After the cloud of yesterday, we woke today, to blue skies and a gentle warmth in the rising sun. A perfect day for a long walk along the coast path around Cap Ferrat.
Cap Ferrat is just the other side of the bay to Villefranche, so all we needed to do was pack the coffee and a sandwich, in the rucksack, pull on our walking shoes and set off.
We followed the path at the back of the beach, watching the reflections of the boats moored in the bay, shimmer on the calm water. It was peaceful, and the perfect start to what proved to be, another stunning day’s walk.
We followed the road to Beaulieu-sur-Mer, which is just the other side of the narrow neck of Cap Ferrat, and here, picked up the well-marked path that skirts the coast.
After yesterday’s hike up to Saint Agnès, we knew that this would be a much more gentle day, with very little climbing at all. It would be a gentle stroll along the sea, and we planned to take it easy and to make sure we took time to stop, sit and just watch the world pass by.
It’s a delightful path that leads away from Beaulieu, passing the beautiful house, which was once home to the actor, David Niven. It’s a dream home, with stunning views across to the steep cliffs of Cap D’Ail & Eze.
After sitting on a bench, watching boats criss-cross the bay, dropping off divers, we ambled on again, following the path into Saint Jean, the main town here, with its marina
and rather wonderful street art, including this fantastic jellyfish…
There is also a statue of Winston Churchill standing at an easel, with a reproduction of one of his paintings of the town, next to him. He loved visiting the town and created many paintings of the harbour and the Voile D’Or hotel, whilst he was there.
From here, we joined the coast path, which is built across the jagged rocks that fringe this little peninsula. It’s a stunning route that follows the edge of the land, with the azur sea, lapping at our feet.
We were true to our promise to ourselves that we would stop, and enjoy the walk today. So, soon after joining the path beyond Saint Jean, we found a place, where we could clamber across the rocks to a find comfortable stones to sit on, while we had a coffee.
Coffee turned into lunch too, and we munched our baguette, listening to the gentle sound of the waves rolling against the shore, under the beady eye of a seagull that clearly was hoping we may drop a bit of food in its direction.
It was to be disappointed!
It was such a peaceful place to stop.
There is something incredibly calming about the sound of the waves, and in the gloriously warm sun, we could have easily dozed off, if the place we had found wasn’t quite as uncomfortable. You can get a sense of the peace half way through The little video from today’s walk
Eventually though, we dragged ourselves back onto the path and continued on, following the trail around the tip of the peninsula, where the lighthouse stands tall, against the cobalt blue sky.
The rocks here look so dangerous, I can only imagine how many boats that must have come aground here, before the lighthouse was built in 1732 (replacing a 16th century fire tower). That one was destroyed in 1944, and subsequently replaced with the one that is there today.
Once round the tip of the Cape, we followed the path, which clings to the edge of the rocks, above idyllic coves and little inlets.
The path was fringed with wild-flowers, from the bright yellow Oxalis
To banks of highly-perfumed cream and yellow freesias.
It really is a spectacular path.
We took time again to clamber down into one of the coves, and lay in the sun, dozing gently after a few days of walking. We were there much longer than we thought and as a result, our faces are certainly a bit pink from the sun.
From our dozing spot, we followed the path, which leaves the coast and climbs along roads, passing below the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, with its gardens that are open to the public too.
Before dropping back towards Villefranche, for the last walk along the back of the beach, to the town, where we found a ‘glacier’ and enjoyed a much-needed ice-cream in the last of the day’s sun, before it dipped behind the higgledy-piggledy roofs of the old town.
It had been another beautiful day’s walk.
Over the last 3 days, we have hiked over 50km, and have enjoyed each and every step (OK, perhaps not the few steps, where we had to negotiate the landslide, yesterday).
It really is the perfect time of year to come to the Cote D’Azur, with its vibrant, colourful festivals in Menton
And Nice
But also for the quiet hiking opportunities, before the area gets busy with visitors, and it becomes too hot to walk any distance at all.
The towns along the coast are easily accessible by train, so you really don’t need to bring a car, to explore this beautiful corner of Provence.
The last days of winter here, can feel like early summer days in England, the warmth of the sun bringing out lizards and insects, and encouraging the flowers to bloom too, creating a riot of colour across the landscape.
For now, I’m sure that we’ll continue pottering to the coast, to celebrate our anniversary, the end of winter and to walk ourselves to a standstill too.
If all goes well, tomorrow we’ll head back to Antibes to walk the Cape path there, hoping it won’t be as wet and wild as it was 4 weeks ago, when we finished it, looking like drowned rats
Let’s hope for a better day, this time.
Postcards from Provence and beyond 