April 15 La Bastide to Chasserades (12 km 330 m)

This was our hotel of the night before.

 

We crossed the railway line past the classic French railway warning notice and climbed up  over a spur on forest roads. Weather fine sunny with cloudy periods.

From the heights we could see Mont Lozère that we were due to ascend in two days time and were glad we had gaiters to wade through the snow.

We dropped down off the heights in Chabalier, a hamlet where one seems to put dummies in the garden. They can't be scarecrows.

We found a spot to eat lunch,

 crossed a stream

 

and arrived in Chasseradès which had a curiously Northern English moorland feel about it. The railway snow sheds in the background suggests that winters are hard hereabouts.

It was a short day and we arrived early at 14:00 plus minus. We found our hotel, the Hotel Restaurant des Sources. I fell asleep and slept the sleep of the just until 16:00. I had a bad night the night before. Washing was soaked and hung out to dry before we walked round village. Judith found a copy of "Kidnapped" by RLS and disappeared. An excellent dinner: Soup, paté, beef bourgonne, cheese and apple and banana tart. We had a long discussion in English with our neighbour in the dining room – a college teacher in Toulon. He too was walking the route.