Elterwater & Little Langdale

An early morning start at Elterwater

It was a good forecast for clear skies, but Elterwater and the River Brathay have a habit of attracting early morning mists. Never mind, it just presents a different kind of photo opportunity.

As the mists cleared away the higher clouds started to move in, but not before we got a few decent shots to work on.

I just spottdd this swan in the gap and wondered if i could catch it 'on film'. It was working it's way backwards and forwards, appearing in the gap every now and again, sometimes with it's head in the water. Add to that, there was a tree in the way where i was shooting. So the swan was going back and forth and i was dodging from one side of the tree to the other!!

In the afternoon we walked from Tilberthwaite to Little Langdale and back via Hodge Close and Holme Ground.

As the lane rises up above Stang End there are some great views over Little Langdale and out towards Bowfell.

Little Langdale, Pike O'Blisco and Bowfell.

Hodge Close quarry. Two hundred feet drop down to the water and two hundred feet from the surface of the water to the bottom!

More enjoyable time spent on land managed by The National Trust.

Sunny October

October 2nd, beautiful sunshine and a walk in the mountains. After a pretty dismal week for weather, Sunday brings a magnificent day. We walked up through Dixon Ground, past the Copperhouse, over the Miner's Bridge and into the Coppermines Valley.

With all the rain on recent days, the waterfalls and cascades were looking good. It felt like fresh, clear water was just pouring out of the mountain.

This view is one that I find so difficult to walk by without photographing. Consequently I have a growing collection similar to this. It is a view that has always amazed me. After the walk up from Holywath, or Dixon Ground, as the path levels out, the valley opens up and presents you with the magnificent spectacle of The Old Man cirque. It never fails.

Bright sparkling water cascading down from Levers Water.

Levers Water beck.

As you can see from the shaddow, this was taken from the bridge that crosses Levers Water beck just above Paddy End.

Cobblers Hole (I think. Might just have to check that)

From the beck we headed around to the Pudding Stone where we crossed Low Water beck. Oh look, there's someone on the top!

Looking up to Yewdale from near 'the signpost'.

We followed the beck down to Mill Dam and Adams Bridge.

Then down throigh Haws Bank to Coniston Hall.

Looking back to the fells, over The Banks.

Roquefixade

We have never visited Roquefixade before, so we decided to rectify that on Saturday 17th of September. As with many of the Cathar Castles attendant villages, Roquefixade is very small, probably fewer than 200 inhabitants. Parking On the outskirts of the village, we quickly found the square and got our bearings. Roquefixade has a limestone escarpment protecting it's northern side and on a spur of that escarpment stands the chateau. Rather bizarrely, the route to the chateau starts by walking away from the village. We headed east along a path at the back of the village, rising gently into the woods. Just outside the village, within the woods, stood a very impressive memorial to the French Resistance of the Second World War.

The monument was erected to commemorate the slaughter of sixteen members of fhe local resistance. They were ambushed at this place in the woods by a patrol of German and German supporting French, in July 1945. Just six weeks before the war ended. You might think that there is no more to it, that's the end of the story. But look closely at the names on the memorial and you will see that the forth name from the bottom has been covered up. Likewise at the top, a new piece of stone has been added so that the number of dead could be changed. I'm fascinated to know why the number has been revised down by one and one of the original names removed. Was it found out later that one of them was a colaborator? I would love to know the story behind that and what effect it had on the village. Whatever the reason, I wouldn't mind betting that it caused divisions that still echo through to the present day.

From the memorial in the wood the path continued along lanes through more open farmland. The direction changed and we headed back, uphill and now in the general direction of the chateau. The lanes hereabouts were lined with plum trees which we just had to try. They were delicious!

Up through the woods, quite open at this point with beech and hazel being the main species. Higher up and box wood became predominent, which can be very clostrophobic and difficult to negociate.

Onto the top of the escarpment looking down onto the village of Roquefixade.

A little further along and we got our first view of the chateau since leaving the village, plus a wonderful view of the whole valley and the mountains beyond.

At this point we were looking for a way down. We did find one, but we weren't convinced it was the right one. It felt more like a cattle trod, narrow, steep and muddy. However, it was a wonderful walk of great variety and as we passed underneath the cliffs of the chateau, we joined a trac

k that led us back to the village square.

Les Orgues D'Ille Sur Tet

On a day when the weather didn't look too promising in Puivert, we decided to drive towards the Mediterranean, where hopefully the sun would be shining. There is an attraction near the town of Ille Sur Tet that had caught our interest. It is an area of strangely shaped rock formations, made out of white sandstone and eroded by the weather.

There is a ten minute walk from the car park up to Les Orgues and along the way there are some sculptures made from various metals. This is one of them, the birds. There was also a dinosaur amongst the bushes.

It's quite an extraordinary sight. This part of the 'park' is known as The Labrynth'.

Looking out from The Labrynth.

And yes, the sun was shining over in this very Mediteranean part of The Languedoc.

As seen from a distance. As the road climbs away from Les Orgues, there is a lay-by with an orientation table and a good view of the strangely shaped rocks. From here it is easy to see where the name came from, as the rocky shapes look like organ pipes.

Puivert

The Moulin Blau is about eight minutes walk from the village of Puivert. It is possible just to walk along the D16, but much more pleasant and safer, to take the footpath through the wood. We used the stepping stones close by the house to cross the river Blau and on the far bank Ken has cleared a path through the wood, up to a track leading into the village. Puivert has a general shop and bakery, as well as three restaurants, including one that specialises in Afghan food. Another has developed from what appears to have been the local petrol station, now being used as a micro brewery and brasserie. Someone there has a good eye for marketing. It stopped me in my tracks, but look carefully at the small print.

The track through the woods brought us to the bridge in the middle of the village with some very old looking properties backing onto the River Blau.

We walked down through the village to the leisure lake, where there were many signs of water activities for the summer months, but now in September, there was very little happening. We walked around the lake and had a coffee at the lakeside bar. The lake is only small and can be seen in some of my photos, but apparently, it used to be much larger. It covered a large area of what is now flat agricultural land, but in the Middle Ages the dam was breached, causing much flooding downstream and total devastation in the town of Mirepoix. It is not known for sure if it was a natural disaster, or if some over enthusiastic farmers were trying to retrieve a bit more land and caused the barrage to give way completely.
From the lake we walked up to the ruins of Puivert's Cathar Castle, though in this case, much of what is on view is from a little later, a 14th century 'modernisation' and extension of the earlier fortifications. The walk up is typical of an approach to a Cathar Castle, steep and rocky and as with many others, interesting for it's flora and butterflies. The entrance to the Chateau ruins is quite an impressive site.

The grand entrance to Chateau Puivert.

I guess they're planning a party?

The view of Puivert from the chateau.

Looking over Puivert and the lake from one of the higher levelzs of the chateau.

Looking to the east from the top of the keep. The agricultural land on the right of the picture was part of the original lake, until the accident in the middle ages. The mountain on the horizon, just above is Pech de Bugarach, one of the highest mountains in the area.

Parts of the interior of the chateau are still used, so some of the rooms are in very good condition. 

The Chapel.

Chateau Puivert has a very accessible feel about it. The courtyard has some reconstruction to show how daily life might have looked in the middle ages and  music from the period playing in the background. Nothing too obtrusive, but it just added something to what was a very enjoyable visit.