Tag Archives: Peak Tours

Cycling Channel to the Med, Day 14: Castellane to the Med at Cagnes-sur-Mer

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This post recounts the fourteenth and final day of my English Channel to the Mediterranean cycle tour in France with Peak Tours in June 2025. Read Day 13: Les Salles-sur-Verdon to Castellane.

We made it to the Med!

At breakfast, I had a few butterflies as I so often do before a ride. This was magnified by chatting to Tim about London Edinburgh London, the 1,530km audax ride we’re both tackling in August. That’s 950 miles in five days, compared with 873 miles in 14 days on this tour. Channel to the Med has been brilliant training, and if LEL coincides with a heatwave I’ll know what to expect.

Once again today we had a long climb from the outset, although nothing like as steep as the ascent to the Gorges du Verdon yesterday. We climbed 1,000 feet in just over five miles, and I stopped to look back to Castellane and the Roc as you can see above. (I always find it satisfying on a climb to get a scenic confirmation of my progress.) We had a lovely descent before one final steep ramp, followed by a gentle rise for about 15 miles.

Above: scenes from the morning climbs

As I was taking photos, two panniered touring cyclists stopped to admire the view I’d spotted. Unlike so many of the laden cycle tourists we saw on this tour they were British. When they joined us at our morning break (seen above) they explained that they were on a charity bike ride from Leicester to Nice. We’d seen them a few times in previous days but this was the last time our paths crossed as they stopped for lunch soon afterwards.

Over our long tour we’d seen many logs stacked by the side of the road, but today was the first time I remember seeing a lorry and trailer transporting the timber.

Wendy, Jim, Mark and I stopped to admire the view near the top of the long climb, with an unexpected thistle suggesting this was Scotland not the south of France.

We now had the pleasure of a 20 mile downhill run almost to the Mediterranean. We raced through tunnels and under rocky outcrops as the road weaved along a dramatic valley, including the curious double arch seen above. At last we slowed for two sharp hairpins on the approach to Gréolières, our lunch stop. Enjoyable as a very long descent can be, you do need to concentrate, and lunch gave us the chance of a decent rest.

Above: the hairpinned road to Gréolières

We had a splendid lunch at Le Relais at Gréolières. We were served by a man with such good English I suspected he was British. It was an enjoyable final meal on the road.

We now set off on the last leg of our tour. The first stretch was in woodland, which was so characteristic of our French journey. But after a mile or so we entered the Gorges du Loup, which was very similar to the Gorges du Verdon yesterday.

We’d been told to look out for a waterfall at a bridge over the river, so we stopped but couldn’t see the falls. After taking the pictures above I spotted the feature on the left after gaining speed again. I decided not to stop again.

We passed through a succession of tunnels as we descended the gorge.

It was satisfying to see signs for Nice as we got closer to the coast. We had one final steep but short climb as we entered the coastal conurbation. Like so many ascents over the 14 days, it felt harder than expected. Wendy, Jim and I got confused by the route on the final mile, and checked the route notes one last time as we passed through Cagnes-sur-Mer. This is where the Peak Tours Channel to the Med route ends, rather than in neighbouring Nice.

At last, we reached a road that led to the Mediterranean shore, where we found the rendezvous bar Lebanon where we were meeting. We were surprised to find we were the last to arrive – and the fact the others were sipping their celebratory drinks suggested they’d been there a while!

Guide Mick greeted us, and once we had our drinks congratulated everyone on our successful ride from the English Channel to the Mediterranean.

We were soon cycling along the promenade to take the obligatory group photo and video.

We had a very short final ride to the van to drop off the bikes for their long drive back to the Peak Tours HQ in the Peak District. We then got cabs to our hotel, relishing their air conditioned luxury on another very hot day. I enjoyed a short snooze before heading out for drinks and our final dinner. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed spending time with this fine group of people, both on the road and socialising in the evenings. I shall miss them.

The day’s stats

50.45 miles, 2,697 feet climbing, 3 hours 46 mins cycling, average speed 13.4mph

The day’s highlights video

The tour highlights video – 14 days in under 5 minutes!

