Following the walking group’s expedition to the Gorges de l’Areuse, Mark 2”r”s decided to take the hiking group to the same starting point but to head off in a different direction and visit the Creux de Van, Switzerland’s Grand Canyon. Mark had given careful thought to the location of a suitable restaurant for lunch and decided that we needed to leave Divonne at 08:00, a restaurant closer to the end of the walk would have entailed an earlier start and potential mutiny.
Accordingly 7 of us gathered in Divonne at 8 a.m. and decamped into 2 cars for the roughly 90 minute drive to Noiraigue railway station, alt 729m according to several GPSs and the signpost, where we had a coffee and ate the pains aux chocolate that Mark had kindly provided (hope no precedence was being set!). Then Captain Bligh announced that we were already 30 minutes behind schedule so we hurriedly donned boots and set off.
We had a reasonably gentle climb over the first couple of kilometres to les Oillons at 1015m.
Then the path started to get steeper and zig-zagged up through countless contours until we came out to the spectacular view at 1374m. There was much ooohing and aaahing and taking of photographs, including one of the whole team.
After the excitement of the rim and moving the railway station and the bouquetin it was time to move to the restaurant for lunch. This was the real excitement with Mark wondering if we should have turned left at the bouquetin and imagining the abuse he was going to get if we were late for lunch. However we arrived at the charming la Grand ‘Vy for well deserved beers and a great lunch. We were supposed to socially distance at 2 ends of a long table but somehow failed that test – maybe it was the absinthe.
Reluctantly we eventually continued with Mark encouraging us by announcing that it was all downhill from here on. True but much harder on old knees. We got back to the cars just after 4 for the drive home.
A great day out, thanks to t’other Mark for arranging the route, the weather and the pains aux chocolate. Click this link for a load of other photos, including a panoramic video taken at the rim.
14.2 km, 774m. Richard S, Mervyn, David C, Rob, Philip, 2 Marks.
If he did photoshop the old railway station, he did it exceedingly well.
Philip
Looks a super day out with patisseries and absinthe thrown in. I think we did the same route a few years ago in poorer weather and without the p and a.😅 Great stuff.
Ps unbelievable train station. Did Philip photoshop it?