Winter exploring: Cathar castles and the boulders of Sidobre!

Well, the winter has reached us at last! The frost has even been reaching the grassy verges of Toulouse! The mist has been hanging over the Garonne and the trees are finally loosing their leaves. Still, this doesn't mean wev'e been sat hudled in doors. As winter set in we visited the Pyrennees and a wolf sanctuary set on the mountainside. Such graceful creatures, I love to watch them move, sharp eyed and curious. I'm glad that there are wolves roaming free in the mountains. I hope the centre will continue to educate people that we need not have fear of them! (The photo is one I took of an Arctic wolf.)
Just before Christmas we visited a Cathar Castle in the Corbières wine growing region. It's South of Toulouse towards the Med. To reach this region we passed many vinyards and
through fantastic gorges that followed the river Aude and the gorge de Galamus. A steep road wound its way up to the castle.....hard going for our little car! Before setting off to explore we enjoyed a picnic of homemade grub and of course a bottle of wine of wine! The castle, Quéribus is perched on the rocks with fantastic views far below. It was constructed in the 10th century and belonged to the count-kings of Barcelona and Aragon. In 1244 it became a refuge for some of the last surviving Cathars. It's a bit of a hike to the top but you get a fantastic view. The castle is also fun to explore, full of spiral stairs and secret passages that descend into darkness!
After that trip we had mostly been building up to Christmas. We visited my favorite woods for the winter solstice.....but going deep into the trees to be with the mistletoe wasn't the only reason for getting off the beaten track! Far from the curious eyes of Sunday walkers Oli found the perfect place to film some scenes for his latest film project. It was a great shame that the actress didn't turn up......she might have liked to play the body in the bag, looking out up into the trees! Still, it might have been a grim part to play but the guys made sure I was OK.....specially when they tasted the homemade grub I had prepared for our picnic!

So, we have now been enjoying Christmas week, visiting friends and family and eating far, far too much food. Hence Oli and I went out on one of our exploring days yesterday to burn some fuel! There are still plenty of places not far from Toulouse to visit, including the region of Les Montanges Noires and the Parc National de Haut Languedoc. Its a huge and very pictoresque area of this region. To the north of the park and only just over an hour from Toulouse is the corner called Sidobre. Its worth visiting for its boulder landscape. They lie in the woods and river beds, in the farmers fields and even in gardens.....and many of the are HUGE! They also lie in wierd formations, balancing on each other in strange shapes! The one in the photo, called Peyro-Clabado is massive and the balancing boulder weighs 800 tonnes!! Rochers-Sept-Faux is 900 tonnes and balances in such a way that it is possible to rock it using your finger!!!!! There are many pretty villages in the area. If you don't end up following some of the boulder woodland trails Burlats makes a lovely spot to take a walk or to have a picnic by the riverside.
Also in the area is a boulder strewn water fall called Saut de la Truite. As you follow a steep path into the woods you can hear the tumbling water then after a while you come across the cascade as it tumbles over huge round boulders. Oli couldn't resist a climb and in the end persuaded me to scramble to the top. It was worth the challenge to get a great view at the top.....even if coming back down was a bit tricky!


We stopped off on the way home at Labrugière, a quaint circulade. It dates from 985AD and owes its notoriety to the 1484 witch trial of Péronne Bachère. She was acused of making a pact with the devil, of casting spells and killing a villager with magic powder. She was burnt at the stake!!!! This town centre is tiny but the old medieval houses, if needing a little tender care are really quite impressive. You get an authentic feel of life in the dark ages here!!!


Well, thats all the exploring for this year I reckon! As soon as it gets warm enough we hope to get our tent out from under the bed and set off in little twingo! I really want to visit the Basque region this year and hope to get across the border into Spain!! Thats all for now folks........Hope to entertain you on the blog next year!!!!!