After yesterday’s strenuous and sometimes scary hike, it’s been good to have an easier day today. We cycled from Port Grimaud on the coast, to Grimaud, a medieval, fortified village that tumbles down the hillside.
We cycled on quiet, rough tracks… far more pleasant than yesterday’s busy traffic, although Ruby (my bike) and I were bumped around a bit. As we got nearer to Grimaud we could see the ruins of the 11th century castle perched high above us, and the 17th century windmill, Moulin St Roch.
Having cycled up the steep hill to the village we locked the bikes and walked up to visit the castle. The views from the top were beautiful in every direction, over the sea and rooftops of the village in one direction, and the hills and windmill in the other.
We then enjoyed wandering through the pretty, narrow cobbled streets. There were stone troughs and lots of plants everywhere, making the place feel very welcoming. We were pleased that it was quiet and peaceful too, unlike Èze and a couple of other hilltop villages that were full of noisy tourists.
There’s a sculpture exhibition in the village, showcasing the works of 6 artists. John would happily have brought home one of large metal sculptures for our garden! The walls were also painted in places. I like the fox and owl best.
After exploring for an hour or two, we found a restaurant in one of the village squares and stopped for lunch. It was lovely sitting in the shade by a babbling fountain eating fish washed down with rosé 😊
After this we made our way up to the windmill, which was restored in the 1990s. In front of the mill, there’s a threshing floor and stone roller that would have been pulled by horses.
From the mill, we had a walk through the wood, down to the La Garde river valley to see the Pont des Fées or fairy bridge. Unfortunately, although the bridge is very pretty, the river had dried up leaving some stagnant pools only. So much for the photo I’d imagined of a beautiful reflection of the bridge in the water! It was good to see it though, and interesting to read that the pipe in the bridge used to carry drinking water from a spring across the stream to the village in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Now we’re back at the campsite and have done two loads of washing. It’s so hot, it’ll all be dry in no time! I’ll have nice clean clothes ready for our trip to St Tropez tomorrow 😊
Ramblings 
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