After
that interesting diversion we continued our tour around the Green
Ardêche calling in at the larger market town of Le Cheylard to get some
diesel then proceeded on a long slow climb
through rough
terrain to the high plains of the Massif Central with immense views
towards the Alps, luckily
only meeting one artic on the narrow winding road. At the crossroads at
Mézilhac we turned west to head for the aire at Lachamp Raphaël, a
small isolated hamlet high up on the open plain at 1400 metres, but
discovered
the borne was broken and as we needed to top up our water we turned
back and headed south to another aire at the pretty village of
Antraigues-s-Volane in a deep wooded valley. After a peaceful
night on our own and a stroll around the town centre with its red
painted
fountain, we continued to the small spa town of Vals-les-Bains which
seemed rather industrial, then joined the busy N102 main road turning
west along the Ardêche valley and another very long slow climb to
Pradelles. Driving straight through it appeared to be another
ordinary French town but we turned back and after parking in the main
square discovered an interesting old town centre with
a large convent, narrow alleyways and a craft museum, where we had an
animated discussion in bad French about the local sabotiers (clog
makers) and the fact that we had similar shoes in our Northern mill
towns now worn for traditional dancing which
I tried to demonstrate to
everyones' amusement! - we wondered if they
have the equivalent of morris dancers in France?
Pradelles convent