A journey by Vélorail

Annie - reception 2015

Vélorail is one of our most popular partner activities, and recently I had the chance to try it out for myself. Situated in the former train station of the village of Sainte-Eulalie-de-Cernon, it's about an hour's drive from the campsite if you go via the Millau Viaduct (which is definitely worth seeing), or about an hour and a quarter if you take an alternate route.

There are two different courses to choose from: Les Papillons and Les Orchidées. Les Papillons lasts an hour and a half and consists of an 8km there and back journey on the vélorail. Les Orchidées is also 8km on the vélorail, but with a return journey by train. This is what my family chose to do.

The Vélorail itself resembles a sort of cart on the tracks with two bicycle saddles with pedals in front, and a seat behind, so that two people are always pedalling and the others are passengers and can sit back and enjoy the view. It's possible to ask for a baby seat too, so you can have a go even with very young children.

The station master explains how everything works, and then you're off! If the idea of pedalling a cart along railway lines on a warm summer's day seems daunting, don't worry - on Les Orchidées at least, the pedalling isn't too hard. The track is ever so slightly downhill - unnoticeable when you're just looking, but enough to let you ride along easily.

You're allowed to stop along the way to swap control of the pedals or to take photos of the stunning views from the old viaducts of little villages built against the slopes of green mountains.

At the end of the line (which arrived disappointingly quickly, we enjoyed ourselves so much), there is another little station, "La Bastide Pradines". We were met by another cheerful station master and he told us that we had about half an hour to wait until the remaining vélos and the train arrived. We ate the sandwiches that we had brought at the picnic tables provided, followed by coffee and a chocolate crêpe from the little café inside the station. On the train journey back we saw the beautiful landscape once again whilst the station master kept us entertained with her antics in the tunnels.

It really was a fun and enjoyable experience, great for kids and adults of all ages. If you would like to go, come along to reception, and we can give you more information and make a reservation for you!