After almost reaching the Rhone, we are back in the mountains again! We followed an excellent bike path heading east, next to the Jabron River. This took us to the outskirts of Montelimar, where we passed under the E15 Superhighway, then when rejoining the road, an extra wide verge (on a newly resealed road) kept our distance from the passing traffic. So it was a relatively quick trip to the first perched village of the day at La Batie Rolland. We passed up this opportunity to press on to Le Poet- Laval, which is rated as ‘one of the most beautiful villages’. As with most of these perched villages Poet-Laval is hard to get to (by bike, anyway), and we had to push our bikes up the last 150 m. High up on rocky crags, most were originally defensive, commanding the route along a valley or the surrounding rich countryside. Most villages were built around castles and have fortified walls surrounding the community. They were easily defended; in case of attack the entrance to the town, usually through a narrow doorway, was blocked and there was always fresh water. In the past life was hard for the locals. The villages were difficult to reach and the surrounding rocky hillsides gave little opportunity for vegetable gardens or orchards. Inevitably communities began to decline as the villagers left for a better life in the local towns. Nowadays there is a kind of renaissance for many as tourist destinations. It was in the 12th century that the order of the Hospitaliers de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem (later to become the Knights of Malta) decided to establish a commandery on the hill of Poët-Laval and built a castle and keep at the top of the village. During the crusade era it was used as a staging post and refuge for pilgrims setting off for the Holy Land. It was extended in the 13th and 15th centuries and then sacked when the Revolution occurred. The village was a Protestant stronghold for a long time, and a few years ago a Museum of Dauphinois Protestantism was opened, in a former private mansion dating back to the 14th century. It is also the start of a 1800 km heritage walking trail (Sur Les Pas Des Huguenots https://www.surlespasdeshuguenots.eu/en/index.htm ), retracing the steps of the protestants kicked out of France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, when 300,000 French Protestants made the trip from France, through Switzerland into northern Germany. The village was lovely, but in my opinion, a bit sterile, as the village seemed to be all B&B accommodation, hotel or high end art and craft shops (all low key, and not obvious until you are walking past). Much more interesting to me was the hitherto unheralded towns of Dieulefit and our end point for the day of Bourdeaux. These are villages that still have people living in them, and so are more vibrant. Instead of groups of people walking about taking photos and talking in hushed tones, there is the noise of the kids at the local pool, the clink of the boules, people greeting and chatting to each other in the streets, the posters on the walls for lost cats and upcoming fetes. We had lunch at Dieulefit, and went for a walk through the old village. There is a festival des femmes occurring at the moment, and there were cartoon-like decorations that popped up all over town in the most unlikely spots. On the way out of town the roundabout is decorated with pottery - celebrating its pottery heritage. We got a taster of the upcoming riding through the alps with the climb out of Dieulefit to Bourdeaux, a steady and solid ride up to a col, giving beautiful views of the mountains and castles dotted about. Bourdeaux is interesting, with the old village and castle ruins dotted up on the hill behind. We took in the local heritage walk (with signage in english - a rarity in small places) before having dinner in the garden of our B&B.