Travelogue- Millau

Travelogue - We climbed to the clifftops and through the caves of the gorges of the Tarn, the Dourbie and the Jonte, relaxed in the shade in Millau and investigated the intricacies of Roquefort cheese.

We met Hadley and his cousin Elliott, and their friends, Harry, Aden and Lucy in Montpellier and headed up to Lozeres looking for a quiet spot to spend some time together. We were very lucky to find a wonderful hostel in Millau, a refreshing, relaxed town at the confluence of the Tarn and Dourbie rivers. This is the area of the Grand Causses - three large, arid plateaux, largely limestone and separated by three deep limestone gorges - an area of cliffs, caves and rushing rivers, sheep, goats and cheese. Millau is also the paragliding, rock climbing and white water rafting capital of France. The hostel is on the bank of the Tarn, set among shadey trees and adjacent to green sporting fields - a wonderful place to relax for a few days.

We walked in the Tarn Gorge, amongst an array of the most fantastic limestone cliffs and eroded shapes, a deep valley with the Tarn river running clear and strong at the bottom, little villages built into the cliffs, terraced gardens, vultures wheeling overhead. In the Gorge of the Dourbie we found caves and explored the larger ones. The caves further south are the famous Roquefort caves where the sheep's cheese is kept for months in order to develop the famous blue of the Roquefort cheese. The particular conditions of the caves, the temperature and the draughts flowing through the caves result in the process which makes the most delicious cheese. The milk comes from sheep grazed in a particular area under prescribed conditions- it is all strictly controlled, so production is limited - demand is growing - so it is a good business and is all part of the French understanding and love of local, regional produce. When McDonalds attempted to build an outlet in Millau the local farmers lead by a Roquefort producer called Jose Bove dismantled the building piece by piece handing out Roquefort chees to the onlookers and assembled media - it was a masterpiece of collective action against globalisation. Unfortunatly the McDonalds has been rebuilt but Roquefort cheese holds a very important place in France and the action has resulted in serious anti globalisation campaigns in France.

Millau is also the place where English engineers and French builders combined to build the Viaduc, an incredible bridge across the Tarn Gorge - it is a masterpiece of modern engineering and a combination of grace, beauty and functionality - it says a lot about modern France.