“The last mile or so is a 17% gradient,” Mark told me as he flung The Beast around tight hairpins. The road we were climbing was ‘only’ 10%, and I wasn’t enjoying the view from my side. I stared down a dizzying expanse of nothingness that I knew had no margin for error. Silently, IContinue reading “Château de Quéribus: Vertigo, Vineyards & Very Good Wine at The Last Cathar Stronghold”
Category Archives: France
Hairpins, Hitchhikers & the OSS – Caudiès-de-Fenouillèdes
“Well, that was an interesting drive,” I said. I used that special tone of voice. The one reserved for occasions when you know you’ve narrowly avoided becoming a news headline. The fortress of Montségur stayed wrapped in so much moody cloud that we didn’t realise there was a path that led to the village below.Continue reading “Hairpins, Hitchhikers & the OSS – Caudiès-de-Fenouillèdes”
Montségur: Mist, Martyrs, & Heavy Metal
I read that in cycling terms, the Col de Montségur is a Category 2 mountain pass, popular with those slender, Lycra-clad aliens who chase gradients for glory. The same article revealed it to be known for scenic views, the highlight of which is a spectacular perspective of a historic castle ruin. Perched atop a pogContinue reading “Montségur: Mist, Martyrs, & Heavy Metal”
In Glorious Bastides: Cordes-sur-Ciel
Our second medieval village of the day could not have been more different. If Sévérac felt organic and quietly lived in, Cordes-sur-Ciel was its theatrical opposite. From a distance, it looked magical – a town suspended above the landscape, poised between earth and sky on a rocky ridge 328 ft (100 m) above the CérouContinue reading “In Glorious Bastides: Cordes-sur-Ciel”