A typical 7 night cycling holiday in Burgundy

A typical diary for an 7 night gentle tourer in Burgundy

Day 1 Fleurville

A superb chateau hotel with park, swimming pool and tennis court. This is the gastronomic centre of France. We sit on the terrace for our introductory aperitif and then it is dinner under the stars. What a way to start a holiday. Already feel wonderfully relaxed.

Day 2 Fleurville

Frank, our assistant, asks us to take a gentle cycle beside the river to check the gears and the saddle position. It already feels very hot. The cycling is gloriously easy with wild flowers and rushes by the roadside and spectacular views of the hills in the distance. Wind our way through the countryside towards Pont de Vaux where market day is in full swing. Buy our picnic, too much, of course, a bottle of mineral water and some more suncream.

Day 3 Fleurville -Chatillon sur Chalaronne 25kms

Pack our panniers and we are on our way. We have the countryside to ourselves, not a soul about, it's the cycling ideal. We reach Chatillon sur Chalaronne in time for lunch. The town is lovely - wooden market place, old buildings, flowers everywhere. We find a bar where every coffee is followed by a chaser of red wine. Lunch is taken squeezed between several large farmers who keep topping up our glasses. Luckily everybody has heard of Manchester United!

Day 4 Chatillon

We wake to find quite a hubbub going on in the square. It is the start of the best market we have ever seen. It bursts out all over town, jamming every road, filling every square, flowing onto pavements. It's a glorious cacophony of voices, animal and human and we love it. The cheese stall and the saucisson stall provide us with a very tasty picnic which we take with us on our visit to the Parc des Oiseaux at Villars. We spend a couple of hours wandering through the gardens. The baby vultures are the highlight of the day, probably the ugliest little birds we have ever seen. A lovely cycle home through the Dombes and think about the film 'Ridicule' which we enjoyed so much, and which was all about this area.

Day 5 Chatillon sur Chalaronne-Julienas 26kms

We've planned a day among the vineyards culminating in a visit to Georges Duboeuf's Wine Museum which is in the old railway station at Romanèche. Monsieur, with the waxed moustache, speaks English and makes the tour fascinating. We finish tasting some lovely wines and then wobble off to Julienas. The grape picking has just started and some of the grapes have been squashed by tractors, the perfume permeates the air, in the gutters there are rivers of wine. We are invited into a farm to taste the first pressing, known locally as 'le paradis' which is a rich fruit juice. Gorgeous.

Day 6 Julienas

A charming little village. Our hotel offers dinner in the courtyard, and has the most welcoming owners. Buy a new large gent's swimming costume at the village outfitters for our swim in the lake at St. Point. During the holiday we have swum in several rivers as well as the lake, and we have all loved the freedom of escaping a pool, although picking wild strawberries is still our favourite pastime. The old town in Macon is worth a visit. We have a drink in Maison du Bois and then decide to take the long route back via Pouilly and Fuisse which gives us a spectacular view of the Roc de Solutre.

Day 7 Julienas-Fleurville 25kms

We decide to have another day in the hills. The vineyards all have famous names Villie Morgan, Chiroubles, Fleurie, and we are tempted to do some tasting despite the increasing heat. Fellow cyclists, the real sort, whizz past us with a cheer and 'Allez, allez'. We feel as though we are part of the Tour de France, although possibly the walking tour! The golden stone of the chateaux glows on the hills above us. A flock of sheep and goats bleating and browsing along the verges gives us another excuse to stop.

Day 8

Back home today, with a stock of fine wines. A grand souvenir of a lovely cuisine

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