We reached Paray le Monial, a large pilgrimage town in the Charolais region which is worth a wander around and then continued on more minor roads to St Galmier known for its casino and rose gardens but too early for many colours. After a lazy but damp day we met heavy traffic around the large city of St Etienne and called in to a camping-car dealer's to look at their accessories which were much dearer than in the UK.  We managed to find a bypass route and headed across wooded hills via Annonay to reach the Rhône north of Valence. Now we were in the Drôme department with terracotta tiled roofs and vineyards, we meandered more slowly towards Crest with its impressive chateau overlooking the old town. From there we thought we would drive into the Vercours National Park but after a slow climb into the hills found the road over the Col de la Bataille was still closed from the winter. Always looking out for interesting places marked on the Michelin road atlas we drove up a narrow road to the Cirque d'Archiane, a blind valley on the edge of the mountains where we walked up a track towards a waterfall we could hear in the distance but didn't actually reach it. The lanes around here are lined with neatly clipped box hedges which look out of place in the rough terrain - we wondered who cuts them.

   
                       Trimmed box hedges

 Continuing south we stopped at the Saut (jump) de Drôme where the river flows over a chaos of rocks, then over the Col de Premol to La Charce where there are interesting  rock strata (this area is a geologists' paradise)  and on to Remuzat and its Maison de Vautours from where you can watch the griffon vultures circling high above the Rocher de Caire. (We had passed through this delightful Drôme Provençale area many years ago). A short drive took us to Nyons, a centre of lavender distilling and an overnight stop at Mirabel aux Baronnies before turning east with the bare summit of Mont Ventoux dominating the landscape.

   
          Mont Ventoux from near Sedéron

   
                   Montbrun old sign

We arrived at the small town of Montbrun les Bains with its houses clinging to the rockface for a quiet night then drove to Sault among more lavender fields. Near there we attempted a hike we had found in a Walks in Provence guidebook, heading for the Rocher de Cire (wax) overlooking the Gorges de la Nesque but as so often happens we found the route was fenced off after a couple of miles and it was rather too hot for serious walking. The Luberon mountains were not far to the south so we drove across more narrow roads to reach the small hilltop village of Murs and found its shady municipal campsite in the woods nearby. From there we spent a day visiting Rousillon with its ochre quarries and the touristy town of Gordes, finishing up at the Abbaye de Sénanque in its remote valley but busy with large car parks.

   
                Rousillon ochre quarry

The next day we stayed in this area calling in to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue with its busy antique market (not a good idea for parking on a Saturday morning!) stopping for the night at the crowded aire at nearby Fontaine de Vaucluse. Continuing our meandering southwards we visited the Luberon hilltop town of Ménerbes (Peter Mayle's Provence) with its impressive citadel walls and old buildings surrounded by vineyards and orchards, and more workaday Bonnieux with its old church and narrow lanes and a bread museum, before getting caught in a terrific thunderstorm in Apt. We drove into an unusually quiet Aix-en-Provence as it was a bank holiday and strolled along the main boulevard and old streets to the massive fountain in the city centre, then headed out towards Montagne St Victoire, much painted by the artist Cezanne, and found a restful parking area in the hills for the afternoon.