Flying from Manchester Friday 11.22 Arriving Carcassonne 14.25
Flying from Carcassonne Saturday 10.05 Arriving Manchester 11.10
First night to be spent at Hotel Le Donjon in Carcassonne before heading out to Quillan for a week. The figures in brackets represents the driving time from Quillan.
Quillan
Montsegur and possibly visit to the medieval town of Mirepoix.
Montsegur (49 mins)
A Cathar castle in the Ariege where over 200 Cathars were sent to their death by burning in March 1244. The castle is perched above the village on a limestone rock at 1,200 metres.
https://www.ariegepyrenees.com/en/decouvrir/incontournables/chateaux/montsegur/
Montsegur to Mirepoix takes 42 minutes.
Mirepoix (46 mins)
A beautiful old town with a well preserved medieval square and cathedral.
https://www.ariegepyrenees.com/en/decouvrir/incontournables/les-plus-beaux-villages/mirepoix/
Perypertuse (64 mins)
A large site with the remains of the Cathar castle sprawling across a mountain ridge.
https://www.peyrepertuse.com/en/
Queribus back via Mory and St Paul. (50 mins)
Just 9 miles, or 25 minutes from Perypertuse, Queribus is a Cathar castle with a commanding view towards The Pyrenees.
https://www.tourisme-corbieres-minervois.com/en/explorer-nos-incontournables/les-chateaux-du-pays-cathare/le-chateau-de-queribus/
Puilaurens (24 mins)
Perched on Mont Ardu at 697 metres, the most southerly Cathar stronghold, guarding against invasion from the Kingdom of Aragon.
https://www.audetourisme.com/en/fiche/puilaurens/chateau-de-puilaurens_TFOPCULAR0110000007/
Picture courtesey of tourism Carcassonne.
Puivert. (16 mins)
One of the best preserved castles in the area.
https://chateau-de-puivert.com/
Coustaussa. (18 mins)
A visit to Coustaussa involves a delightful tour of the of the chateau by Gaultier, as he works hard to preserve the remains which have in recent years, passed to his father.
https://www.chateau-coustaussa.fr/
Other places of interest
Esperaza market on Sunday morning. (8 mins)
No better introduction to the area than a visit to the vibrant and colourful Sunday morning market in Esperaza. It feels like everyone from the whole area is there!
The Yellow Train from Villefranche de Conflent to Latour de Carol near Andorra. https://www.tourism-mediterraneanpyrenees.com/
Probably a trip too far. Further research has shown that the train journey is 3 hours out in the morning and 3 hours back late afternoon. This is onto of it being 1.5 hours drive to get to the station.
Ax Les Thermes, (1hr 6 mins)
A beautiful spa town and winter resort in The Pyrenees, but the best part of this trip is the fabulous circular drive and the views of the mountains.
Les Orges d'Ille sur Tet (1hr 20mins)
Incredible natural rock formations caused by erosion.
Abbey St Hilaire (46 mins)
Just a few miles from Limoux, it is the place where the monks first 'invented' the method traditionelle. It was later adopted by the champagne region to produce their more famous wines.
Rennes les Bains. (24 mins) en route to Bugarach.
As the name suggests, a spa town. People still travel to take the waters, but the town has faded from its former elegance. People can often be seen lying in the pools of the warm river Salz. The town and area around it are very popular with new world hippies and people of alternative lifestyles.
Walks
Roman bridge at Bugarach (33 mins) can be combined with a stop in Rennes les Bains.
Park at the vulture viewing point where we are likely to see Griffon Vultures. Walk down through the wood to the Pont Romain. The original bridge, which crosses the Gorges de la Blanquette, was washed away in the floods of 1992, but was quickly and authentically replaced in 1993. Its only a small bridge but feels quite exposed when crossing, possibly due to it only being a chariot width, no handrails and quite high above the stream below.
Mont Sec, from Couiza. (14 mins)
A pleasant walk out onto the mountainside, good for flowers, butterflies and views. There is also a small group of ancient capitelles (stone, shepherds huts) on the hillside.
Rennes le Chateau (21 mins)
A small hilltop village famous for its 19th century priest Berenger Saunier, who inexplicably acquired immense wealth. This lead to legends of him discovering the holy grail, or secrets of the Knights Templar, or some sort of hidden treasure. The village also featured in Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code. Great views all around.
Terre Rouge from Serres (21 minutes)
A good circular walk through some extraordinarily red landscapes. A beautiful old bridge in the village of Serres, butterfly orchids in the woods and monkey orchids in the open heathland.
Alet Les Bains (22 mins)
A smal village beside the river Aude with an ancient abbey.
Gorge de Galamus (50 mins)
Possible programme of events
Friday… arrive at Carcassonne 14.25, collect car and drive to Hotel Donjon.
Saturday…From Carcassonne, drive out to Rennes Le Chateau for lunch (52 minute drive). Check in at Quillan is 16.00. Visit Mamouth Supermarché for essentials (wine).
Sunday… Esperaza market in the morning, a 10 minute drive from Quillan.
Monday… drive to Montségur (50 mins) and walk up to the chateaux. Possibly visit the medieval town of Mirepoix in the afternoon (40 mins) then back to Quillan (50 mins).
Tuesday… walk the Terre Rouge, or the Roman bridge near Bugarach.
Wednesday… drive to the wine village of Cucugnan in the Corbieres hills and visit either chateau Perypertuse, or chateau Quéribus.
Thursday… drive up to the spa town of Ax Les Thermes in the Pyrenees and back via a different route. Very scenic all the way!
Friday… visit the chateau of Puylaurens or chateau Puivert. Both local, within 20 minutes drive of Quillan.
Saturday… return to Carcassonne airport (50 minutes) to catch the 10.05 flight back to Manchester.
All very flexible and will no doubt be adjusted according to preference and weather. River canoeing is an extra curricular activity that can be made available to those wishing to get wet 😂
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