Cathar Castles

Today we drove out to Peyrepertuse in the French Pyrenees. The road in was tremendously twisty and full of single width switchbacks, a couple of which I had to have two goes at. It’s not our first visit, but this is the first time we’ve been here in the springtime. The flora and fauna are very different.

The ruined castle is about 800m above sea level and is perched 40m up a sheer cliff. The walk is not terrible, but the steps are what was left behind when it was abandoned in the 1600s and in part are not for the faint hearted.

Back in what I gather is sunny Charfield, a group of residents are planning to poppy-bomb the village for the centennial Remembrance this November. I was reminded of this when we drove past the poppy fields that interspace the acres and acres of vineyards that produce the wine we are so fond of. So there’s an extra.