As crickets hum high in the trees, silken spiderwebs catch at your legs, centipedes writhe in the hot sun. Startled birds and butterflies shoot from the lush undergrowth, damp caves echo the crash of water as you negotiate slippy algae rocks and scorched grasses.
After our adventure in Cannes, Runviewer headed inland to explore the pretty valley and village of Valbonne, about half an hour’s drive from the coast. This route takes us along the crashing, singing waters of the Brague River, and back via the dry bed of the Bruguet.
The commune of Valbonne itself stretches from the old village to the technology park, Sophia Antipolis, and sits in the Brague river basin.
We begin our route at the heart of the grid-shaped old village, around which the wider town has grown. The area has long been a place of settlement with some buildings dating to the 1300s. For centuries plague had ravaged the region but then the village was founded in it’s current grid-like design in 1519.
As the clock strikes 10am on the old town hall clock, we find ourselves heading South through the heart of this little piece of history. You’ll see I’ve slowed the video down in places so you can get a better look at things, particularly the square – The Place Des Arcades. The cafes and restaurants here are bustling come lunchtime.
At the bottom of the hill we turn left and head East past the 13th century church, and uphill to the bridleway.
1 minute 7 secs. We bound downhill to join the 6 mile path that follows the Brague river from Valbonne to Biot. The river itself continues all the way to it’s mouth at Antibes and whilst we’re not exactly heading all the way to Biot, we’ll criss-cross the river and loop back on ourselves via another river, the Bruguet.
As we follow the river, we pass some beautiful old mill houses on the left. These are mostly gorgeous residences and holiday homes now, but once were a livelihood along the water.
This path – the Sentier de Brague, is not appropriate for those wanting a fast run, as the slippy, algae-cloaked rocks, tricky to negotiate water pipeline (mind your head) and caves means you have to hike rather carefully for quite a bit of the way. Not to mention the rocks sticking out of the ground at various angles. Sturdy trail shoes, careful steps and a friend recommended. You have been warned!
Warnings aside though, the cool, peaceful valley is like a little oasis of calm, bursting with enough life to make you feel like you just landed in Yoda’s swamp.
7 minutes. A pretty stone bridge marks the continuation of the trail to Biot, but after some faffing around taking photos, and making troll jokes, you’ll notice we instead take a right and head South, now following the dried up bed of the Bruguet River. This is where we’re looping home.
The fish eye lens means this video doesn’t quite capture steepness of the climb here, but your heart will definitely get a workout. There are thankfully some railings in place at the rockier points. A final steep climb through some more open, rocky terrain leads us to one of the highest points of our route.
As we reach peak altitude, a catalogue of open trails present options for our return, as you’ll see on the map. You can follow the Piste du Moulin de L’Ange along a twisting, vertiginous descent back to the river bed to rejoin our original route and head back the way we came.
However, Runviewer’s not one for retracing steps when other options are available, so we just power on up those woodland pistes to rejoin civilisation and follow the residential roads back down to the Southwestern corner of Valbonne, where the circus is just setting up for the weekend.
They had zebras, we saw them.
AMENITIES
There’s nothing along the way so pack everything you need and an extra bottle of water in your hiking pack.
Valbonne itself is quite a tourist trap, so the old town cafes and shops are flanked by business and residences if you are looking for somewhere to stay or refresh. We went for an excellent airbnb option just up the hill which made everything easily accessible on foot.
Alternatively, it’s about a half hour drive from the coast where the TGV train lines run all the way from Paris. There are three car parks in the town.
There are various buses running to Valbonne from the coastal towns, including Cannes (630), Antibes and Nice (230).
Envibus operates several lines which you can find maps and plans for on their website here.