Monday 3rd December 2007

There are plenty of interesting places to visit in the area and today we decided to see the Ardeche Gorge. We noticed from a map that Steve had lent us, that there was an area just south of Lablachere that had a large number of dolmen and we plotted our route via the minor road that cut through it. We found a point where we could park the motorhome near where a dolmen was indicated on the map and set off in search. The area is incredibly stony with huge exposed areas of bedrock. We found the dolmen, a huge pile of stones with slabs forming a cist exposed in the middle. Having seen many barrows in Somerset and Dorset, it was intriguing to see the equivalent made in stone. The dolmen was positioned close to a small stream where it formed a series of small ponds, a ritual setting or is that just my imagination?
On then to the Ardeche Gorge, which proved to be spectacular. The natural arch over the Ardeche river was very impressive and we sat and had a picnic sat beside the river with a view of the arch. The road then travels along the edge of the gorge high above the river with excellent views over the gorge and the surrounding countryside. In the summer, it must be impossible to stop on this road as there would be huge numbers of people visiting. However, in December, there were very few cars and all of the very small viewpoint car parks were empty. It took a long time to go along the gorge as I kept stopping to look at all of the views! The gorge itself is very popular with canoeists and it must be a fantastic way to see the gorge. In season, there are many places to rent canoes.
The gorge is not very far from the area with the dolmen and it is unsurprising that the surrounding area was also important in prehistoric times with more dolmen, menhirs and inhabited caves, some with cave paintings.
We returned via the cooperative cave (winery) in Lablachere and sampled a selection of their wines. With the exception of the Cabernet Sauvignon, that wasn't to my taste, they were very good and we bought a few bottles, including the white and rose 'Menhir'.
Photos: The dolmen blending into the stony background; Dolmen with grave; Stream next to the dolmen site; Arch over the Ardeche.