Final reflections on Channel to the Med

Conquering Ventoux

This has been my toughest cycling holiday, despite having cycled over 3,000 miles in 2025, including almost 300 miles and 18,000 feet of climbing the weekend before we set off. It has been a wonderful experience, showing France’s enormously rich variety of landscapes, including the mountains of the Auvergne and gorges that rival America’s Grand Canyon. And I’ll never forget conquering Ventoux, despite my slow progress up the Giant of Provence.

We were both lucky and unlucky with the weather. Rain isn’t unheard of in the south of France, so we were fortunate that it rained for just five minutes during 870 miles of cycling. It gave us countless spectacular views. And as Mick says, this tour gets more spectacular with every passing day. But cycle touring is tough when it’s over 30C, especially on long, steep climbs, with many days including over 5,000 feet of climbing. (Setting off up Ventoux before 8am when it was cooler was a smart idea.) It isn’t much fun cycling in heavy rain, but provided it isn’t cold it doesn’t place the same amount of strain on the body.

Argenton-sur-Creuse

The disadvantage of this kind of tour is that you have so little time to savour the beautiful places you visit. But it does give a taster for more leisurely return visits whether by bike, plane or car. This certainly won’t be my last French cycle tour.

Cycling Channel to the Med, Day 13: Les Salles-sur-Verdon to Castellane

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This post recounts the thirteenth day of my English Channel to the Mediterranean cycle tour in France with Peak Tours in June 2025. Read Day 12: Sault to Les Salles-sur-Verdon.

As I got ready for the day, I could hear rain falling for only the second time on this tour. It had stopped by the time we retrieved our bikes from their overnight resting place, but the atmosphere was heavy with humidity.

We were quite slow to set off this morning, and I grabbed a seat, seeing no reason to stand. When we did set off, it was to tackle a seven mile climb, described in the Peak Tours route notes as the hardest of the trip after Mont Ventoux. It’s only now that I realise that we ascended almost 4,000 feet over that climb. It was tough going at times, but the cooler weather helped until the sun burned through later in the morning, bringing our usual 30C plus temperatures..

I stopped in the village of Auguines to take photos looking down to the Lac de Sainte-Croix reservoir. The road climbed up round a hairpin to the centre of Auguines, at which point we had the only rainfall when cycling of the whole tour. A few others donned rain jackets, but I had left mine in the van. (I knew that if I’d worn it I’d have resembled a boil in the bag chicken within seconds – a lesson I learned on Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2019.) The rain stopped within five minutes.

Huw and Chris climbing Col d’Illoire

After just over five miles we came to a viewing platform at the top of the Col d’Illoire. At first I thought the viewpoint was on a distant rock, and decided not to visit it, but quickly realised it was actually a wooden platform just a few steps away from the road. The views of the gorge and the Verdon river far below us were stunning, as you can see below.

We had several more stops along the way to admire the views, although the crowds made it hard to shoot video clips without chatter and the roar of motorbikes in the background. One German always seemed to appear whenever we stopped, and would never turn off his motorbike engine, although he did take a photo of us at one point.

We stopped for our morning break after just under 10 miles – just cold drinks now the ‘brew’ van was out of the tour. I videoed John making his grand arrivée at the break, seen above.

We had to cycle carefully round the many hairpins, as these could be hazardous if we coincided with the many tourist coaches negotiating them.

I enjoyed seeing this unusual vehicle overtaking us. The rider made two attempts, aborting the first when he saw several motorbikes about to overtake him and us.

Above: images on the road along Gorges du Verdon

After crossing this spectacular bridge, we had a tough four mile ascent that was made far harder because of a strong headwind, which would plague us for much of the rest of the day. Jim and I were cycling together again, and at one point he videoed me as I cycled, as you can see in the screenshot below.

The last couple of miles to lunch at Comps-sur-Artuby was downhill, and we savoured the chance to relax and refuel. Unfortunately, the service at Restaurant l’Artuby was very slow, and we waited over an hour for our communal plates of meat and chips to appear. It was very hot by now, and we were grateful we had just 17 miles still to cycle to our destination.

