Our intravalley moves amongst the
French Alps seem to be settling into a bit of a routine, taking us
around 3 days to move ourselves between different mountain locations.
The first day tends to be a move to a town or city, stopping en route
to restock the fridge and get any other little jobs done (like
reattaching our front number plate which fell off, honestly!). On the
second day we can have a wander around the town and rest our legs so
that on the third day we are ready to head back up a new valley in
search of the high mountains once more. And so it has been this time
as well.
After setting off from Barcelonette on
Saturday, having laden our van with lots of fresh fruit and veg' from
the morning market and picking up a new digital camera to replace our
sadly broken one, we drove west out of the Ubaye Valley, before
turning north in the direction of either one of the Ecrins or Queryas
National Parks which sit on the west and east of Briancon
respectively. The scenery was stunning as we went up and over,
getting extensive views of Lac de Serre-Poncon (a very large crystal
blue reservoir), and along different valleys getting our first views
of the peaks of the Ercins. We had no fixed plans on how far we would
travel that day, or where we would end up, but after a few failed
attempts to find an aire in some villages en route we settled on
heading towards the more major destination of Briancon itself right
next to the Italian/French border.
Waking in Briancon on Sunday, having
spent the night in the car park of the ice rink along with a hundred
other motorhomes, we did a little exercise in the morning sunshine
before taking a stroll up the hill into town. According to one of our
guide books Briancon's old town, which peaks at 1326m altitude,
claims to be Europe's highest town although I suppose that depends on
your definition of 'town'. Either way it is beautifully situated,
nestled between the 2 national parks on either side and the Massif
des Cerces to the north ensuring that whichever way you look you see
towering 3000-4000m peaks capped with snow. We soon stumbled on yet
another bustling market full of fresh produce and picked up some
fresh figs for breakfast, a new favourite of ours!
Heading further up the hill we came to
the imposing citadelle which rises above the new town below. Picking
up a map from the tourist information we took an amble in the
afternoon sunshine up the steep alleys and streets of this ancient,
fortified town built to defend the inhabitants against attacks from
the nearby Dukes of Savoy (and others) who wanted control of this
strategic site. With buildings ranging from 14
th - 19
th
century there was plenty to visit and we stopped by the impressive
Collegiale church, the less impressive (but free) Mining Museum and
took the circular path around the edge of the fortifications.
Stopping at a viewpoint over La Durance river threading through a
steep sided gorge we were even treated to the site of a bungee jump
from a high bridge over the water (we had to wait a while before he
plucked up the courage to leap).
That evening we considered our options.
With so much to do right on our doorstep, such as cycling climbs of
the famous Col d'Izoard or Col du Galibier from Briancon, or some
more hikes in one of the National Parks it was a tough choice.
However, having done so much cycling the previous week, we decided to
head into the hills to get our boots on. So, this lunchtime we took a
drive up into the Ecrins National Park, finding our way to the little
village of Pelvoux where we are based this evening. Looking around us
we can see why the beauty of this area is so renowned in all of our
hiking guides. Everywhere we look are sharp, jagged peaks topped with
packed snow, giving a rugged, wild feeling to the mountains which is
quite imposing but also exciting for the days of hiking we hope are
ahead of us. We are so excited to get out into this wilderness, we
have already enjoyed a shortish after dinner walk, along the river
and up towards the next village of Ailefroide, about 5 km away, which
we will head to tomorrow morning on the way to our next big hike.
No comments
Post a Comment