Circuit N°2 - 50 kms
Land of Aubenas-Vals
UCEL
: 220 m. Overlooking castle ruins. 15th C hermitage
with a chapel partly cut into the rock itself.
Orientation table at 478 m. Hiking trails. Campsites,
S/C and B&B accommodation.
VALS-LES-BAINS :
250 m. Spa and tourist resort. Fitness centre and
specialist hospital for diabetes. Parks and gardens
with an intermittent geyser which sprays a 10 to 16
m high jet of water every six hours. Calvary dated
1732. Neo-gothic church. Casino (boule – slot
machines). Cinema. Italian-style theatre. Maison
Champanhet : a permanent museographic exhibition
about local trades and popular know-how in the
recent past. Nightclub. Olympic swimming pool.
Obstacle golf. Hiking trails. Mineral waters. Shops,
restaurants and weekly markets.
SAINT-ANDEOL-DE-VALS
: 481 m. 8th C village built around a priory
church where the Sandron and Oise streams intersect.
17th C Neo-Romanesque church with listed frescos.
The “Fauteuil du Diable” (i.e. “Devil’s Seat”) site
– a lava flow – in the hamlet of Nogier. Hiking
trails. All-in-one store (grocery – bar – newsagent
– tobacconist).
GENESTELLE : 630 m. Craux castle with
massive round towers (14th – 17th C) built in the
crater of an extinct volcano. St. Mary’s Church
(10th C). Enchanting hiking paths climbing through
chestnut groves. Picturesque hamlets include Bise (bathing
site), Conchis (formerly a fortified manor house),
and Valgironne. Compustelle flour mill with a "Saracen"
style chimney. Holiday residence, S/C and B&B
accommodation.
SAINT-JOSEPH-DES-BANCS
: 650 m. Village inside Monts d’Ardèche Regional
Nature Park. The 200 year old Maître Nougier water
mill in Mazel still presses oil and grinds flour.
Traces
of the old Roman road. Teaching farm.
Hiking trails. Sports centre with swimming pool.
Holiday residence, S/C accommodation, chalets, inn.
SAINT-JULIEN-DU-SERRE
: 340 m. Beautiful listed 12th C Romanesque church
with flying buttresses added in the 16th C and
Romanesque capitels.
The Oise and Luol river valleys. Hiking trails. Pony
club. All-in-one shop (bakery – grocery – bar).
Chestnut grove, terrace farming. S/C and B&B
accommodation.
VESSEAUX : 280
m. Valley village at the foot of the Escrinet Pass.
12th C Romanesque priory church of
Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens with a porch listed by “les
Beaux Arts” as an historic monument and a door with
interesting sculptures and inscriptions. The spire
is roofed with pantiles. Chestnut groves. Hiking
trails. S/C accommodation, campsite. Cooperative
wine cellar.
SAINT-PRIVAT :
204 m. Crossed by the Ardèche and Luol rivers. 19th
C Neo-Romanesque church. The 19th C industrial
buildings on the banks of the river Ardèche were
formerly used to twist silk thread skeins for
weaving when the Ardèche lived from the silk trade.
2.7 km long water canal for farming and industry.
Shops and services.
SAINT-DIDIER SOUS-AUBENAS
: 190 m. On the river Ardèche, it is the gateway to
Aubenas. The plain facing the rocher de Jastres was
formerly farmland. S/C accommodation, campsites.
Supermarkets, shops and services. Cooperative wine
cellar.