Comps-sur-Artuby

After a tough morning, we were looking forward to the easier afternoon session, which the Pesak Tours route notes promised was ‘mostly downhill’. This was true, but that pesky headwind meant we still had to pedal, at least until we changed direction away from the wind.

We unexpectedly rejoined the Gorges du Verdon – Rive Droite, or the right bank – after a few miles, with the familiar rocky overhangs and green waters of the Verdon, seen below. There was less traffic compared with on this morning’s route along the gorge, and the road was much lower, so we were much closer to the river. It was lovely to see Donal and Monica cycling again after their unexpected break from the tour.

As we entered Castellane, we passed a group of cyclists heading out of town. Suddenly I spotted a spectacular rock – like a mini Gibraltar – with a church on top. This was the Roc of Notre-Dame, which dominates the town. The church was founded in the 12th century.

Mark, Wendy and I enjoyed a drink on the terrace of the Hotel du Commerce before we met Jim for dinner. Castellane is a lovely, historic town, with a good selection of restaurants. We chose well: excellent service, and wonderful food – including my pizza. It was a fine way to end the last ‘normal’ day of the tour – it’s hard to believe that by this time tomorrow we’ll have completed our epic ride from the English Channel to the Mediterranean.

Read Day 14: Castellane to Cagnes-sur-Mer.

The day’s stats

44.25 miles, 4,449 feet climbing, 4 hours 2 mins cycling, average speed 10.9mph (the lowest of the tour!)

The day’s highlights video

Cycling Channel to the Med, Day 12: Sault to Les Salles-sur-Verdon

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This post recounts the twelfth day of my English Channel to the Mediterranean cycle tour in France with Peak Tours in June 2025. Read Day 11: Vaison la Romaine to Sault via Mont Ventoux.

I wondered how I’d perform today, after yesterday’s massive effort climbing Mont Ventoux. The answer was mixed: surprisingly well in the morning but very badly on the final 25 miles to our destination.

The day began with breakfast at tables on the pavement outside our hotel, the Albion. We had to cycle into the centre of Sault to the hotel the others were staying at for the day’s briefing, and then cycle back past the Albion on our way out of town.

We heard the news is that the smaller of the two Peak Tours vans was out of action with a failed clutch. Guides Mick and Karen would spend much of the day trying to get it mended, without success. They then had the massive task of squeezing the contents of the two vans into the larger vehicle, which is usually intended to carry our overnight bags to the day’s destination. (The smaller van is used to carry snacks and drinks for the morning and afternoon ‘brew’ stops, as well as our day bags.) As a result of the breakdown, there would be no supported stops today apart from lunch, and we were given details of cafes that we could use and claim back the costs. Everyone was rightly very understanding, given the outstanding support the Peak Tours guides Mick, Karen and Fernando have given us on this tour.

Our last glimpse of Ventoux

We had a steady climb for the first 15 miles, which I enjoyed. To be fair, the total ascent over this section was probably less than 1,000 feet, but I was pleased to find that Mont Ventoux hadn’t left any ill effects 24 hours on. We had a great view of the summit as we headed away from Sault. The Giant of Provence truly dominates the region.

We gathered at the cafe in the centre of Banon for a pleasant interlude. It was already very hot, and I was glad to have a seat in the shade. We had one nervous moment when a large lorry attempted a three-point turn right in front of us, coming dangerously close to our bikes. But all was well.

If the 15 miles climb was enjoyable, the even longer descent was pure heaven. Once it ended, we had a climb up to a large reservoir, Retenue de la Laye. I noticed that I could see the road we’d ascended between the trees beside the lake, and videoed others cycling along it.

We passed through a fairly large town, Forcalquier, before missing our turning off a large roundabout, requiring us to go round again. (We didn’t want to join the nearby motorway!) We had a moment of navigational doubt caused by the route notes claiming the lunch stop was earlier than it was, presumably because it was there on a previous tour. As we passed through Oraison, Jim noticed some bikes and correctly assumed these belonged to our faster riders. As very sweaty cyclists we felt a little out of place at the smart L’Epicurien restaurant. Those who’d already eaten commended the food, and the pasta was indeed delicious, but I feared the portion wouldn’t prove enough to fuel the 35 miles remaining. I was right.

