The Monts d'Ardèche are not tall, but they are steep, and that is what makes them interesting. Around the valley of the Eyrieux, between Saint-Sauveur-de-Montagut, Le Cheylard and Privas, the land is a tangle of narrow ridges and deep, wooded gorges, falling from the high plateau toward the Rhône. Chestnut woods cover most of the slopes, and on the lower ground the old terraces, built by hand to hold soil on the hillsides, still step down in grey stone walls, many of them abandoned and overgrown.
The roads here are the pleasure. They follow the ridges and the river sides in a long run of tight bends, with hairpins where they have to climb and drop and a lot of blind corners that reward a measured speed. The surface varies from smooth to patchy, with gravel on the corners after rain or after a wash of chestnut leaves, so scan ahead. There is little traffic outside the summer holidays, and in the early morning the valley can be filled with mist while the ridges stand clear above it.
Chestnut is the key to the culture of the place. For centuries the tree provided flour, food for animals and timber, and the Ardèche's chestnut is still protected as a regional product, celebrated in markets and festivals in autumn. The Eyrieux valley is also known for its fruit, especially peaches, cherries and apricots, which ripen in the warm, sheltered lower reaches, so that in spring the blossom is a strong reason to ride the valley floor. Silk was once a major industry, too, and traces of old mills and mulberry trees remain.
Fuel is the thing to plan with care. Saint-Sauveur-de-Montagut and Le Cheylard are small towns with basic services and a pump or two, but they close early and on Sundays, and hamlets between them have nothing. Privas, about fifteen kilometres away, is the bigger option, and the main roads to the east are better supplied. Carry water in summer, since the valley can be very hot and still, and expect phone signal to vanish in the deepest folds.