We didn’t have any “firm plans” for 6 night until we reached Carcassonne, so just decided to go where the road took us! A little random but we got to see a few places we’d never heard of & a thrilling mountain drive!
1st Stop – Belesta – At the foot of the Pyrenees – our second stay on a Camping Car Park £12 for the night with all the facilities. Only one other van & a very nice stay. Took a quick wander through the village. Perfect for an overnight stop.
2nd Stop – Lac Matemale – What we didn’t take in to account was the mountainous roads to take us back over to Matemale, a gripping white knuckle ride that took around 2 1/2 hours whilst trying to avoid a cycling event through the mountains. Once there, the journey was forgotten! A shaded Camping Car Park, next to a lake wedged between two ski resorts. Cycled up to Les Angles for a quick look around, however a storm was rolling in, so we cycled back down pretty quickly.
3rd Stop – Villefranche – de – Conflent for 2 nights – We’d passed this city on the way to Andorra & both commented that it looked interesting, so decided to go back for a couple of nights. We booked the closest site hoping to cycle the short distance, however the road was lethal for cycling. For the 1st time this trip we took “The Ranch” out for a day trip. Parked right next to the old city walls & went off to explore. We walked up to the Fort Liberia first thing & spent a couple of hours up there, a really great place to visit but the walk up & down was taxing, especially in the heat. Back down we then went for a walk along the ramparts of the city, again very enjoyable. A quick wander through the streets & shops before returning back for a refreshing cool off in the pool. Well worth coming back for.
4th Stop – Vinca – Literally a 20 mile drive down the road found us at Vinca. We’d only decided on the way to do a short hop, to have a bit of a quieter day. With a small town & a man made lake/beach, we had a quick whizz around the town. The square was filled with colourful knitted scarves hanging from the trees. On the way back we walked past the church & through the original gate to the town. The afternoon was spent on the edge of the lake, under a tree reading.
5th Stop – Homps – A longer drive today, to get ourselves closer to Carcassonne for the following day. Homps was the chosen destination, a small town on the Canal Du Midi. We stayed at another of the Camping Car Parks, again a perfect location. The only downside, it was hot & there were no pitches in the shade. We got straight out for a wander down by the canal, watching the hired boats passing by. The canal side was lovely with a few bars/restaurants. We then spent the afternoon on a nearby lake, under a tree, reading & watching the world go by. The evening the light was “golden” so took another walk along the canal to enjoy the evening sunset & sky.