We had a few more miles of easy riding before a big climb, through woodland. We were all very hot by the time we reached the summit, and took an enjoyable breather under the shade of some fine trees, seen above.

We stopped again soon after to admire a field of lavender, which came to an abrupt halt, giving way to other crops. We also admired this old Ciitroën car that tooted as it passed us.

We agreed to take a break in Valensole, but service at the cafe was chaotic. We enjoyed the respite, even though we were conscious we still had another 25 miles to our destination. Little did I realise that this would be one of my hardest sessions of the entire tour, almost certainly because I hadn’t eaten enough.

There was one section of road that looked as if it was descending, but my legs and my Garmin confirmed it was actually an incline. The day’s route profile above explains why I struggled: an eight mile climb starting at around the 57 mile point that got progressively steeper. My low point came in Riez, where I stopped by the side of the road and ate an energy bar. I knew it would take time to feel the benefit, which came after I reached the summit of the climb. Now came the reward: a view of Moustiers Sainte-Marie, a village at the western entrance to the Verdon gorge which sits on terraces 300 feet up a limestone cliff. The photo below gives a glimpse of this extraordinary place.

A little later, Wendy, Jim and I clambered down to take photos of the Lac de Sainte-Croix, which we’d be cycling close to on our way to our destination at Les Salles-sur-Verdon.

The lake is a reservoir created in the 1970s by damming the Verdon river, which we crossed on long bridge over the Verdon river close to the entrance to the gorge.

Aerial view of the bridge we cycled over. Photo: Olivier Cleynen

We were nearly home, but for a rather unpleasant busy road. One driver spent so long on the left side of the road overtaking a number of us that suggested the French do drive on the left.

We were staying at the Hôtel L’Ermitage, a nice modern hotel. It was a pleasure to have a drink and then dinner here after a tough afternoon. The evening was made even better by Monica and Donal rejoining the tour, after Donal had spent a few days getting treatment. It was lovely to see them again. They will be cycling with us for the final two days of the tour.

Read Day 13: Les Salles-sur-Verdon to Castellane.

The day’s stats

77.38 miles, 4,679 feet climbing, 5 hours 35 mins cycling, average speed unknown but likely around 13.6mph.

The day’s highlights video

Cycling Channel to the Med, Day 11: Vaison la Romaine to Sault via Mont Ventoux

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This post recounts the eleventh day of my English Channel to the Mediterranean cycle tour in France with Peak Tours in June 2025. Read Day 10: Grospierres to Vaison la Romaine.

The mood at breakfast was quiet. This was our day of destiny, our appointment with an ascent that truly deserves that overworked adjective: iconic. Ventoux was calling us. This subdued mood was very similar to that at breakfast before climbing Bealach na Bà on the Highland 500 in 2022.

As we ate on the terrace of our lovely hotel, Hostellerie le Beffroi, the sun was rising over the peaks of Provence. We set off over an hour earlier than usual so we’d have cooler temperatures on the 21 kilometre, 1,700 metre climb. (Ventoux is 1,910 metres over sea level, but we weren’t at sea level when we started, hence the ‘missing’ metres.)

The day’s route profile. Look at that gentle descent from Ventoux…

We were tackling the ascent from Malaucene, which was about nine miles from our start. Soon after leaving Vaison a large group of us missed the planned Peak Tours route to Malaucene. This was a classic case of group think: Pat was leading the way, and we followed him and ignored the Garmin beeps to turn left. To be fair, my Garmin had given me so many false turn alerts that I was almost conditioned to ignore them. As a result, we had a fast ride to Malaucene along a busy road. Some of the faster riders reached the town after us, having taken the ‘proper’ route. ‘What kept you?’ we joked.

We had a brief stop in the town to top up water and snacks. I could have bought a Ventoux jersey or teeshirt here, but I didn’t want to grab a memento of a famous ride before I’d even started it!

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Cycling Channel to the Med, Day 10: Grospierres to Vaison la Romaine

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This post recounts the tenth day of my English Channel to the Mediterranean cycle tour in France with Peak Tours in June 2025. Read Day 9: Mende to Grospierres.

