Having really enjoyed our
luxy stay at Serignan Plage, and the bonus of steady hot weather, we decided to
pick our next stop not too far from the weather system that was sat over the
Med. And so we found ourselves heading for the Tarn Gorge and a riverside
campsite at St-Rome-de-Tarn. Although we knew it from an overnight stop at the
amazing ‘Les Raspes’ hotel and restaurant from a trip by car years ago, we’d
never really got to know the area, which is truly spectacular with its steep
valleys and meandering rivers.
We arrived at Camping la
Cascade (€17) just as reception was opening (after the customary closure for
lunch that is typical on many French sites), and having marveled at the
scenery as we got closer and full of anticipation for a river-side pitch.
Having learned that it’s often best to give the maximum time for a potential
stay in order a) not to be moved and b) to get a good chance of a decent pitch,
we were rewarded after saying we may stay for five nights, with a pitch that
overlooked the bend in the Tarn river that the site was strung out along.
The temperature had risen
steadily as we descended from the road that ran along the ‘Parc naturel des grandes
causses’ at about 1km above sea level, and as we pulled up on our sun-drenched
pitch, the external gauge reached 36c and the temperature activated fans that
boost the fridge exhaust vent kicked in for the first time on this trip.
Although they sound a bit like a hovercraft has pulled up alongside the van,
they help enormously with air-flow and keep the fridge working – and those
ice-creams frozen!
After setting up camp and
making sure the awning was giving as much shade as possible, the temptation of
the Tarn was too much to resist and I was soon splashing about like a five-year
old! River swimming can be a variable experience but this was excellent, very
clean, warm and no real current to speak of – and there was even a diving
platform! Diving from this caused much hilarity with the locals, as my
swimshorts were unable to maintain their position around my waist after a near
perfect racing start off the platform turned them into ankle draggers….
Luckily I was able to
execute an underwater retrieval and surfaced with a smile…
As we started to get ready
for a barbecue and an evening of fun overlooking the amazing view, we realised
that our little piece of paradise was shared with large numbers of flies… OK,
we’re used to flies on inland sites but there was clearly a fly party going on
here and it was only the BBQ smoke and onset of evening that brought some
relief!
The next day dawned cloudy,
so we decided to take a walk into St-Rome – hoping that staff at Les Raspes
wouldn’t recognise us as the English couple that famously ate another (French) couple’s
fish course as well as their own in a gastronomic feast littered with
linguistic confusion never to be forgotten… Luckily the town was asleep by the
time we had walked up from the river, pausing to admire the view of well-tended
allotments against a backdrop of ancient terraced hillsides on the other side
of the river.
St-Rome-de-Tarn is one of
those photogenic places that France excels at, and even though we’d been here
before, we were struck again by the attractiveness of the village and its
riverside location.
Returning to the campsite in
the rising heat – and needing a cunning plan to escape the friendly and
attentive flies, we decided to explore by river. Faced with a choice of canoe
or pedalo, we set off at a stately pace in what was clearly a child-sized
pedalo, as even my short legs struggled to turn the crank comfortably (Mrs B,
as those who know her will imagine, found the pedals even more of a
challenge!). Dwarf-sized craft aside, the river gave us some fabulous views,
including our peachy pitch…
… the waterfall the site is
named after…
…the amazing gorge sides,
including loads of caves…
…St-Rome-de-Tarn itself…
…and after our return of the
by now almost sinking pedalo, Mrs B enjoying a swim in the Tarn herself!
With the weather set to stay
hot, as if by magic (or 20+ years of travelling together) we both suggested it
was time to leave the delights of the Tarn and its flies, and head off the next
day for a coastal location as we headed north and the last few days of our trip.
Of course, we had to have a farewell party on the pitch and as we were nowhere
close to any other campers, we treated ourselves to an evening of our favourite
tunes with dinner as the sun set over the hills. And as darkness descended, and
the tunes migrated from our favourite French bands to more ambient chill, we
had our own mini lazer show setting hundreds of red stars dancing across the
nearby trees and the river. Mrs B has often teased me for packing a mini lazer
light show amongst the camping essentials, but tonight made it all worthwhile!
Unfortunately, we were having such a good time we forgot to take any pics – but
I’m sure you can imagine the vibe!
And so instead of five
nights of river-side paradise, we set off after only two – leaving some
fabulous memories and a good number of flies behind as we headed for the north
west coast and Brittany – not quite the most direct route home but one we
fancied all the same!
S.
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