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ONION OMLETTE AND STUFFED CABBAGES: IT MUST BE THE CEVENNES
 Spring is sprung and the warmer weather is here, so this month we’re going to focus on getting out and about. First stop is the rural bliss of the Cévennes national park, following in the footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson.
In 1878, Stevenson and his donkey Modestine spent 12 days walking in the Cévennes mountains, which he duly recounted in “Travels With a Donkey”. I’ve yet to read this book - and frankly, it gets dredged up so often in travel features about this part of France that I feel I can spare myself the time and trouble – now I just nod sagely whenever anyone brings up RLS and his four-legged friend. However, I’ve recently enjoyed something similar, yet far more contemporary. In Downhill All The Way, Hilary Macaskill and Molly Wood (a long-time Languedoc resident) tell us about their walks, over a number of years, along the GR70 long-distance footpath that is otherwise known as the Stevenson trail.
Accompanied by Whiskey the dog and a number of different donkeys (“most of whom were less than helpful on the forward progress front”), Hilary and Molly tell their story in an entertaining and beautifully observed way, interspersed with lots of information about local history, typical menus of the region, important tips on donkey management and lore, as well as practical information for those tempted to walk the Stevenson trail themselves. Donkey Facts and Figures will test your DAQ (donkey awareness quotient), and in a chapter entitled A Journey Through Food, Molly cooks dishes to be found on the Trail, some of which, it has to be said, sound more appetizing than others (stuffed cabbage, anyone?).
 The women’s account of their trail, trials and tribulations had me snorting into my tea (I like to read in bed with a cuppa). The funniest parts are where they detail the downright grottiness of some of the places they stayed (basic hotels in the back of beyond can be a bit hit and miss, and this combined with an utter lack of customer service (ooh, don’t get me started – the French are famously hopeless in this field) can make for a less-than-luxury séjour, but a very funny book.
Downhill All The Way: Walking With Donkeys On The Stevenson Trail is published by Frances Lincoln and available in hardback for £12.99 (or less!) from www.amazon.co.uk
Walking with small children can be a frustrating experience, but stick them on the back of a donkey and you’re laughing. Check out these sites if you want to discover the Languedoc with a donkey:
Les Signoles in La Salvetat sur Agout www.signoles.com
Ser’Ane in Saint Jean de Buèges www.ser-ane.com
Sherp’Anes in La Vacquerie www.bourricot.com/sherpanes
On our most recent family expedition into the Cévennes we drove to the top of Mont Aigoual, hoping to visit the Observatory (apparently Europe’s last inhabited weather station), but the snow was swirling so thick and hard, we couldn’t even get out of the Volvo. There was bugger-all visibility anyway, so instead we drove back down the mountain and at Puéchagut (a tiny hamlet near Bréau et Salagosse, about 17 kilometres north of Le Vigan), we found La Maison Forestière des Cévennes. This handsome renovated stone house and outbuildings in the middle of the forest is a place where lost hikers can stay overnight, families can rent gîtes, and passing visitors like us can shelter from the weather and get a decent cup of coffee and a square meal. I’m not sure if square is the right word.
We had the 12,50 euros menu that consisted of salad (“yuk” said my children), a whole pot of extremely chunky paté, a very brown onion omlette (made with those funny onions doux Cévenol onions, the ones that have AOC status), accompanied by a huge platter of double-fried potatoes (oof). The kids refused to touch anything except the ice cream that came for pudding, but they were in that sort of mood anyway. Behind us, a couple were tucking into plates of meat, followed by plates of cheese, with baskets of bread as the side vegetable. Nothing green passed their lips. For dessert, the grown-ups’ choice was fromage frais or fruit, neither of which I fancied (it was pissing with rain and there was snow on the ground), but it was like it or lump it, so I lumped an orange. All of which means that this isn’t the place to go for a gourmet dining experience (in fact, that’s pretty much how I feel about the Cévennes all over), but everything else was very nice: roaring log fire, friendly service, nice décor, huge, well-appointed dining room. Worth checking out if you’re up that way and need a place to warm your feet, lay your head or fill your stomach. Great location too. See more at www.lamaisondescevennes.free.fr
Valleraugue is a small, pretty (or should that be “pretty small”?) Cévenol village in the Hérault valley, linked to the mighty Mont Aigoual by an official walkway of 4000 steps. Every year a race is held up the 4000 steps (this year’s event, to be held on Sunday June 3rd, will be the 20 th) so if you’re feeling sporty, sign up, but be warned: the 11 kilometre ascent is very steep in parts (you’ll be climbing some 1,222 metres), the going is rocky to rough, and only the seriously fit need apply. For details, see http://les4000marches.chez-alice.fr/. If that all sounds like too much hard work, there are a couple of vide grenier (garage sales) coming up in Valleraugue instead, on Saturday April 7 and Saturday May 5, from 9am – 2pm: the perfect opportunity to browse through other people’s cast-offs and find that mug tree you’ve always wanted. For dates and details of other events held in the Aigoual area, see www.aigoual-cevennes.com
CHINOS AND PANAMAS: IT MUST BE UZES
 Arguably a trifle ritzier, and certainly more well-heeled, is Uzès. Located in the Gard département, this highly attractive medieval market town is a magnet for overseas holiday home hunters and tourists (hang out in the fancy bar- and restaurant-lined Place aux Herbes in July and count the loafers, chinos and panama hats if you don’t believe me). Oddly enough, this doesn’t detract from its charms.
Handily located between Avignon and Nîmes (both served by low-cost flights and high-speed TGV trains – Paris is a two and a half hour train-ride away), this is the place to come for dapper dining, dainty afternoon tea or some easy-like-Sunday-morning coffee and market action. Technically in the foothills of the Cevennes, but about as far from your typical Cévenol village as you can get in terms of style and sophistication, Uzès has a population of around 8,000, some beautiful old stone buildings, a great selection of independent shops selling attractive, upmarket housewares, antiques and other “essentials”. It also has lashings of history (it was France’s first duchy). Hmm. Heritage, old houses, and fancy shops: no wonder the British, German and Dutch middle classes are lapping it up.
According to Helena Frith-Powell’s recent feature in the Sunday Times, house prices in the town and surrounding areas have risen by 50 per cent over the past five years, so bricks and mortar aren’t what estate agents would call “accessibly-priced”, (allow around €300,000 for a three-bedroomed apartment near the Place aux Herbes, or €560,000 for a centrally-located four-bed house with pool), but since when was gorgeousness cheap, anyway?
 If you need an excuse to visit Uzès this month, there’s the Marché des Potiers (a pottery and ceramics market) being held over Easter weekend (April 8 and 9) on the main square. For more details, see www.uzes-tourisme.com or call +33 (0)4 66 03 18 59.
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