Classic Lot Cycling

• Pretty little villages, great bastide towns, sleepy farming hamlets unchanged for centuries - it's as though you've the countryside to yourselves!
• Great for families: swimming pools at all hotels and excellent regional cuisine
• Perfect combination of plateau and valley cycling; interest-packed routes, stunning views, very quiet roads
• Contrasting rivers: the majestic Lot, the gurgly little Cele, the stunningly beautiful Aveyron Gorges

If you are looking for a slightly longer (but not too demanding!) cycling holiday packed with contrasting experiences, interest and variety, then this route comes highly recommended. It really does take in all the 'best bits' of the Lot countryside. You start off gently pedalling along the Cele valley (awesome limestone cliffs and dramatic perched villages) before heading off through the quiet country lanes of neighbouring Aveyron. Explore the bastide strongholds of Villeneuve and Villefranche-de-Rouergue, or take the little train through the spectacular Aveyron Gorges. Your final stretch takes you by the majestic River Lot - wide and slow, bordered with patchwork fields, pink-gold cliffs, ancient villages and castles.

Highlights of this trip include the caves of Pech'Merle, St Cirq-Lapopie un des plus beaux villages en France, interesting fortifications and varied river, cliff and plateau landscapes. All the hotels have private swimming pools and have been specially chosen for their individual charm and character. They range from Bruno and Karine's restored C17 chateau to an old coaching inn (wonderful food!) just outside Villefranche.