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27,7km bike tour at La Bastide-Puylaurent |
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From L'Etoile, head towards the centre of the village and follow the signs for Villefort as far as the Pradillou roundabout. Turn right and then left on the D573 for 9.2km via Les Fagoux, Nicoulaud and the bridge over the river Borne. Take the small road on the left towards Ubac and follow it for 5.3km. Turn left onto the D4 via the Ceytrou bridge over the Borne and Saint Laurent les Bains. Continue on the D4 via the Carté bridge, the Saint Sauveur cross, the Col de Notre Dame des Neiges, the Pradillou roundabout and La Bastide-Puylaurent.
20,5km / 25km / 27,7km / 30km / 36km / 37km / 41,5km / 48,4km / 57,5km / 59,4km / 60km / 70km / 76,8km / 77km / 81km / 90km / 95,7km
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Distance: 27.7km, Maximum altitude: 1138m, Minimum altitude: 623m, Total ascent: 1091m.
IGN maps: La Bastide-Puylaurent (2738E). Largentière la Bastide-Puylaurent Vivarais Cévenol (2838OT).
The Borne is a Cevennes river that rises in the Ardèche department, at the Col de la Croix de Bauzon, and then flows through the Lozère department. It joins the Chassezac on the left bank at the boundary between Pied-de-Borne and Sainte-Marguerite-Lafigère. The Borne, with its granite pools, is a paradise for bathing.
The tower of Saint Laurent les Bains, a stone sentinel, stands proudly on a rocky spur overlooking the village. Erected in the 9th century, it has stood the test of time, its six storeys preserved by the villagers as a sanctuary. Perched high above the Borne valley, the village is crowned by the granite majesty of the Trois-Seigneurs, whose slopes tumble down to the rooftops overhanging them by more than a hundred metres, watching over the souls below. The reputation of the Saint-Laurent-les-Bains spa dates back to Roman times, its 53° waters celebrated for their therapeutic virtues.
Founded in 1850 by Trappist monks from the Abbey of Aiguebelle at an altitude of 1100 metres in the Ardèche mountains. It was here that they founded the Abbey of Notre-Dame des Neiges, a monastery dedicated to prayer, work and silence. Life was harsh at the abbey. The monks lived in Spartan conditions, working the land to support themselves and building their monastery stone by stone. But their faith and perseverance were unshakeable. The abbey quickly became a place of pilgrimage and renewal for Catholics in the region. The beauty of the site, the rigour of monastic life and the monks' reputation for holiness attracted many visitors.
