Uzes

Uzès

Route: Uzès to Collias

Area: Gard, Southern France

Date of walk: 25th September 2018

Walkers: Andrew and Gilly

Distance: 1.5 miles (Uzès town) and 9.4 miles (Uzès to Collias)

Ascent: 820 feet

Weather: sunny and hot 

Today was the first day of a short walking holiday in the Gard region of France, which we booked through Inntravel. Our 3 day route will take us from hotel to hotel, ending at the famous Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct and a World Heritage Site

The first leg of our journey started in the old market town of Uzès, famous for its Saturday market. The town is full of many interesting and ancient buildings and as a result has become very popular with tourists. We were visiting late in the season and so this wouldn’t be an issue today

We started outside the tourist information office, where a free map is available. We followed an itinerary suggested by Inntravel which takes in the main sights. Note that the maps page only links to a map of the walk from Uzès to Collias and does not include the town walk

After a very pleasant meander around the beautiful streets of Uzès we set off on our journey to Collias, descending a flight of stone steps opposite the cathedral. We followed a quiet lane past an old mill through agricultural land and into an area of mostly evergreen shrubland known as garrigue. The views along this section of the walk were not extensive, but the flora provided interest, as did the hundreds of butterflies flitting around

Eventually we reached the top of the Gorges du Gardon, and the path took us along the ridge. The view down into the gorge was obscured by the woodland, save for one place where we able to make a short detour to a viewing point. Further along the ridge, Collias and its bridge came into view and we arrived at our destination, the Hostellerie le Castellas, where a hot bath soothed away the aches and pains of a long walk in the baking heat

Click on the icon below for the route map

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