60,5km bike tour at La Bastide-Puylaurent
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60,5km bike tour at La Bastide-Puylaurent |
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From L'Étoile, head towards the center of the village, then go straight towards Villefort. Continue until the Pradillou roundabout, turn right and immediately left onto the D573 to Fagoux, cross the bridge over the Borne at Nicoulaud, and climb towards Laval-d'Aurelle for about 500 meters. Turn left onto the small road via Hubac until the D4. Turn right until the Col du Chap del Bosc. At the pass, turn left onto the D403 and ride for 7.8 km towards Loubaresse, passing by the Croix de la Femme Morte and the Bournet bridge. In Loubaresse, take the small road D301 towards Borne via the Mas de Truc. Climb towards the Col de Prataznier and turn left onto the D19 at Fourmarèche until Luc via Saint-Étienne-de-Lugdarès and Huédour. Upon reaching the D906, turn left towards La Bastide-Puylaurent and ride for 1.7 km. Then take a diagonal left onto the D76 via Pranlac, where you will cross the small bridge over the Allier that separates Lozère from Ardèche. This road becomes the D154, which you follow until Rogleton, passing through Laveyrune. Turn left onto the D906 to reach La Bastide.
20.5km - 25km - 27.7km - 30km - 35.2km - 37km - 41.5km - 44km - 48.4km - 57.5km - 59.4km - 60km - 60.5km - 69km - 70km - 76.8km - 77km - 81km - 90km - 95.7km
Distance: 60.5km. Maximum altitude: 1222m. Minimum altitude: 626m. Cumulative elevation gain: 1215m.
IGN Maps: Langogne (2737E). La Bastide-Puylaurent (2738E). Largentières La Bastide-Puylaurent Vivarais Cévenol (2838OT).
In this province, Haut-Vivarais and Bas-Vivarais share the space, the former rising in the north, the latter extending in the south. The mountains of Vivarais, stone sentinels of the eastern border of the Massif Central. The tower of Saint Laurent les Bains, a stone sentinel, proudly rises on a rocky spur overlooking the village. Built in the 9th century, it has withstood the ages, its six floors preserved by the villagers as a sanctuary. Perched high in the Borne valley, the village is crowned by the granite majesty of the Trois-Seigneurs, whose slopes descend over the rooftops it overlooks by more than a hundred meters, watching over the souls below. The fame of the Saint-Laurent-les-Bains spa dates back to Roman times, its waters at 53° celebrated for their therapeutic virtues. The Source of Saint-Laurent, born from the volcanic depths of the earth, has been praised since the Middle Ages for its benefits. Treatments such as weightless mud baths, thermal pool showers, poultices, and vaporarium sessions are provided in the intimacy of three thermal establishments, where the waters flow through underground channels to offer healing and comfort to the many annual visitors.
Once, overlooking the high mountains of these cold regions, there were four towers: those of Loubaresse, Borne, Saint-Laurent-les-Bains, and Luc, atop which blazed, when the night was dark, the fires of a massive bonfire, luminous beacons that illuminated the land afar, and served as signals during those feudal wars from lord to lord, so disastrous and so frequent. Of these four towers, one has already disappeared. Positioned at twelve hundred and forty-two meters above sea level, on the extinct and filled mouth of one of the oldest volcanoes of Vivarais, this tower, which produced such a picturesque and striking effect from afar in the landscape, had been respected by time. But less than five years ago, a man, not fond of old ruins, had it demolished and razed to the ground to use the materials for the reconstruction of the parish church of Loubaresse.From Chambons to Loubaresse, a village composed exclusively of mule drivers, robust and hardy mountaineers who possess the courage and skill, less however the grace and coquetry of Andalusian mule drivers; and from Loubaresse to Chat-del-Bos, where the road leading to Saint-Laurent-les-Bains passes, which is only a league away, all well-trodden paths vanish. One is left only with meadows and fields through which beasts and people wander at random.
The castle of Luc finds its origins in a very ancient past, built on a site once occupied by the Celts, at the edge of the Mercoire forest, where lay the mysterious massif of Tanargue. Its construction spanned from the 6th to the 10th century, at a time when Gévaudan was an independent province, divided into eight baronies. Owned by the lords of Luc, allied with the powerful barons of Randon and, through them, to the House of Joyeuse, one of the most illustrious noble families in France. The lords of Luc were renowned for their bravery, piety, and sense of justice. They held the privilege of minting coins, levying taxes, administering justice, and waging war. Respected and feared by their vassals, they were also generous and protective towards the needy, the sick, and pilgrims, who found refuge and assistance in their castle.
Former holiday hotel with a garden along the Allier, L'Etoile Guest House is located in La Bastide-Puylaurent between Lozere, Ardeche, and the Cevennes in the mountains of Southern France. At the crossroads of GR®7, GR®70 Stevenson Path, GR®72, GR®700 Regordane Way, GR®470 Allier River springs and gorges, GRP® Cevenol, Ardechoise Mountains, Margeride. Numerous loop trails for hiking and one-day biking excursions. Ideal for a relaxing and hiking getaway.
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