The Picnic Spot

Having left the Ravin des Arcs carpark, we headed north and turned left along the presumably ancient D1 towards the River Hérault. It is one of those green-marked roads in Michelin maps, and once past the quarry with over-sized Tonka trucks in perfect view, it did indeed become very pretty and well worth its green appellation.

Up and over the escarpment, we came down to the river and noticed we were not alone... It is a favourite spot for picnickers, with its wide banks of grassy meadows, and rocky beaches. We drove on, not wanting too much cheek-by-jowlness with our fellow man, and came to the Pont St Etienne d'Issensac.

It is an ancient stone bridge, so narrow, you have to negotiate two stone posts to ensure your car will not get stuck half-way across. Some idiot has adorned them with graffiti which is a shame, but typical.

On the other side, we found the perfect spot, with inbuilt seating! It was perfect because it afforded us with the ideal view of the bridge, was isolated and surrounded by water.


Our spot was an island in the river handily eroded by the water thus providing us with seating on the rocks.

We even had inhouse entertainment from some students on a rallye who kept swimming across the river under the bridge obviously having a great time from the shouts and whoops that floated over to us. They were interestingly dressed in knight costumes made out of potato sacking, and one guy was decked out in a rather nice marroon jersey skirt.

We observed all this from a safe distance, listening to more bullfrog serenading, supping rosé wine with our jambon cru sandwiches, salt&vinegar crisps, chorizo and cherry tomatoes. Having arrived for an early lunch, by the time the rest of the hoards were out and about, we were ready to leave. A large party of families turned up to disturb the peace, and we left them to it, happily replete.