Backpacking Stevenson Trail (GR 70) sets out to recreate the path trodden through Haute Loire, Lozere and Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1878. That trek inspired one of his earliest novels, Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879). Much loved by the likes of John Steinbeck, and now considered a classic of outdoor literature, Stevenson can be seen in many ways as the pioneer of the whole hiking movement.
Backpacking Stevenson Trail (GR 70) avoids the foot-crunching tarmac that you would need to walk were you to reconstruct Stevenson’s exact footsteps. However, as the Book was the first to present hiking and camping outdoors as a leisure activity, what better way to recapture the essence of that remarkable trip than to camp out along the trail in much the same way he did 132 years ago? Your equipment will doubtless have the edge on those used by The Scot, and we help you avoid the hit-and-miss nature of sleeping rough and instead place you in a series of well-run camp sites along the way.
We start you off with a nice two-star hotel in Le Puy, just to let you get acclimatised, and we throw in a couple of very welcoming auberges en route to give you a break from star-gazing - just as Stevenson did himself. For those hikers who like to get as close to nature as possible, there can be few better ways to do it than following in the footsteps of the founding father of recreational walking.
Tour Summary
Arrival day in Le Puy en Velay. Enjoy a ramble around this fine town, which merits a day in itself (2-star, centrally-located hotel, less than 5 minutes from the railway station)
Day 1: Le Monastier to Goudet.
6.5 miles-9.5 kms, with 190 m altitude gain & 325 m descent.
(3-star camping site on the Upper Loire Valley)
Day 2: Goudet to Landos.
15 miles-23 kms, 400 m altitude gain, 100 m descent. (3-star camping site)
Day 3: Landos to Langogne.
13.5 miles-20 Kms, approx. 205 m altitude gain, 435 m descent. (3-star camping site on Lac Naussac)
Day 4: Langogne to Cheylard L'Eveque.
11 miles-16 kms, 320 m altitude gain, 150 m descent. (Gite d'Etape - voted best in France 2000)
Day 5: Cheylard L'Eveque to La Bastide Puylaurent.
12 miles-18 kms, 240 m altitude gain, 380 m descent. (2-star camping site)
Day 6: La Bastide Puylaurent to Le Bleymard.
15 miles-22.5 kms, 600 m altitude gain, 560 m descent. (1-star council-run camping site)
Day 7: Le Bleymard to Pont de Montvert.
12 miles-18 kms, 630 m altitude gain, 824 m descent. (2-star camping site)
Day 8: Pont de Montvert to Florac.
16.5 miles-24 kms, 545 m altitude gain, 875 m descent. (3-star camping site)
Day 9: Florac to Cassagnas.
12 miles-18 kms, 200 m altitude gain, 50 m descent. (2-star camping site)
Day 10: Cassagnas to St Germain de Calberte.
9.5 miles-14 kms, 320 m altitude gain, 510 m descent. (Walkers' tavern)
Day 11: St Germain de Calberte to St Jean du Gard.
14 miles-21 kms, 350 m altitude gain, 900 m descent. (3-star camping site)
Departure day.
Homeward bound via Ales, and probably Nimes or Montpellier.
Tour Description
It all started in Velay
Your experience commences on the volcanic plateau, but the walking is anything but flat. The upper Loire valley has gouged deep into the plateau, making the descent via Saint Martin de Fugère and into the valley at Goudet quite steep, with admirable views.
Looking for Landos.
The climb out of the valley takes you through some picturesque Velay villages en route to Le Bouchet, where Stevenson stayed the night. You trek onwards to the granite market town of Landos.
Arquejol & Naussac
Your descend into the valley at Arquejol and walk beneath an architectural relic of the railroad age. Further on you sleep on the banks of another testament to man's ingenuity, Lake Naussac. In between, there's the small matter of arguably the Trail's finest village, Pradelles.
Into Gévaudan
Your first steps are shared with the Regordane Way, before you depart westwards and across the open and rolling uplands, interspersed with thick forest. Let's hope the denizens of Fouzillac are more welcoming to you than they were to Stevenson, but you won't sleep here. The wooded descent to Cheylard l'Evêque is enjoyable, the village full of character and the auberge highly rated.
Luc castle and The Allier
The climb towards Les Pradels is picturesque and your lakeside lunch-spot is relaxation itself. Then press on towards Luc castle via a fascinating ancient drovers’ trail. The tarmac to La Bastide is unavoidable, but there are few cars and the route takes you through some interesting countryside and linear developments.
The Mirandol Viaduct
Leave the highest point of France's last mountain railroad and climb to a plateau before descending to south west towards Chasseradès, where Stevenson shared a room with five railway engineers. You simply admire what they built before climbing up and through the impressive Goulet forest, following the nascent Lot River and then descending towards Le Bleymard.
Mont Lozère.
You enter the third region en route, Mont Lozère. It’s a world unto itself, where the yellow broom announces the start of spring, later to be replaced by the violet heather and black-blue myrtilles. The summit of Finiels is a hiker’s paradise, from where the Alps or the Pyrenees are visible on a clear day; and you won't want the descent to Pont du Montvert to stop.
Chemin des Cretes
Climb southwards through the pine forests to Planette Pass, before swinging west to Sapet Pass, from where the menhir provides a fine view of the rolling 'blue waves' of Cévennes hills stretching into the distance. Sacré balade!
Cévennes & Camisard Country
The Cévenols valleys are deep yet full of Mediterranean sunlight. Schiste paths slide in and out of chestnut forests and down to refreshing streams before climbing once again to tree-covered summits. Small wonder a few hundred men could hold up a King's army.
The Mimente & Saint-Etienne Vallée Française
Few man-made trails can be as fun to walk as the path that follows the old railway though tunnel and over viaduct. The forest of Fontmort trails contain prolonged ascents along a paths dug by Louis XIV to suppress future uprisings that never materialised. The path climbs towards Saint-Pierre pass, where Modestine and Stevenson had their last meal together, before the steep descent to the meanderings of The Gardon River and Saint-Jean du Gard.
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