The chapel dates back to the 9th Century in places. There are remains of a village that used to be up there. We found a drinking tap, which came in really handy as we had forgotten to pack our water bottles and worked up quite a thirst in the sunshine.
From here we headed to Mons and Callian to meet up with family for a few days. We had been unable to do this for the last couple of years and it was great to see them.
Whilst here we took the opportunity to visit Antibes, a very popular port. Some amazing boats were moored here and looking around the old town you could understand why it is so popular, as there was a fantastic variety of shops and restaurants to suit everyone’s taste and pocket.
Callian has some very steep valleys and it was fascinating to see the terraces which are used to grow olive trees. Probably dating back to Roman times. There are some nice walks around here and we enjoyed the tranquillity wandering through the forest. We had seen one wild boar when driving down but didn’t see any on our walk but there were tell tales.
This was the first big milestone of our trip and it gave us a chance to catch up with family and take a moment to reflect on our journey so far.
Gap to Verdon Gorge
Mileage – 87
Route – D1085
Camping Les Ruis Verdon –
Cost – €34.88/£29.35 for two nights with EHU
Verdon Gorge to Castellane
Mileage – 32
Route – D952
Cost -€9 for 24 hours
Castellane to Mons
Mileage – 32
Route – D6085
