In St Hippolyte du Fort, with its vestiges of Vauban fortifications, you can visit the Silk Museum (04.66.77.66.47) and the Fire Brigade Museum, both of which are unique. St Hippolyte du Fort, the largest commune in the Cevenol Region, offers many services. When you visit the town, you will be able to admire its 13 fountains and do not bother to ask the time, because you will be able to read it on the 23 sun dials which decorate the facades of the houses.
The hillsides of the mountain of La Fage shelter the village of Cros, which covers several hamlets made up of typical Cevenol farmhouses, lying along the Upper Vidourle Valley. It is accessible by the D169 on the left, at the exit of St Hippolyte on the road towards Lasalle.
On the opposite side, La Fage shelters Cambo and, at its base, La Cadière, a small village, spectacular for its winding gorges carved out of the rock. Accessible from St Hippolyte du Fort by the D999, La Cadière is famous for the automobile rally "special", which follows the D137 through the winding Cézas gorges. To be visited at a gentle pace, provided that you have a head for heights.
Return to St Hippolyte du Fort and take the D25 to Pompignan.
Away from the main roads, cross the plateau of Maselle, formerly a forest and now a moorland, a surprising contrast with the foothills which we have just left behind.
Pompignan paving and stone are extracted from the limestone quarries.
After visiting the village, take the D181 towards Sauve and stop at Conqueyrac and the abbey of the monks of Montfortins de la Gardiolem and visit the Chapel of St André de Conqueyrac, a very attractive example of Romanesque architecture, which is the venue for concerts and receptions.
At the crossroads, take the D181, a small road which crosses the plain, and, as you cross the ford, notice the bed of the Vidourle on each side of the road, which only flows here after heavy rain.
On your right, follow the D982 road to Durfort, a medieval village perched on a hilltop and crowned with a magnificent restored keep and the remains of a castle. It was at Durfort that, in 1868, the skeleton of an "elepheas meridionalis", a mammoth, was discovered.
As you leave Durfort, on the road to Anduze, turn right at the roundabout, on to the D285 to reach St Martin de Sossenac, where the ruins of a former Romanesque parish church can be found. Continue along this road which is typical of the Lower Cevennes region, until you reach a crossroads, where you can take the D21 on your left, followed by the D213 on your right to Fressac, where you can admire its legendary castle.
At the intersection, take the road on your left towards Durfort. You will pass through the Hameau de Montezes, where the first Assembly of the Desert was held. Alongside the plain stands Mas Coutelle, home to the writer, Florian.