Not a flat day’s cycling…

What a day. One of the hardest of the whole tour, mainly because of the heat. Yet it was a ride full of extraordinary sights, including one of the world’s greatest canyons and our first glimpse of Mont Ventoux.

Preparing to leave Grospierres

Breakfast at Bastide de Verbon was the worst of the holiday, with a meagre offering. To make matters worse, the milk ran out. Literally: the hotel had none left. Fortunately guide Mick grabbed a bottle from the van to save the day.

We set off back down the gravel track and then along an old railway path, with walkers and dogs enjoying a morning stroll. We crossed an impressive viaduct over the Truyère, with a handsome stone road bridge alongside.

The next stage was on busy roads: we were now in tourist country, heading to the spectacular Gorges d’Ardèche, one of the biggest gorges in the world. This prompted cries of ‘wow!’ as we got our first glimpse of this extraordinary landscape. The presence of kayaks – on the river, on the banks and on car trailers – showed this was a playground for watersports as well as walkers and cyclists.

An early highlight was Pont d’Arc, a near-200 feet wide arch formed when the river Ardèche broke through a narrow escarpment on its meander.

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Cycling Channel to the Med, Day 9: Mende to Grospierres

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This post recounts the ninth day of my English Channel to the Mediterranean cycle tour in France with Peak Tours in June 2025. Read Day 8: Saint-Flour to Mende.

If yesterday was an unexpectedly difficult day, today was the opposite. One of my favourite days of the tour.

We cycled into the centre of Mende, past the cathedral, before heading out along the valley of the river Lot.

I had a curious incident not long after leaving Mende. My left foot slipped out of my shoe, which remained clipped into the pedal. It was impossible to slide it back in, so I stopped to accomplish this. I’d been riding for a few days with my shoes very loose to minimise pain caused by my feet swelling in the very high temperatures we’d been riding in. Originally, when I started suffering on day four, I assumed it was because the cleats on my newish shoes needed adjustment, and tweaked them accordingly. I might have paused to wonder why this was only the second time in 31 years of wearing cleated shoes I’d suffered any pain, and that the only other time was also in very hot weather. It was guide Mick who suggested wearing the shoes really loose, and this solved the problem. I just needed to tighten them very slightly.

We had a 20 mile climb at the start of the day. But, as the day’s gradient profile above shows, it was generally a fairly gentle incline. The scenery was lovely, along the Lot valley, and as we cycled across the river at Bagnolls-les-Bains the church bells sounded 10am, just as the cathedral at Mende had marked 9am as we set out.

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Cycling Channel to the Med, Day 7: Le Mont-Dore to Saint-Flour

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This post recounts the seventh day of my English Channel to the Mediterranean cycle tour in France with Peak Tours in June 2025. Read Day 6: Aubusson to Le Mont-Dore.

This was one of the toughest days of the tour, although worth it for the stunning scenery. We had a mix of several long climbs plus a rollercoaster, undulating ride during the morning. We tackled all this under an unforgiving sun. But, as I’ve said before, better that than torrential rain and no views!

The usual route out of Le Mont-Dore was closed, so we came back the way we entered. (Poor Donal and Monica followed the closed route, so had tackled a big climb before descending to do it all over again in another direction.)

The first few miles were one long, steep climb up the Col de la Croix Morand. This was fine, especially as we were fuelled and fresh.

It was a joy descending the other side, the road twisting and turning, with views of the stark volcanic peaks around us as we rode.

We had a surprise at the morning brew stop at 17 miles in. The last to arrive was Willie, usually one of the fastest riders. He’d missed a critical turn, and had to backtrack.

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Cycling Channel to the Med, Day 6: Aubusson to Le Mont-Dore

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In the mountains! Col de Guéry, near Le Mont-Dore

This post recounts the sixth day of my English Channel to the Mediterranean cycle tour in France with Peak Tours in June 2025. Read Day 5: Argenton-sur-Creuse to Aubusson.

