The Trail's Our Thing

Here are a couple of photos from Sault:

Approaching Sault from the Brouville road

The terrace in Sault with a panoramic view of the countryside

And that wonderful view again (photo by Kelly)

Sault is sort of a crossroads in this area. Roads lead out in every direction, all of them scenic routes. We can recommend the routes on the Plateau d’Albion, into the dramatic Gorges de Nesque, the road south to St. Saturnin-lès-Apt, and now the northern route we took Sunday through the Vallée de Toulourenc. The Toulourenc is a small river originating from Mont Ventoux that flows about 18 miles through a small valley. On its northern side Ventoux is steep and forested, almost ominous.

We passed by the pretty village of Aurel (a place it seems we need to visit another time), into the département of the Drôme Provençal, and to the village of Montbrun-les-Bains, about seven miles from Sault. We stopped to take some photos at the base of the village and then drove up into the medieval village where we found a parking spot against the remparts and walked up and around the tiny old streets. We even climbed up to the old chateau, though it’s private property and perhaps someone actually lives there. Montbrun-les-Bains is known for its hot springs and thermal baths (hence the name "bains"), and there’s a health resort here somewhere, though it must have been down below the village as we never saw it. This village is one of the 149 designated “plus beaux villages de France” (most beautiful villages in France). We’ve been to quite a few now, and we agreed with the inclusion of Montbrun-les-Bains.

Here are a couple of photos from Montbrun-les-Bains:

The beautiful village of Montbrun-les-Bains

In the old village

I always love flowers in a village. This was an absolutely lovely spot.

The belltower, lavoir and fountain

After leaving Montbrun-les-Bains, we headed west along the river valley with the north side of Mont Ventoux looming to our left. Our friend Kevin Widrow has talked often of the beautiful little village of Brantes, but it’s pretty far from Bonnieux and this was the first time we’d ever been nearby. We took the winding road up to the village, stopping to fill our water bottles at the fountain at the lavoir. The water was very cold and very fresh.

Brantes hangs off the side of a mountain, looking out across at Mont Ventoux. We parked and walked up into the old village. It’s a very quiet place with just a few artisan workshops (including an extremely unique pottery workshop), though no shops to support the residents. In a tiny chapel I bought a brochure about the village, dropping my money in a self-service box. (The brochure was only 30 centimes, and it seemed the least I could do to support the Association des Amis de Brantes.) Brantes has only 65 residents, and it does have a tiny school… of nine students. Somehow the village seemed much larger. And according to my brochure, they didn’t have running water in Brantes until 1958! Brantes is extremely isolated, and I expect especially so during the winter. We wondered how far the 65 residents had to go to buy groceries. Perhaps there is a peddler truck that comes once a week selling necessities. We walked down to the beautiful church (built in 1684), where there was a beautiful view looking across to Ventoux.

And here are some photos from Brantes:

The village of Brantes up ahead

Colorful pottery shop (wonderful things inside)

Looking toward the Saint-Sidoine church in Brantes (photo by Kelly)

The Chapel of the Penitents Blancs (photo by Kelly)

My little English-language brochure about Brantes ended with this note: “Hoping that you have succumbed to the charm of Brantes, we thank you for your visit.” And yes, thank you, we certainly did succumb!