Pilgrim's Progress – Long Distance Walks in Europe and the UK

God made only water, but man made wine.

Victor Hugo

It proved a long day – 10 hours of walking with the temperature in the low 30s during the afternoon. Thankfully the terrain wasn’t too arduous with most of the day spent walking through vineyards. I am traversing the heart of Côtes du Rhône country.

I left Vaison-la-Romaine shortly after 7am. The Roman remains in the centre of town were impressive.

Vaison’s eliptical Roman bridge is the only one of its kind outside Rome. The ruins of the Roman city aren’t showy but they give a good idea of how Roman cities functioned.

Just like Rome, Vaison la Romaine has seven hills. And like Rome it was very prosperous, its population in the 2nd century was about the same as it is today. It wasn’t until 1907 that someone wanted to do some digging into the town’s illustrious past, a local abbot named Autel dedicated his life to excavating the Roman remains right in the centre of Vaison. So successful was he that in the 1920s the ‘la-Romaine’ was appended to the town of Vaison.

You won’t find great monuments in Vaison la Romaine as you do in Nimes and Arles, these are either destroyed or hidden under the modern town, but what you do get is a feel of everyday life.

Vaison la Romaine also has an amphitheatre which would have held seating for up to 6,000 people!

The surviving fragments of upscale Roman habitations survived essentially because they were more solidly built than cheaper housing. These homes would have been beautifully decorated – fountains, light wells, interior gardens; carpets, drapes, art and fine furnishings.

Certain practical rules of construction were obeyed: kitchens to the north so food could be better preserved, bedrooms small so as to maintain their temperature better, the baths by an entrance so firewood did not have to be carried far. Heating was channelled around the house from the baths area, and windows filled in with glass.

I headed out of Vaison towards the village of Roaix. As soon as I was out of the suburbs I entered vineyards which I spent most of the day walking through. There’s not a huge amount you can say about vineyards – they all basically look the same. The fun is sampling the wine – although there were many opportunities to drop into the vineyards, I didn’t fancy carting a case of wine about in my rucksack!

The highlight of the day was passing a vineyard outside Rouaix which featured a Templar chapel

None of the small villages I passed through boasted shops of any variety which meant I’d worked up quite a thirst by the time I reached the campsite at La Pinède shortly after 5pm.

I found my way to my bell tent and crashed out. Walking 35km in 32C isn’t the cleverest way to spend August in the south of France and may explain why I haven’t met any other walkers in the last week.

With storms forecast for the night I was glad to be spending a night under canvas and equally  relieved that I hadn’t had to lug a tent around with me in the heat!