Cycle Touring in France: Can we get any higher?

The plan after leaving Aurec was to head for the Pilat National Park. Not having had internet access we had a map of the area but not with contours. The first 45 minutes cycling out of Aurec was all uphill, followed by a 'brakes on all the way down' steep decline to the next valley, followed by what seemed to be uphill for the rest of the day. Not surprisingly, we found ourselves at around 1200m at the days end! The area is quite strange because it is not dramatically high like the English lakes, but rolling countryside that varies between 1000 and 1400m, so when you are on the tops it looks very pretty, with lots of grass, flowers, birds, cows in the fields etc, but the air has a chilly feel, even when it's fairly sunny. In winter it is a Nordic ski area. We could not find accommodation in the villages so ended up booking a chambre d'hôte again. I made the big mistake of taking one of the GR paths (suitable for mountain bikes) and we ended up pushing our bikes up a treacherous hill and down the other side before finding our isolated residence for the night. It was a beautiful place though. The family had renovated a large farmhouse and fitted it out with top of the range, modern fittings, although it was also full of antique furniture and original oil paintings.

Today we had the pleasure of returning to a reasonable height and it was literally downhill all the way for 80km to Vienne, the first part on quiet, country roads and the last section on cycle paths by the Rhone. We arrived just in time to visit the Roman ruins before they closed for the day, found a hotel and had dinner on the terrace, accompanied by a few glasses of Provence Rose. What a great day! We are here for two nights and will spend tomorrow sightseeing.

Early morning in the High Pilat (this picture was taken at a point higher than anywhere in England!)