Closer to the stars

Since 2021, from Corbes in the southern Cévennes, Victor André has been helping visitors discover the local landscape, geology and know-how through Reliefs et Nature, a structure offering guided outings on foot or by bike.

Among his various discovery outings, the one entitled "Dans le vignoble du Piémont" is particularly close to his heart:

Departing from the Mas des Manhans vineyard, I take young and old on a 20-30 km mountain bike loop, between roads and gentle slopes.

Along the way, the limestone hills of the Cévennes Piedmont are revealed: the Rouquette and Saint-Chamand mountains, holm oak woods, streams, olive groves, mulberry trees and vines bear witness to a terroir shaped by man, but still alive.

Each detour is an encounter between nature and memory, and my stroll is punctuated by anecdote-filled stops. In front of an old silkworm nursery, I recount the rebirth of sericulture thanks to the innovation of Séricyne, a local company that is breathing new life into Cévennes silk. In Monoblet, I evoke the history of the octagonal Protestant temple, witness to the upheavals of religious history. In Fressac, the ruins of a Camisard castle recall the resistance of the Cévenol people.

There's no shortage of naturalist attractions either: fossils in the steep Contourby riverbed, or the elegant European Roller, a migratory bluebird that nests in the cavities of plane trees.

To round off the walk, participants are invited to a tasting of organic wines from Mas des Manhans, an IGP Cévennes estate grown without added sulfites, also stamped "Esprit Parc National" Esprit parc national.

In addition to these bike outings, Reliefs et Nature also offers themed hikes - including stag bellow, geology, mushrooms, astronomy - and a bike rental and delivery service throughout the southern Cévennes, up to Mont Lozère.