Far more than just a ferry port, St Malo boasts the most impressive walled citadel on France’s northern coast as well as large stretches of sandy beach. The wide, sweeping bay to the east of the town makes a great starting point for your journey.

The afternoon and evening is spent building bikes and strolling around the beautifully preserved fortified walls and the maze of cobbled streets in the old town, some riders like to take a dip in the sea. In the evening we will eat at one of St Malo’s many restaurants for a chance to catch up and meet your fellow Skedaddlers, and chat about the epic journey ahead.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 800 Metres Approx.

A gentle first day on friendly flat terrain, following quiet back lanes through rural Brittany and Normandy.

Pedalling right from the hotel door we make our way to the official start on the beach front, for the obligatory photo with ‘La Manche’ (The Channel) against the backdrop of the tidal island of the Fort National clearly visible from the promenade. This morning’s ride takes us out of St Malo and hugging the coastline, this early part of the first stage gives a true taste of Brittany. We pass near the small fishing port of Cancale, famous for its fresh oysters before searching for the misty outline of Mont St-Michel across the marshes and vivid colours of the Cote d’Emeraude.

Pedalling south-east the route winds through the tranquil roads of rural Normandy and Brittany, weaving our way past golden fields of hay and deep green pastures. The latter part of today’s stage passes through the town of Fougeres with its well preserved chateau designed to protect the Duchy of Brittany. Brittany fiercely defends its unique culture and identity to this day recently exempting itself from a proposed merger of French regions proposed by the central government.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1025 Metres Approx.

Starting with straight roads linking crests crowned with churches, we cross the great Loire river and meander through our first vineyards of the trip, arriving at the small town of Brissac-Quince, dominated by its chateau.

After stocking up on pain au chocolat we press on due south as we cross from Brittany into the deeply rural Mayenne and then the Loire. We pass through many small villages punctuated by occasional market towns such as Craon and Segre. Most settlements are located on top of small rises, their church spires each competing to be the tallest. A series of undulations along the straight roads ensure the next church is a great visual target to lure us south.

Just over 100km into today’s stage we cross the famous Loire River – France’s longest river at over 1,000km. We follow the great river upstream, starting with the beautiful curves of the Corniche Angevine, where the route winds its way past the first vineyards of the trip before becoming reunited with the Loire and we pedal along the quiet lanes of one of the river’s many islands.

The route leaves the river as we approach Brissac-Quince, a small town which boasts the tallest chateau in France. The Loire is famous for its rose but the local Saumur sparkling (a rival to champagne) is a must as an aperitif to celebrate getting one of our longest days under our belt.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 790 Metres Approx.

We start the morning by re-uniting ourselves with the Loire, following its banks upstream for around 25km before rolling through the Foret de Fontevraud as we head due south.

Pedalling along the Loire is ever popular with cycle tourists and with the pancake flat quiet lanes it is easy to see why. After passing the ‘caves’ of the famous Saumur Cremant we turn south away from the river en-route to the atmospheric old streets of Fontevraud L‘Abbaye and its grand monastic complex, the largest in France. Even if you are not an ardent abbey enthusiast the sheer scale of the complex is impressive. The abbey is the resting place of 15 of the Plantagenet family, including the mysterious Eleanor of Aquitaine who is buried alongside her husband Henry II and their son Richard the Lionheart.

After lingering in the Loire, the second half of the day after Fontevraud L‘Abbaye is a stage of real pedalling progress which starts with the Loudun church spire teasing us from 15km away on perhaps the straightest section of the whole journey. After this the route winds through wheat fields and the grazing lands of the Thouet valley to St Loup sur Thouet, with its main street connecting the key crossing point of the Thouet river and its grand chateau.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 850 Metres Approx.

Today the back roads of the Thouet valley deliver us to the unassuming but history-steeped town of Parthenay. The 13th century Porte de St-Jacques guards the old entrance to the town for pilgrims on the way to Santiago de Compostella and is the gateway to some picturesque but surprisingly quiet medieval streets. Secluded back lanes with flower-studded hedgerows will take us through the pastoral landscapes surrounding Parthenay, to the more open countryside of the Vienne region.

We’ll glide past endless fields of sunflowers and farmers bringing in the hay. Avoiding the city of Poitiers, we stick to quieter routes passing through the small towns of Lusignan, Vivone and Gencay. We rest up just south of L‘Isle Jourdain where Cavendish first featured after his Tour crash in 2014 during the Tour de Potiou Charentes. Our hotel is on the banks of the Vienne river, perfect for a post ride dip and a great opportunity to relax after the first few days on the bikes.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,300 Metres Approx.

