Today is the last day of my short trip around the Drome, Vaucluse and Ardeche regions. My original plan when I had booked these holidays was to spend today canoeing on the Ardeche river, admiring the gorges from the bottom and passing under the famous Pont d’Arc. This was something I had done long, long ago when I was just teddy bear cub. But due to some minor health issues that I won’t go into, this was not possible on this trip, so I had to improvise. In the morning I explored the place I was staying in, Saint-Montan. At first sight, it looked like just another incredibly pretty small French village – with its church and castle.

However, when I visited the local museum, the caretaker told me about the remarkable history of the village, which was progressively abandoned from the time of the French revolution onwards, until in the late 1960s it was compeletely ruined and almost uninhabited. Then a local priest had the idea of restoring the church, and shortly afterwards the “Association of the Friends of Saint-Montan” was formed to restore the rest of the village. This project has been ongoing for over sixty years now, and is totally funded by donations from well-wishers, with no support from the state. Two schools were built and families started to move back to live there. Today the work is nearly complete and Saint-Montan is a thriving community, noticeably busier than other places of a similar size and boasting several restaurants.

After a fascinating morning exploring Saint-Montan I took to the road to visit Balazuc, a popular destination built on a cliff overlooking the Ardeche River. Unlike most of the other places I had visited on this trip, Balazuc was firmly on the main tourist route, and had no fewer than four car parks at its entrance for visitors, the first two of which were full. Perhaps I had already visited too many pretty village, but I found Balazuc slightly disappointing; it indeed had a view of the Ardeche river, the usual winding streets, and a Roman church, but seemed to lack some of the charm of other places I had been. There were lots of shops selling touristy things, and some cafés, two of which were closed – it seemed that the owners were rich enough to be able to take their own holidays during the early part of tourist season. I finally found a place that was open for a much needed coffee and some ice cream.

From Balazuc, I decided to follow a recommendation in my guide book and explore the valley of the Ibie, which has a number of attractions. But the past weeks it had not rained, and the waterfall mentioned at the deserted (but still pretty) village of Rochecolombe was dry, and the level of the Ibie river was very low. Another attraction – the Trou de la Lune – turned out to be a modest circular bathing pool with rather too many visitors to be enjoyable. Slightly disappointed, I headed back to the D290 panoramic route along the Ardeche for some final views of the magnificent gorges. The air seemed slightly clearer than yesterday, so I revisited the best belvederes and took more photos.

It was late afternoon, and I thought briefly about visiting another limestone cave to escape the heat (after all, bears like caves!). But finally I decided to head back to my gite and simply relax on the terrace with a drink, before heading off to have dinner in a nearby restaurant – after hearing the story of the village, I wanted to support a local business. Over a dinner of steak tartare and a beer, I reflected on this trip. I had managed to pack an incredible variety of things into just one week. The famous Gorges de l’Ardeche, Aven D’Orgnac cave, Mont Ventoux, countless (maybe too many) pretty villages, lavender fields, Grignan Castle, some spectacular mountain roads and the truly unique Palais Ideal du Facteur Cheval. There had been surprisingly few tourists, since many of my destinations had been a little off the beaten track, and the prices for accommodation, food and drink had been very reasonable. This is one of very few places in the world I will come back too – it is so easy to get here from London, and after all I still have to do my canoeing trip down the Ardeche. Next time, I will come in early June when it will be a bit cooler and when more of the lavender fields will be in bloom.

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