I’d been looking forward to today since studying the Channel to the Med route long before the holiday. I first visited the Auvergne in 1976 on a school skiing trip to La Bourboule, just four miles from today’s destination, Le Mont-Dore. I liked the idea of saying I’d cycled to the region from the English Channel.

The day started with breakfast at the hotel in Aubusson. I’d had sinking feeling about this last night, after we’d been asked to choose items on a breakfast menu. I ticked two baguettes as I suspected they’d not be large. I was right. There was no muesli or granola option, which concerned me as these really fuel me on long rides. But the food I had seemed filling, so I hoped it would be enough.

On the first, gradual hill I felt lethargic. It was easy to blame the breakfast, but looking back another poor night’s sleep was more likely to be the culprit, given this was the start of the day, and the gradient was hardly punishing, as the gradient profile above shows. Whatever the reason, I didn’t enjoy this early session, despite the pretty, forested route, so typical of the first half of the tour. But I felt better after the morning brew stop at Monteillaud, where another dog showed a keen interest in us.

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Cycling Channel to the Med, Day 5: Argenton-sur-Creuse to Aubusson

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This post recounts the fifth day of my English Channel to the Mediterranean cycle tour in France with Peak Tours in June 2025. Read Day 4: Loches to Argenton-sur-Creuse.

Steve, Maureen, Willie and Alison at breakfast, Argenton (clockwise from top left)

It was a pleasure taking breakfast on the terrace at the Hôtel Manoir de Boisvillers. After the meal, I opened the shutters in my room and spotted the Aberdeen contingent, Steve, Maureen, Alison and Willie enjoying their petit déjeuner, and took the photo above.

If yesterday was an easy day, today proved the opposite. It was partly the combination of distance (76 miles) and an impressive 6,000 feet of climbing, but mainly because of the heat, which reached the mid 30s. This would be a theme for much of the rest of the tour, but I preferred that to the rain that other editions of this tour have endured. The route profile above tells a vivid story: the whole day we’d be gaining height as we cycled south towards the Massif Central, which we’d reach during tomorrow’s ride. The few descents were followed inevitably by steep, longer climbs.

We followed the scenic Creuse valley for much of the day. We started by recrossing the old bridge in Argenton, quickly followed by a very steep but short ascent to a road junction. Within a few miles we were back on the river’s east bank and climbing – the theme for the day. We saw a few castellated houses along the valley road, overlooking the Creuse. John remarked on them at the morning brew stop, leading me to say I’d caught them on video, as seen above. Much of this stage of the ride was in woodland, which helped keep us cool on the climbs.

A feature of French towns and villages is the mairie, which is the rough equivalent of a town hall in Britain. The difference is that all but the tiniest hamlet has a mairie, reflecting the importance of local government and identity in France following the French revolution in 1789. This is where the maire (mayor) oversees his or her patch. You inevitably see the French tricolor flying proudly from the building, but they seem to be as deserted as the communes they oversee.

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Cycling Channel to the Med, Day 4: Loches to Argenton-sur-Creuse

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A lovely destination: Argenton-sur-Creuse

This post recounts the fourth day of my English Channel to the Mediterranean cycle tour in France with Peak Tours in June 2025. Read Day 3: La Flèche to Loches.

After our ride briefing in front of the impressive Best Western hotel in Loches, we were soon negotiating the handsome streets of this historic town. I wish I’d had the time to explore last night – that’s one of the downsides of such an intense tour.

Enjoying this easier day

This was the easiest day of the tour: 51 miles, and more significantly just 1,762 feet of climbing, most of which would feature before lunch.

It was a pleasure to call out, ‘Bonjour!’ to dog walkers and others we passed, in my ‘finest’ French accent. We also saw many tractors, a reminder that France is still a hugely agricultural country, unlike Britain. (No wonder those farmers still hold the power to break presidents and prime ministers.)

Our morning stop was at a pretty location next to an old bridge, which we’d cross immediately after the break. Our route instructions asked us not to lean our bikes on the flowers – mine was resting on a sign, not the blooms surrounding it! We went without a hot drink as the hotel in Loches had filled the flasks with cold, not hot, water… But soft drinks proved just what we needed on another hot day.

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