Camping in the south of France (pic heavy)

[s'étonner]

Hello! I recently got back from camping in the Tarn Gorge in the south of France. If anyone has seen the famous Millau Viaduct on TV shows such as Top Gear, it's basically right next to that town. Although by no means a bushcrafty trip (we were on a campsite with shower blocks, etc) I thought people still might find some of my photos interesting, and the area would certainly be great to visit for a more bushcraft orientated trip.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorges_du_Tarn

Here was the view from our pitch, (not a very good photo I'm afraid, but it's about the only one I have that shows a tent!)



Next to the campsite are the ruins of an old castle and the surrounding village, perched right up at top of the valley. Here's some more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_de_Peyrelade

We hiked up there. Here are the views:





The remains of the castle itself, which mostly looks like a cliff now:





Years ago, the track running down the valley from the castle was closed due to a massive rockfall. We still use it anyway though! Here's some shots of the journey down:





You can see here the massive amount of cliff that fell away...



The insects on the path down are huge, I wish I'd got some photos! I've never seen ants so big! I also noticed this poo left by some kind of animal. Any ideas?





The best thing about the campsite is that the river comes right through it. If anyone has seen the Ray Mears episode where he visits the Ardeche Gorge with Gordon, it's pretty much exactly like that (and yes we did canoeing!). The river is extremely clear and teeming with fish, so it's great for snorkling and fishing.

Here's some snaps of the campsite beach:





And here's so fish shots I got with my dad's underwater camera. Not sure what kind of fish they are but I think these ones were feeding off the bottom of the river bed...





Inside the Gorge, there is a nearby rock formation that we like to call the Mushroom, due to it's shape. I hiked up the gorge (scratching my legs up in the process) and had a look at the caves up there and the views over the gorge...

The mushroom (centre of picture):



The rocky ledge around the side which you can hang your legs over! You can also see lots of vulture poo on this ledge- the gorge is home to lots of large birds of prey.



One of the caves, which every year contains a solitary bat that always makes me jump when I enter!



Another cave...



Reaching the top of the Mushroom...





The view of the campsite and beach down below:



And the rather sketchy journey back down to the road...





Thanks for reading, I hope this was of interest to someone. My family go on holiday to this place every year, and it really is fantastic!

[sandbender]

It is a nice part of the world, thanks for posting.

[HillBill]

Nice pics, thanks for sharing.

I've been to the ardeche before, done the canoeing Its a lovely part of the world.

The fish looks like a barbel, could be wrong though..

[pauljm116]

Great pics thanks for sharing. Looks like a lovely place for a holiday.

The fish looks like a barbel, could be wrong though..

I thought the same, could be a grass carp too though.

[HillBill]

could be a grass carp too though.

They don't have the whiskers though do they?

[pauljm116]

They don't have the whiskers though do they?

I used to have one in my pond and they have very short barbels/whiskers, so that is more than likely a barbel in the pic.

[ged]

Great photos! I know the Millau Bridge well, but never been through the gorge. The poo looks like badger.

[garethw]

Hi there guys..
As a angler for ovcer 40 years I can confirm it is definitely a barbel..
Great fish to catch and a species I target in my local rivers in northern France
Cheers
Gareth

[pauljm116]

Hi there guys..
As a angler for ovcer 40 years I can confirm it is definitely a barbel..
Great fish to catch and a species I target in my local rivers in northern France
Cheers
Gareth

Thanks Gareth, its been bugging me.

[santaman2000]

Hi there guys..
As a angler for ovcer 40 years I can confirm it is definitely a barbel..
Great fish to catch and a species I target in my local rivers in northern France
Cheers
Gareth

Is that the same thing as a catfish? That's what I was thinking it was, a channel cat.

[s'étonner]

Glad people have been enjoying the photos, and thanks to you all for helping to identify the fish! I seem to remember my dad telling me that the river also contains Dace. Some of the fish were really big! There's also plenty of crayfish, and I can confirm that they give you a nasty nip if you're not careful!

[garethw]

Is that the same thing as a catfish? That's what I was thinking it was, a channel cat.

Hi there the only species of catfish likely to be in the Tarn are the Wels cats.. and that definitly not one.... Channel catfish are not a European species.
cheers
Gareth

[garethw]

Thanks Gareth, its been bugging me.

The Tarn will contain loads of species. I obvioulsy has barbel, but will hold Chub, Dace, Roach, Bream, Pike, Zander etc... It has some big carp too and as I said in some reaches will certainly have Wels catfish.
cheers
Gareth

[s'étonner]

The Tarn will contain loads of species. I obvioulsy has barbel, but will hold Chub, Dace, Roach, Bream, Pike, Zander etc... It has some big carp too and as I said in some reaches will certainly have Wels catfish.
cheers
Gareth

Wow, I want to go back now and find all those other types! I'm glad I didn't encounter any Pike whilst snorkelling though. Those Zanders look like they'd have a bite on them too!

[Tor helge]

Thanks for posting.
Looks like a very nice part of the world. Facinating rock formations.