The Venue

Abri writing courses are held at Gardoussel Retreat, a small, self-contained hamlet 1.5km from the pretty village of St André de Valborgne  in the heart of the Cévennes mountains. We are situated about 85 km north-west of the city of Nîmes, in the Gard district which makes up part of the Languedoc-Roussillon region.

The hamlet is made up of a former magnanerie (silkworm farm), an adjacent barn, a wooden roundhouse, several ruins and a large stretch of meadow and mountainside. A river flows through the foot of the property. Since purchasing the site in 2005 we have created several extra spaces and now have a total of 9 bedrooms sleeping up to 24 people. We also have 2 living and dining rooms, a roundhouse, a teaching room, an outdoor yoga deck and a boma (African-style fire pit). We are in the process (2024) of installing a wooden micro-gîte for use by our cooks and the occasional guest. Finally, we have a large chicken coop for our organically-raised chickens.

The local area offers a wide variety of hiking trails, river bathing and pretty villages... or you can simply explore the hills behind the hamlet or relax in a hammock in our peaceful gardens & grounds.

On-site, Frances Yates offers Ayurvedic massages. Alex Duncan is available to give Ayurvedic consultations to anyone interested in knowing more about their Ayurvedic 'type' and tips for better health.

Travel

BY AIR

From the UK you can fly direct to Nimes with Ryanair from Stansted, Edinburgh and Dublin from just £30 one-way. A bus can then take you to the village of St Jean du Gard from where we can pick you up. Or of course you can share a taxi.

You can also fly into Montpellier (Easyjet and British Airways) or Marseilles (Buzz and BA among others).

BY TRAIN

Eurostar runs direct from London St Pancras to Lille or Paris, then you can take a TGV ‘fast train’ service to Nîmes (just under 3 hours).  See here for details. Then take a bus or shared taxi to St Jean du Gard from where we can pick you up. Trainline is also an excellent source of train information both into and within France.

Please note that retreats start with dinner on the first day (usually a Saturday) at 20h. If you are coming by public transport then please ensure you arrive in Nimes by 17h30 in time to catch the last bus from Nimes to St Jean du Gard (the A12), from where we can collect you or organise a taxi share. This bus leaves Nimes from just behind the train station and arrives in St Jean du Gard at 19h. (see 'BUS')

PS. We are in the heart of the Cevennes mountains in France. Travel requires a degree of planning and forethought. Although we are happy to assist with travel plans, we are not a travel agent. The information provided here is generally acurate. That said, travel providers sometimes change from season to season. So please take the time to investigate your route well in advance!

BUSES

There are 1-4 buses a day from Nîmes to St Jean du Gard (about 25 mins away from Gardoussel by car) but the handiest is usually the one leaving Nîmes at approx. 17h30 (arr. 18h55). Check for current bus times here or ask us for help.

* We can help to organize shared transport from St Jean du Gardand are happy to collect you from our local village of St André de Valborgne. If our commitments allow, we may be able pick you up from St Jean du Gard, where the bus from Nîmes terminates.

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BEST PUBLIC TRAVEL STRATEGY

Travel to Nimes by air (then shuttle bus to train station) or by TGV/train then

take a bus from Nimes train station to Saint Jean du Gard (line A12) then

we collect you or can organise a taxi to Gardoussel.

The bus journey from Nimes train station to Gardoussel takes about 2 hours.

There are not many buses however, so make sure to study the time tables.

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HIRE CAR

All our local airports have hire car depots. Nîmes and Montpellier are each about 1½ hrs from Gardoussel, Marseilles is at 2½ hours, Lyon is 5+ hours and Paris about 6-7 hours. Having a car is useful if you want to explore the local area further afield. If several of you are coming together, it is also a cost-viable alternative to a shared taxi, since the cost of hiring a vehicle can be about the same as the cost of a taxi run. If you are interested in volunteering to hire a vehicle and act as driver, let us know so we can help you organise this.

Wallgreen offers very good rates. They have a depot in Nimes and two in Montpellier, also one in Marseilles. You need to get a taxi from the airport to their offices but at prices from 9€ / day they're the cheapest we've found.

Get detailed road directions to Abri at Gardoussel, St Andre de Valborgne.

BAGGAGE HOLD IN NIMES

To facilitate your time in our local city of Nimes, note that the Hôtel Abalone (23 Avenue Feuchères) just opposite the main entrance to the train statio can hold your baggage for 5 euros / day. Nimes is really worth spending a day or two in, to get a taste for traditional south of France culture.