A five-day hike around Mont Ventoux, the southern France mountain that strikes fear into the hearts of Tour de France cyclists every few years, is equally confronting and rewarding.
!” a friend exclaimed when I told her about my planned hike through Northern Provence with a mate who just happens to be a former TV personality turned highly successful TV writer.? We should be so lucky. With all due respect to my pal Kieran Prendiville, neither of us is as funny or famous as Messrs Coogan or Brydon, of the acclaimed TV travel series.
The launch point was the endlessly delightful walled city of Avignon followed by a 27-kilometre train and taxi transfer to the village of Venasque. This was the first of the perched villages we would encounter, sitting high on one of the rocky outcrops that dot the landscape. Next morning we set out to burn off the previous night’s calories and earn the next carb loading, beginning with the eight-hour loop that would take us back to Venasque.At first the paths meandered downhill through lush meadows, every step reminding us that gravity would take its toll on our eventual return. Once we started to climb, tiny religious grottos near natural springs competed with stunning vistas for our attention, at least until the track turned from moderate to hard. Very hard.
The downside was that when the talking overtook the walking, critical marker tags were missed, signs were misread and wrong turns were taken. Consequently, compass, route notes and photocopied sections of detailed maps came into their own and got us to our goals, weary but unwounded. Mazan is one of the larger towns on this trail, and fruit and cheese bought next morning at the open-air market, paired with breads from the guide’s recommended boulangerie, substituted for the picnic lunches the other auberges supplied.
The next stop, Les Geraniums, a boutique hotel at Le Barroux, was the faded side of charming. At Les Florets, the digs at Gigondas for the last two nights, there is a superb restaurant, with every dish a winner – especially the “surprise” starters.The last day was spent walking around and up into the dramatic dragons’ teeth of Les Dentelles. How was it? Don’t ask. Joking aside, the approach paths were wide and leisurely, the climbs were confronting and the views breathtaking.
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