Return

Time to head back ... this time up the Western side of France past Bordeau ... again we broke the trip into smaller sections with one stop at Limoges where we stayed in the Novotel and dinner in the restaurant taking advantage of the free children offers.
then it was back to Dieppe and the ferry home.

Cirque de Gavarnie

Another sunny day and another walk into the mountains ... To the South of Gavarnie lies a huge "cirque" with impressive walls leading up to the glacial bowl below the Breche.
Parking in the huge car park outside Gavarnie, we took to the track following all the other people doing the same thing.
My memories of coming here as a child only really recall the donkeys (still there but much less of them) and long cobbled tracks ... Now there is much less stone, and I did not remember the cirque at all.

The cirque itself.
Plenty of waterfalls.

the hotel in the depths, then we turned around to find a quiet place for lunch, besides the river.

Breche de Roland

A day in the mountains today ... being near Gavarnie there are some spectacular walks and none more so than going up to La_Brèche_de_Roland.
We parked the car at the end of the road on the border to Spain and traversed across into the mountains. The girls liked the idea of stepping into Spain.

After a while we had the crowding effect of going up the "tricky" rocky step that bars the way to the upper glacier bowl, and the refuge.

First views of the Breche or gap slotted into the ridge.
Heading up the snow to the gap

Lunch in Spain, and then back the same way we came up .. only with more people now around.

Nearly back at the car, a stop for refreshment.

Gedre

Time to move on again .... we headed across the Pyrenees towards Gavarnie, finishing at a campsite in Gedre just north of Gavarnie - Les mouscat campsite
We took the more direct route on the lesser roads over all the passes, with the obligatory stops, and as such took most of the day.

Gorge de Galamus

To return to the campsite we continued around the loop, coming back down the gorge de Galamus ... we did not realise it before, but a very narrow road on one side - even going down to one lane at times ... we did get through in one piece.

We parked at the end and walked back to get a better view ... 

When we were moving I was far more concerned about keeping my eyes on the road and other vehicles.
Looking down into the gorge we saw our first evidence of a craze that would be widespread later - "Canyoning" - you can see the party making their way down the stream in the bottom. walking, jumping, sliding through the water.

Chateau Queribus

Next up and "just around the corner" was chateau Queribus a bigger hike to get up to it and some impressive building again

Chateau Peyrepertuse

Next up and "just around the corner" was chateau Queribus a bigger hike to get up to it and some impressive building again

St Cyprien

I had promised the girls a visit to the beach ... much against my better judgement I was even seen in the water ... not something to be repeated regularly.
We went to St. Cyprien and parked up on the side of the road beside the beach and walked over the dunes and onto the hot (very hot) sand .. not exactly a popular part of the beach, but this suited us.
Back to the campsite for a shower and a cool down.

Château Peyrelade

Moving on today, and after packing up the tent we headed off in the wrong direction .. another pamphlet had shown Chateau Peyrelade as a good place to visit

Very much a "local" castle for the lord and his family but not much more ... although it had impressive fortifications. We suspect that most would have lived in temporary shacks in the courtyard.
The High Lord's room(s) .. very tight and not the kind of place the history books lead you to believe in.

Our destination for tonight was somewhere in Cathar country .. no specific location we would just find a campsite.
We ended up at a village called Moury and the municipal campsite .. memorable because we pitched on the edge next to the vines stretching to the distance, and also that the occupants used traditional washing methods in the open air sinks next to the toilet block.