Today is a little bit more exerting than previous days, with the added ingredient of the rolling hills of this picturesque ancient region of Perigord making an appearance in the afternoon to add a little extra spice.

Well rested and by now any morning saddle soreness will have hopefully disappeared and we will all be raring to continue on our journey! The morning starts gently along the peaceful Vienne River, following it upstream on some of the quietest back lanes of the whole journey with little disturbance other than a stray roaming cow or the occasional tractor. After passing through the pretty village of Exideuil, the route undulates away from the river, past Gallo-Roman ruins to Rochechouart, famous for being hit by a meteorite and is dominated by its chateau. The route enters the ever popular region of Dordogne, famed for its lush rolling hills and languid lifestyle. We roll past green meadows and clusters of chestnut trees before reaching picture postcard Brantome which is perfect for an evening stroll. Almost an island, the town is entirely surrounded by the Dronne river.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,500 Metres Approx.

The riding is similar to yesterday on quiet back lanes, and for the most part of the day over gently rolling hills. The patchwork landscape of woodlands and pastures make the region famous for truffles and foie gras. We skirt the regional capital of Perigueux, before reaching Les Eyzies, a small town made famous by the many pre-historic cave paintings that can be found in the valley. Cro-Magnon man, our earliest modern human ancestor, was discovered here. A small stretch on the ‘route national’ brings us to Sarlat; arguably the jewel in Dordogne’s crown. Sarlat has one of the best preserved networks of medieval streets in the whole of Europe. In fact, Sarlat was the first old town granted protected status in the whole of France.

We leave Sarlat on a short section of immaculate cycleway which glides us down to the Dordogne River before following the channel upstream. During the fantastic ride along the Dordogne river we are likely to see more cyclists than cars. This stretch to Soulliac is incredibly popular with locals and cycle tourists alike as we follow the flat tree lined roads of the ‘route des noix’ along the banks of one of France’s most famous rivers. Souillac appears to be a small modern working town at first but scratch beneath the surface and you will be able to find tucked away squares and narrow medieval streets.

• Meals: Breakfast
• Ascent: 1,790 Metres Approx.

A real cyclist’s stage with the first climb and descent of any length so far. After a short section following the river we soon reach Grottes de Lacave where we turn south-east and the first climb of the trip starts. The route rises out of the Dordogne valley to the tip of the dramatic pilgrim village of Rocamadour before reaching the limestone plateau, which takes its name from the small town of Gramat. After crossing the distinctive plateau dotted with sheep and dry stone walls we descend into Figeac on the banks of the Cele.

Another modest climb follows Figeac to the hilltop village of Montredon. After lunch, with most of the climbing behind us we twist our way down to the Lot River. We will get to know the River Lot well over the next few days as we follow it to its source in the mountains of the Massif Central. We spend late afternoon riding along the banks of the river on a well maintained but virtually unused minor road that takes us all the way to our hotel in the small town of Entraygues. A long yet rewarding one as the riding simply gets better and better as the day goes on!

• Meals: Breakfast
• Ascent: 1,960 Metres Approx.

A great day as we head to the hills and the town of Mende, which regularly hosts a Tour de France stage. A slightly mountainous stage with 3 climbs, the final one undoubtedly has some bite at the end of the day topping out at 1,020m. The first two climbs have very gentle gradients, luring us almost imperceptibly up the climbs.

The Lot River guides our morning ride, passing the medieval bridge of Estaing and through 3 of France’s ‘plus beaux villages’. The scenery is stunning so we hardly notice we are climbing for the early part of the day. The road follows the river’s course only leaving its banks to climb into the wooded hillside of this quiet corner of Aveyron. The first 2 climbs are gentle and we’ll enjoy a much welcomed flat section after lunch before climbing gradually through Marvejolsas, we can marvel as the surrounding hills become small mountains. As we enter wolf country beware the ‘Beast of Gevaudan’ snapping at our heels! We start the Col de Goudard, a challenging climb and the first of the trip at over 1,000m. A steep descent precedes a final cheeky little 2km climb before we reach Mende, the capital of the Lozere département on the northern edge of the Cévennes National Park.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,380 Metres Approx.

A little known region but today’s riding is awesome and will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the trip. We have 2 very gentle cols which are punctuated by a seemingly endless 25km descent which if pedalled slightly flows all the more sweetly.

