Around Robiac-Rochessadoule

On the D51, follow signs for Robiac, cross the bridge over the Cèze (the arched bridge) and, immediately after this, turn left towards Robiac and park in the car park straight ahead on the left.

(S/E) From the car park, turn left onto Rue du Moulin, then left again onto Rue de la Pertuiserie (D146).

(1) At the junction, continue straight ahead along Rue de la Gare for 300 metres until you reach a crossroads signposted ‘Les Bois’.

(2) Turn right and cross the bridge over the old railway line linking Alès to Bessèges. After the bridge, turn right onto Route de Chanteperdrix, ignoring any turn-offs to the left or right, until you reach a fork in the road.

(3) Leave the return path on your right and continue straight on until you reach another fork, where, on the left, a path is blocked by a gate. This is the old railway line that used to transport coal from Rochessadoule to Montélimar and beyond.

(4) Take this path. In several places, the old railway sleepers are still visible. Follow this path to the end.

(5) Turn onto a small, sloping path on the left and you’ll soon come to another one. Follow it to the left and continue climbing. At the top of this hill, the path turns right until it joins a very pleasant, traffic-free lane.

(6) Follow it to the left, passing through a grove of Skamokawa Douglas firs. Beautiful views of Rochessadoule. This road leads to the entrance to Rochessadoule. At the end of this road, continue to the left between the houses, then left again onto Route des Ramiers.

(7) Take the footbridge by the stadium on the right and, at the end of it, join the D162 (Route du Rieusset). Cross it by turning right then left and take the paved slanting street Rue du Château immediately on the right. Then take the^first paved slanting street on the left, pass by the water tower and you’ll come out onto Impasse du Parc, which you should follow to the right. Take the^first left and, after a left-hand bend and between two houses, take another paved slanting street on the right. At the top of this, turn right and continue to a junction.

(8) Follow the Chemin du Vieux Village to the right until you reach another junction. After a fountain, take a wide path (Chemin de Crueyze) to the right which climbs steadily. You’ll come to a crossroads with five paths.

(9) Head straight ahead along a wide path towards the Chapelle Saint-Laurent for a few hundred metres.

(10) Climb to the left via a flight of steps running parallel to a sloping path. Continue to the chapel (restored by the ‘Passeurs de Mémoire’ association of Robiac-Rochessadoule).

(11) Return to the previous junction.

(10) Turn left onto a small path that climbs up to La Cloche. Superb views towards Mont Lozère, the Serre de Barre, the Ardèche and, in the distance, Mont Ventoux.

(12) Follow the path back the way you came to reach the previous junction.

(10) Turn left and follow the path back the way you came to return to the five-way junction.

(9) Ignore the track on the left; continue straight ahead, due east, along a narrow path through the woodland on the ridge, which offers numerous views of Rochessadoule and the valley. Pass just a few metres from the Grotte des Fées, which lies below. Continue along this path until you reach the first house.

(13) You’ll reach a road at the entrance to the hamlet of Vieux Buis. Turn left here and, at the first junction, turn left again. At the end of this street, continue through a passage between two houses and, at the end of this, take another passage to the right. At the end of this, take a road to the left, pass under the old railway bridge, then turn right onto the Ancienne Route de Bessèges and immediately follow the D162 to the left until you reach the roundabout.

(14) Follow the D146 to the right and, immediately on the right, take the Passage de l’Estrangladou. At the top of this, continue along the Route de Chanteperdrix, which rejoins the route taken on the outward journey.

(4) Continue along this road, in the opposite direction to the outward journey, until you reach a Y-junction which you also passed on the outward journey.

(3) Turn left onto Rue du Tunnel and, at the end of this street, go through the tunnel under the old railway line.

(1) At the exit, continue to the left until you reach the car park (S/E).

The few roads you’ll take have very little traffic.