Vogüé and Balazuc: Two Villages on the Middle Ardèche
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
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225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
Vogüé and Balazuc: Two Villages on the Middle Ardèche
225 + 100 XP
In the limestone defiles of the middle Ardèche, upstream of the famous lower gorge, two of the Plus Beaux Villages de France sit seven kilometres apart. Vogüé is built in a half-circle against the cliff, with the 12th-century château of its lords — remodelled in the 17th century, wrecked at the Revolution and bought back to be restored — and its terraced hanging garden overhanging the river. Balazuc stands on a rock above a ford on the Ardèche that was already in use in the late Bronze Age, around 750 BC, and its name is the only trace the Gauls left: Baladunum, from bal, the rock, and dunum, the fortified height. Its ramparts, square keep and fortified houses survive, and a flood on 22 September 1890 — the worst the valley has recorded — tore through both villages.
Required Activities
1
of 6
In the château at Vogüé, go down to the cellars and find the cachot cut into them, then back up through the Romanesque chapel to the hanging garden on the terrace above the Ardèche — and from there pick out the chapel of Saint-Cérice, la Gleyzette, higher again on the cliff above the castle
2
of 6
Go into Balazuc through the Porte de la Sablière, the best-preserved gate left in the ramparts, find the square keep, look at Yankel's stained glass in the 11th- to 13th-century church of Notre-Dame, and then find the ruined 13th-century funerary chapel of Saint-Jean-Baptiste and the sparrowhawk carved on its front — the rebus that named Guillaume des Eperviers, whose engraved grave slab turned up here in 2016
3
of 6
Walk down from Balazuc to the river and stand at the ford below the village — people were crossing here by about 750 BC, in the late Bronze Age, and the crossing is the only reason there is a fortified rock above it
4
of 6
Get on the water for the stretch between the two villages — a hundred hectares of it are classified for their natural interest — and paddle or swim down from Vogüé towards Balazuc, hiring a boat in the village if you have not brought one
5
of 6
Ride or walk out of Vogüé on the Via Ardèche greenway, which crosses the river on the great viaduct of 1877 and then follows the old railway down the valley — until 1982 this was a working junction, and the former station is now a school
6
of 6
Find the rue des Puces at Vogüé, said to be among the narrowest streets in France, and see whether you fit; then go to the church and find the stone dated 1691 on its front — the year the villagers rebuilt it themselves — and the lord's arms he put on the south face of the bell tower for his share
In the château at Vogüé, go down to the cellars and find the cachot cut into them, then back up through the Romanesque chapel to the hanging garden on the terrace above the Ardèche — and from there pick out the chapel of Saint-Cérice, la Gleyzette, higher again on the cliff above the castle
Go into Balazuc through the Porte de la Sablière, the best-preserved gate left in the ramparts, find the square keep, look at Yankel's stained glass in the 11th- to 13th-century church of Notre-Dame, and then find the ruined 13th-century funerary chapel of Saint-Jean-Baptiste and the sparrowhawk carved on its front — the rebus that named Guillaume des Eperviers, whose engraved grave slab turned up here in 2016
Walk down from Balazuc to the river and stand at the ford below the village — people were crossing here by about 750 BC, in the late Bronze Age, and the crossing is the only reason there is a fortified rock above it
Get on the water for the stretch between the two villages — a hundred hectares of it are classified for their natural interest — and paddle or swim down from Vogüé towards Balazuc, hiring a boat in the village if you have not brought one
Ride or walk out of Vogüé on the Via Ardèche greenway, which crosses the river on the great viaduct of 1877 and then follows the old railway down the valley — until 1982 this was a working junction, and the former station is now a school
Find the rue des Puces at Vogüé, said to be among the narrowest streets in France, and see whether you fit; then go to the church and find the stone dated 1691 on its front — the year the villagers rebuilt it themselves — and the lord's arms he put on the south face of the bell tower for his share
Before you go
River levels on the Ardèche change quickly after rain.
River levels on the Ardèche change quickly after rain, and the valley's worst recorded flood, on 22 September 1890, came through both villages. Leave the van outside both cores and walk in: Vogüé is built in tiers against the cliff and one of its lanes is reckoned among the narrowest streets in France.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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