We dip into the northern edge of the Cevennes National Park, home to gorgeous mountains which are characteristically green and forested, and home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. One of the hillier days of the trip it includes the Col des Tribes (which at 1,132m is the second highest point on the trip!) and the stunning wooded descent off the Col du Mas de l‘Ayre (846m) into Les Vans. Today’s riding is challenging but all the ascents are thoroughly manageable.

The afternoon of this stage is a defining moment when we truly reach the south of France, as we descend through the cool pine forest of the Cevennes to the warm valleys of the Ardeche crammed with vineyards and fruit orchards. The ride finishes at the stunning Pont d‘Arc, the gateway to the Gorges de l‘Ardeche.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,900 Metres Approx.

A varied days riding as we enjoy the corkscrew ride above the Gorges de l‘Ardeche, cruising along the banks of the Rhone with the mistral on our backs (hopefully!) before riding through the vineyards of wine drenched Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Immediately after leaving our hotel we enter the Gorges de Ardeche. The start of a fantastically winding 35km gorge ride is marked by a great photo opportunity at the Pont d‘Arc, an amazing arch that the river has carved through the limestone. As the road rises and falls alongside and above the gorge, take advantage of the many great viewpoints down into the steep sided gorge where adventurous kayakers enjoy the long descent down the Ardeche. Panoramic vistas accompany the twists and turns of the road, whilst the scent of herbs and wild goats provides a heady concoction of smells.

Shortly after Pont St Esprit we arrive at the banks of the great Rhone River. We follow the river south for around 20km passing vineyards, fruit orchards and some industry, all accompanied by the backdrop of the shadowy silhouette of Mont Ventoux. The Rhone also marks our arrival in Provence. One of the most famous cycling regions of France which is still to come!

The day is finished with a glorious climb up and through the mighty Gorge de la Nesque, located in the Vaucluse Mountains.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,450 Metres Approx.

Leaving Sault we begin our day by tracing a series of minor and virtually traffic-free roads through a series of small Provençal villages and towns as we make our way to Forcalquier. The roads are generally undulating but do have the occasional short climb to keep us on our toes. After Forcalquier the route descends to the Durance river valley, which divides Provence in two, before climbing to the Plateau du Valensole. The plateau is a sea of lavender surrounding the town of the same name and is the number one production area in France.

The afternoon is spiced up a little as the route rolls into Riez with a couple of short punchy ups which can be more difficult on a warm day, but we can always stop for an ice cream under the shady trees in Riez. A steady incline takes us out of Riez before a switchback descent to Moustiers-Ste-Marie which is precariously perched on a cliff face and guarded by a star chained high above the town.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,750 Metres Approx.

Today will probably be one of the most memorable rides of the tour. A challenging but perfectly manageable stage with a shorter than average distance which includes the dramatic Gorge du Verdon.

Leaving Moustiers we head for the lake, riding the shoreline for a few km to the entrance of the gorge, where the climbing begins almost immediately. The southern rim of the gorge, which we will be riding, is certainly the most dramatic and the most rewarding way to experience this area of outstanding natural beauty. It is also the least visited side of the Verdon Gorge and has considerably less traffic. We’ll climb steadily for an hour or so, dropping down dramatically and then finally rising again out the gorge. Things ease up on the road to Comps-sur-Artuby, gently cruising along before plunging into the depths of the upper reaches of the gorge alongside the Verdon river, hugging the overhanging walls as we enter the immediate depths of the canyon. We relax for the evening in Castelanne with the Chapelle Notre-Dame du Roc dominating the skyline, sat high above the town on its own rock plinth.

• Meals: Breakfast
• Ascent: 1,075 Metres Approx.

Castellane itself is at the bottom of a hill so the day begins with a couple of climbs. However soon enough things level out and we’ll begin to make good progress as the last leg of our epic journey starts to really take shape.

The route plunges from the high Provençal plateau, clinging to cliffs and weaving through arches blasted through the rock to the precariously perched village of Greoliers. We soon reach the Col du Vence before enjoying a sweeping descent of nearly 1,000m down to the Mediterranean at Cagnes-sur-Mer. We pass from Cagnes into nearby Nice where we ride along the famous ‘Promenade des Anglais’ to dip our wheels in the warm sea and reflect on our epic journey through France.

• Meals: Breakfast

Following a night of celebration in Nice, looking back on 2 weeks of epic cycling, we have a short transfer to Nice for our onward journeys home.