World Wide Walkies

Montségur: Mist, Martyrs, & Heavy Metal

Photo of Chateau de Montsegur on its pog

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 pog – a knuckle of rock rising from the land like a huge pudding-shaped dumpling – the mountain itself propels the fortress of Montségur skyward.

Map showing the routes of the Cathar castles in southern france — Routes des Châteaux Cathares in Medieval France
Image courtesy of Wikimedia. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license and the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

From Caravan to Overland Truck: Jacqueline Lambert’s Off Grid Journey

Two adjecent photos of adventure traveller and author Jacqueline Lambert with husband Mark and four dogs: the first with their Caravan, Kismet, the second with The Beast their overland truck

12-volt electrical systems are at the very heart of any recreational vehicle – and it pays to understand them. To this end, I subscribe to 12-Volt Planet’s very useful and informative email newsletter, which pops informative articles, product reviews, and special offers into my inbox. They also have an excellent YouTube channel, 12 Volt Planet TV, a useful resource full of short, practical ‘How To’ guides.

As someone who started out her truck-conversion journey believing solar power and 12-volt electrics were, “tantamount to witchcraft,” I was delighted that 12-Volt planet chose to reflect on how far I’ve come, and interview me about our huge self-build – The Beast – for their website!

I shall hand you over to Joe for the introduction – and I hope you enjoy reading!

“When Jacqueline “Jackie” Lambert and her husband Mark were both made redundant in 2016, most people might have seen uncertainty. Jackie saw opportunity. Turning a love of travel into a full-time lifestyle on the road, they traded bricks and mortar for adventure and eventually converted a 24.5-tonne military truck into a fully off-grid home-on-wheels, affectionately known as The Beast.

The First Online Self Pubfest 25th January 2026 – FREE to Attend: Featuring Adventure Travel Author Jacqueline Lambert on Non Fiction Author Panel

Banner for Self Pub Fest, 25th January 2026 with dates and details which appear in the blog text

The first online ‘Self-Pub Fest’ festival, spotlighting authors in various genres (see below), will be held on Sunday 25th January 2026 between 10am and 6pm UK time via individual hourly Zoom genre panels with up to six authors participating in each panel.

I am thrilled to be taking part in the Non Fiction Panel at 3pm UK time with other fascinating, award-winning non-fiction authors.

Join the chats LIVE – where authors from across the globe will talk about their journeys – from WRITING the stories to PUBLICATION. Each festival panel session will last approximately 40 minutes, e.g. 10am to 10.40am, including audience questions, to allow time for setting up the next panel.

Entry to the event is FREE – this online version of the festival is listed on EventBrite but click on this link to access the Tickets page then select the relevant panel’s Zoom link.

If you can’t make the live online event, you will miss out on participating in the Q&A, however ALL sessions will be RECORDED and SHARED on Morgen Bailey’s YouTube Channel and on the Self Pub Fest website.

For further details: Click on the relevant genre headings below for further details about each panel:

In Glorious Bastides: Cordes-sur-Ciel

Photograph of Cordes-sur-Ciel on its hilltop

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 Cérou River valley. It isn’t hard to see why this part of southwest France is sometimes called La Toscane Occitane – Occitan Tuscany. Rolling hills topped with honeyed stone villages, pencil-thin Cyprus trees – and that soft southern light, so beloved of artists, that seems to flatter everything it touches.