A typical 10 night cycling holiday in Provence

A typical diary for a 10 day gentle tourer in Provence

Day 1 St Remy de Provence

The swimming pool, shady terraces and traditional Provencal buildings make the Hotel du Soleil in St Remy de Provence wonderfully cool and comfortable. Your table is reserved for dinner at La Gousse d'Ail, in the medieval part of town.

Day 2 St Remy de Provence

I just love St Remy. We wandered through the old medieval city to find our restaurant, and then ate a meal out of this world. This morning the town is filled with a market. Stalls of herbs and honey, ropes of garlic and olives of every size and colour and taste. Rolls of printed cotton festoon the square like bunting on a celebration day. It is glorious. Ready, at last, we cycle off to Les Baux, a medieval hilltop town. We follow the old road towards Arles which is covered by a cooling canopy of bamboo, before climbing towards the summit. Fantastic views!

Day 3 St Remy -Lagnes 28kms

Pack our panniers remembering to include lots of suncream, a hat and glasses. We shall live on fruit at lunchtime as local peaches, apricots and cherries are already available. Meander along tiny, empty backroads with the occasional small village and welcoming café Cavaillon comes as a shock, but it has one of the only bridges across the river, so lots of traffic. Then back into the peace of orchards and vast fields of pinks. After a generous welcome and refreshing swim we have a delicious dinner on the terrace under the vines.

Day 4 Lagnes

An easy day, if your chain doesn't come off, you don't lose your family and you don't have a late start! Down the road to Fontaine de Vaucluse, the cavernous mouth of the River Sorgue where Jacques Cousteau spent a summer trying, without success, to plumb the depths; the very chilly water comes from the Alps. Our children hire canoes and paddle to Isle sur Sorgue. Meanwhile we visit the Museum of the French Resistance which helps put France today into perspective.

Day 5 Lagnes-Orange 37kms

Good run, easy going most of the day. Planned our lunch stop at Velleron where there is a little restaurant if we prefer 'proper food'. Quick diversion when we see the signpost for the Grottes de Thouzon which turn out to have superb stalactites and are lovely and cool. We arrive just in time as they are shut for 2 hours at lunchtime. In Orange get lost looking for the hotel. It turns out to be charming. An old farmhouse surrounded by a flower garden with a sparkling pool and lovely owners.

Day 6 Orange

Some of our party choose a lazy day in the garden with a book, the other more energetic half visit Orange. We arrive in style through the Triumphal Arch, the most ornate of its kind in France, then search out the great Roman amphitheatre. It is cut from the rock and it is easy to imagine an evening performance of Madame Butterfly or the Barber of Seville filling the space with sound and light and colour.

Day 7 Orange-St Laurent des Arbres 18kms

Having just crossed the bridge at Roquemaure, and looking for the road to Tavel, we hear a shout behind us and realise we are the centre of attention. A beaming Mister Pickwick character waves us over and invites us for a drink in his restaurant - at least that is what it turns out to mean - we think we are about to go to prison! Once the owner of a 'Susi' hotel, he now has a restaurant. We are delighted with the stop and end up having lunch there too.

Day 8 St Laurent des Arbres

Enjoy a walk round the old town of Uzès. Large squares with arcades, and a great Sunday market. Cyrano de Bergerac was filmed here, we can easily imagine Gerard Depardieu stepping out from behind a column, swashbuckling and all that. The hotel has a pool on the roof - we think this is a first! Discover kiwi fruit grow in France, rampantly by all accounts, and just outside Uzès.

Day 9 St Laurent-Collias 26kms

We hire canoes for a float down the River Gardon with the bikes meeting us later. Shocked and delighted by the sight of the Pont du Gard towering above us. So big, so magnificent. Amazing to think how old it is. Until recently anybody could walk along the top, no hand rails, no extra insurance. All forbidden now. A lovely swim in the river right under the bridge.

Day 10 St Remy de Provence 40kms

Fabulous day. Nearly all downhill. Last minute shopping and then home again tomorrow. Already planning next year!