Abbaye de Sainte-Croix d'Apt

After yesterday's climbing into the clouds today was perfectly blue (although still very windy) and looking 15/20 odd miles back to Ventoux the top was shining in the sunlight like my bald spot under a spotlight. For a few seconds I did think about heading back to do it again but with accommodation booked and to be frank the thought of that wind again I pressed on further into Provence.

First stop was L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue a beautiful town which also happens to have the largest Sunday market in the Provence area of France. It's a food, flea and antique market and takes over the town with stalls down ever lane, in ever square and along the stream that winds through the town. If you're a potterer it is pottering heaven. With live French music and the cafes and restaurants buzzing you could easily spend a whole day taking in the sights, sounds and smells all with some great food and wine.

After a longer lunch stopped than planned I headed out of town and picked up a completed part of the EuroVelo 8 cycle route which mostly uses an old railway line now converted to a cycle and walkway. With no traffic and vineyards and fields full of poppies either side it was an easy and very picturesque ride through the Luberon valley.

I did take one diversion and that was upto the stunning hill side town of Bonnieux. Well worth the extra burn on the thighs to get there as not only is it a beautiful old town with twisting steep lanes but it offers amazing views across the valley and as far back to Mont Ventoux that was still teasing me with its white top shining in the sunshine. The local football team also have one of the best settings for a pitch to run round on a Sunday morning I've seen. Definitely beats an away day at Cranleigh!

After a short ride to Apt past more vineyards and chateaus including the Chateaux La Canorgue (where they apparently do a great wine tasting, just not on Sundays!) which was used in A Good Year it was time to call it a day.

With a huge fun fair this evening in Apt it's time for a wander and some pasta and wine. Some big rides coming up through the Verdon Gorge (Europe's answer to the Gran Caynon) so its going to be an early one tonight.Read more