Stevenson Trail: Where Robert Louis Stevenson Walked with Modestine
Occitanie, France
Badge Unlock
Modestine's Companion
Complete this challenge to add this badge to your collection.
300
XP
+100 France
= 400 total
1 day
Stevenson Trail: Where Robert Louis Stevenson Walked with Modestine
300 + 100 XP
In the autumn of 1878 the 28-year-old Robert Louis Stevenson crossed the Cévennes with his donkey Modestine and wrote Travels with a Donkey. The GR 70 follows his route for about 250 km from Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille to Saint-Jean-du-Gard; just beyond La Bastide-Puylaurent it reaches Notre-Dame-des-Neiges at 1,100 m, where he stayed on 26 September 1878 and which has been a house of Cistercian nuns since December 2022, after 170 years of Trappist monks.
Required Activities
1
of 3
Walk the GR 70 south-east out of La Bastide-Puylaurent on Stevenson's own line, crossing the Rieufret where it meets the Allier — the stream that once divided the Gévaudan from the Vivarais — and follow the red and white flashes up through the forest to the abbey, the same climb he made with Modestine
2
of 3
Walk up to Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, founded in August 1850 by seven religious who came from Aiguebelle with a cart and one horse, and where Stevenson spent 26 September 1878 and filled a long chapter of Travels with a Donkey; sit in on one of the offices the community sings in public, and compare what you hear with what he wrote about the monks
3
of 3
At Notre-Dame-des-Neiges find the Mémorial to Charles de Foucauld, who walked in as a viscount on 16 January 1890, took the habit ten days later as Brother Marie-Albéric, and was made a saint in 2022, then buy whatever the sisters are selling in the abbey shop
Walk the GR 70 south-east out of La Bastide-Puylaurent on Stevenson's own line, crossing the Rieufret where it meets the Allier — the stream that once divided the Gévaudan from the Vivarais — and follow the red and white flashes up through the forest to the abbey, the same climb he made with Modestine
Walk up to Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, founded in August 1850 by seven religious who came from Aiguebelle with a cart and one horse, and where Stevenson spent 26 September 1878 and filled a long chapter of Travels with a Donkey; sit in on one of the offices the community sings in public, and compare what you hear with what he wrote about the monks
At Notre-Dame-des-Neiges find the Mémorial to Charles de Foucauld, who walked in as a viscount on 16 January 1890, took the habit ten days later as Brother Marie-Albéric, and was made a saint in 2022, then buy whatever the sisters are selling in the abbey shop
Before you go
The GR 70 is walked from April to October; above 1,100 m the weather turns fast and there is snow on the ground into spring. Notre-Dame-des-Neiges is an enclosed community: only the church, the Mémorial and the shop are open to visitors, offices are sung at fixed hours, and the rest of the house is closed. Beds on the GR 70 fill in July and August and should be booked.
Finding nearby campsites...
About Occitanie
Loading region info…
Explore more about Occitanie:
Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
More challenges nearby
within 100km
Mont Lozère: The Summit of Finiels, the Highest Point of the Cévennes
France · Occitanie
sports
medium
1d
23 km away
Young Volcanoes of the Ardèche: The Devil's Bridge, Jaujac and the Ray-Pic
France · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
nature
medium
2d
27 km away
Mont Gerbier de Jonc and the Mézenc: The Source of the Loire and the Roof of Two Departments
France · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
nature
medium
1d
37 km away
Château de Portes, La Grand-Combe and Chamborigaud: The Ship of the Cévennes and the Coal Country
France · Occitanie
history
easy
1d
37 km away
Florac and the Stevenson Trail
France · Occitanie
ecotourism
hard
2d
39 km away
Vogüé and Balazuc: Two Villages on the Middle Ardèche
France · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
scenic
easy
1d
41 km away