A drive from Alets, through the Corbières

 

We pick up the next day heading, once more, south -  but now through the delights (genuine) of Lyon. Traffic not so bad on this occasion and the views of the Rhône spectacular as ever; augmented these days by the amazing Musée des Confluences that sits at the meeting of the Rhône and Saône rivers. I always find it mildly incredible that at points you feel like you’re driving along almost below the waterline - and what carnage the river must have caused in the past (and of course may still do in the future), in the case of an inondation.

With Lyon navigated the change in vegetation and geology to garrigue-like terrain was complete and we moved onward to meet H’s mum for lunch at her house in the Hérault, nr Béziers, and then on to our final stop for the next couple of days, Alets-Les-Bains.

Alets is due south of Carcasonne, in the Aude. It’s nestled up the hill on the way to Quillan, past Limoux. We were due to spend a week there, but given the delayed start to the trip it turned out to be a few days only.

We stayed in a classic french village house - in the small streets in the centre of the village, which has a beautiful arch under restoration, as well as a ruined abbey.

We wanted to make the most of the trip in terms of scouting; ultimately we were asking ourselves if we liked the area to move to, and if so what parts might be affordable.

As such we started the next day (our only full day in the area) in Limoux to assess market day and what was on offer. It was still a weekday and so the crowd was mostly retirees; the stalls lacked a little zest overall, but it was nonetheless a successful trip shopping wise, with us returning with a whole pintade (having been inspired by our stop at La Cimentelle), as well as some lovely ceps, and green beans. 

Dropping the produce at the house we then got back into the car for a drive - first heading south and higher into the foothills through Quillan on the D118, then around onto the D117 to Caudiès-de-Fenouillèdes and Maury (home of a currently unfashionable but notable fortified vin doux naturel), then Tautavel. We were hoping to stop for a swim at Les Gorges Du Gouleyrous but access was closed due to rockfall - so we made do with a picnic stop in Tuchan.

Rural France is often open and remote, but I was particularly struck on the route that we travelled by the openness; especially in comparison to the Languedocian plains where signs of human habitation are much more common. Although Tautavel is only 20 mins or so from Perpignan, given the route we took to get there it felt hours away from anywhere!

We took a picnic lunch in Tuchan and had walk around the village, complete with the scene of municipal workers vacuuming up leaves and debris with an industrial vacuum mounted on a truck - in view in the shot below.

 

With the mechanical novelty wearing off we once again set off, this time north through the Corbieres, for a coffee in Lagrasse - home of yet another notable abbey - though this time more impressive and less ruined than Alets - before a quick detour to Ribaute and our 'plan b' swimming spot in the Orbieu river - the photo at the top of this post. It was fantastic! The river runs over a shallow sloped rock formation before opening out into a natural basin. Given the time of year - mid-late Sep, there were only a few other souls around, taking in the glorious late afternoon sun and refreshing water.

From there we tacked west and back to Alets to prepare and eat dinner. In terms of scouting, the drive was very informative, although mildly disappointing in that the sheer remoteness of much of the landscape was a little too much for us, and the areas nearer Perpignan and the coast most likely unaffordable for the type of property we need to start our business. But nonetheless progress made - not least in eating a wonderful dinner prepared by H. More of this on her instagram that is linked on the blog homepage!

p.s. Here is the driving route we took (click to enlarge).