About Mas Du Diable

Mas du Diable is a very special place, set into the North East foothills of the Cévennes mountains, in the Languedoc region of Southern France. Perched high up in a mountain crevice looking out over the valley with mountains as far as the eye can see.


Image: View from Mas du Diable

About the House

Mas du Diable was built in the Twelfth Century on a natural water source, which wells up through a stone grotto below the house, and still provides our water today. The Mas was originally a working farm, its 24 acres (9 hectares) of south facing terraced land produced the food, including the earliest potatoes of the region, for nearby Portes Castle. The donkey track that once connected Mas du Diable to the castle is still present and now forms part of a public walking path.




The house and farmland are sited at the top of small mountain valley, with two steep slopes, one facing due south and the other south-west. The slopes are terraced with dry stone retaining walls, sometimes 13ft high, in the traditional Cevenol manner called bancels. The house and a small flower garden are high up on the south-facing slope. The terraces below are home to the vegetable gardens or Potagers, Orchard or Verger and polytunnel or Serre. The remaining land is forested, predominately with Sweet Chestnut and Maritime Pine.
Read more about The Story of How the Mas got its Name

Landscape and Climate
The landscape is breathtaking, the air is fresh and the climate is exciting with seasons that stretch from snow covered mountains in deep winter to the dry blistering heat of Mediterranean summers.




Longitude 4:03:32E (4.059) Latitude 44:16:01N (44.267)
Height 480 metres above sea level
Climate Mediterranean
First Frost Dates Week 46  
Last Frost Dates Week 14
Lowest Temperature in winter can reach -15 degrees Celsius, though we've only had -7 so far and is more likely to be in the region of -5.
Highest Temperature in summer is around 42 degrees Celsius.
Sunlight over the year we experience an average of 300 days of sunshine. The light can be pure and crisp particularly when the mistral blows down from the North spreading its icy fingers wide as it reaches the Rhone delta.

Location


Mas du Diable is situated within the outer sphere of the Cévennes National Park. The park was created in 1970 and declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1985. The Cévennes National Park stretches across three Departments (54 % in Lozère, 36% in Gard and 10% in Ardèche). In altitude it rises from 378 to 1,699 metres above sea level with several rivers, including the river Gard or Gardon, flowing through it.

The range of vegetation is extreme: the sub-alpine meadows of mont Lozère are home to some species typical of the polar circle, while the warm rocky sheltered valleys of the mediterranean side of the Park are home to species normally found in the sub-tropics.
The richness of the flora (2,250 species) is attributable to the diversity of climate (Oceanic, Continental and Mediterranean), the chemical composition of the soil (granite, limestone and schist) and the range of altitudes in the protected zone (from 378 to 1,699 metres above sea level).

There are three ecological centres within the park: The Ecomusée of mont Lozère, The Ecomusée of the Cévennes, and The Ecomusée of the Causse.

To read more about the Reserve de biosphere des Cévennes (in French) go to http://www.pnc.fr/default.aspx
Or The Cévennes National Park (in English) http://www.bsi.fr/pnc/English/english.htm