France - Uzes and Forcalquier - May 2014

[Pauline]

Home after a long travel day, but not as long as when we flew from the US. Lugging our bags around the UK train stations and dealing with the over crowded Friday afternoon trains from London was not fun, but I am happy to be home. And England is really feeling like home these days. We went out to our local for an English beer and a great dinner - after avoiding restaurants in France (go figure!). We put our cat sitting friend Ann on the train this morning and I spent the day reading.

Everything grew while we were away and it feels like summer.

In less than 2 weeks we head to Tuscany!

This is what I hauled home.

 

[Pauline]

I had a message from JanB that her dog is in my Forcalquier photo. It must be this one? The dog in the house across the lane from the vacation rental we were in?

View attachment 385

 

[ffelix]

We parked in the next town, Sanilhac, to do a 45min walk to another standing stone. This one was very lame. But I wanted to walk along this trail because it is part of GR 6/GR 63 that follows the Gardon Gorge to the Pont du Gard. This trail is not great. It is at the top of the gorge, but you don't see the river. You are walking in scrub (the official name is Garrigue) that is about 15 feet high, so you don't have any views. From the map it looks like you would get great views and maybe you do in other places.

Today I uploaded a few photos...Pauline and the uninteresting menhir, beautiful woods on the GR trail along the Gardon Gorges...

Hope you are still following this old thread...

Though you don't think it's worthwhile, I'd love to know where the Sanilhac menhir remnant is (I'm less picky about my antiques!). Can you provide more precise directions after you hike up to the GR6 from Sanilhac? Turn right (W) or left (E) on the GR6? How far along? Is the stone sitting on the side of the main GR6 track, or on a side trail?

Thanks for the great website!

 

[Pauline]

Hope you are still following this old thread...

Though you don't think it's worthwhile, I'd love to know where the Sanilhac menhir remnant is (I'm less picky about my antiques!). Can you provide more precise directions after you hike up to the GR6 from Sanilhac? Turn right (W) or left (E) on the GR6? How far along? Is the stone sitting on the side of the main GR6 track, or on a side trail?

Thanks for the great website!

I will look it up tomorrow but from memory it was turn right on the trail when facing the river and it was 45 minutes along. It is right on the trail. I am sure I have a photo.

 

[Pauline]

I have a little bit of information on the Sanilhac menhir on this page - Day Trips - France - La Leque Standing Stone.

"Sanilhac Standing Stone. I saw this stone noted on the Uzes hiking map. We parked in Sanilhac and walked south to meet the GR6 - GR63 hiking trail that goes along the northern edge of the Gardon River. It was a long and boring walk through woods, with no view of the river, to the standing stone. And it was just a short square stone by the side of the trail. See photo in the Photos section."

I see that I did not say which way to turn on the river. Turn right, walking west with the river on your left. Really it is not worth the walk for this one. Make sure you see La Leque - that one is fabulous. We also saw huge ones like that in Brittany last summer.

 

[Pauline]

Here is the hiking map showing the menhir on the river trail.

 

[Pauline]

The hiking signs at Sanilhac. Follow to La Coufine, then in direction Pont Saint Nicolas.

The stone is bigger than I remember.

 

[ffelix]

Thanks!