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VELORAIL - a very French idea



As the slogan says - "fun for all the family from 7 - 70 (and a bit)"
Off the A 75 at Sainte Eulalie de Cernon

An abandoned railway has been given a new lease of life by Velorail. Small railway wagons fitted with pedals allow you to glide down this fascinating track, through tunnels and over viaducts and all with breathtaking views of the valley de Cernon and the hills, rock outcrops and even cattle grazing in the fields. It also runs through what amounts to a nature reserve - all seen from these small railcars in close to silence.

2 routes are on offer - up-hill "les Papillons" is for the hearty as it is quite a pedal uphill - though coming back down is fun.

In the other direction - "les Orchidees" is pretty pedal free after the first 300 meters and then a delightful glide down hill. And the bonus is - a train will come down after you and take you back to the top! We left at 11.ish and got back at around one o'clock - good value for €16 we thought and after working up an appetite - well judged for lunch - how very French.

Each "car" has 2 pedaling positions and an easy seat for 2 more passengers. Even if you are not a rail fan you will enjoy it - not an anorak zone at all.

Booking a good idea as the trips run in batches - full details on the website - just 2 trips a day in June but 4 or more in July.

www.veloraildularzac.com or phone 05 65 58 72 10



Over a viaduct and into the welcoming cool of one of the 4 tunnels

And a great bonus is Sainte-Eulaie de Cernon - fine fortified town
and not far from the Millau viaduct - if you have friends to entertain

WoW recommended - or should that be WoW rave?

And while you are up on the Larzac on a Wednesday try the market at MONTREDON Tous les mercredis, le marché paysan le plus fréquenté du Larzac : produits fermiers, lutte paysanne et animations les mercredis en été!

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MILLAU VIADUCT

For a very different and fascinating way to arrive and see the viaduct from a different angle - take the train from Bedarieux to Millau.



You will arrive UNDER the viaduct in the river gorge. Take a morning train - stroll from the station in the middle of town for a pleasant lunch and then take the train back.
Check the return train times as friends missed theirs - nothing to do with a heavy lunch they insist - and had to take a costly taxi back!
PS don't rush Millau - nice town and good museum too
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BOUSQUET d'ORB , Place de la Mairie

One of the few things around to remind one that this area was an important coal mining region

Le Musée « Les Lumières de la Mine » vous invite à découvrir sa collection inédite.
L’exposition met en scène d’anciennes lampes de mineurs, des documents d’époque, des outils et des objets de la vie quotidienne du mineur d’antan. La collection privée mise à disposition par son propriétaire Philippe Estang est constituée de plus de 300 pièces de diverses régions et pays miniers : lampes à feu nu, lampes de sécurité à l’huile, à carbure et à benzine, lampes de maîtrise en laiton et lampes électriques…

L’exposition est accompagnée de textes explicatifs, de photographies
et de cartes postales anciennes relatant l’histoire de l’exploitation du charbon dans le bassin minier de Graissessac-Bousquet d’Orb dans le Haut Languedoc, depuis les premières concessions jusqu’à la fermeture de la mine.

L’entrée est gratuite, le musée est ouvert au public jusqu’au 5 septembre.




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OPEN for the summer on Sunday afternoons - Lerab Ling

Little prepares the visitor for the stunning yet incongruous site of the shining gold and bright colours of the Lerab Ling temple.

The colourful inside presided over by a 7 meter high Buddha.
To visit the inside of the temple you will have to remove your shoes "to discard the outside world and its worries"
Contact the Lerab Ling Visitor Centre
E-mail : visit.lerabling@rigpa.org Telephone: [33] (0)4 99 62 00 18
www.lerabling.org

WoW recommended

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A MUST TO VISIT BEFORE THE SUMMER CROWDS

Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert
The village has maintained its historic state because of its isolation and is listed as one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France ("The most beautiful villages of France").

In 806 Saint Guilhem established here the monastery of Gellone which is explained in a new and excellent video presentation in the Cloitre.

Once you have wandered through the gem of a town it is worth a visit to the Grottes de Clamouse near the Pont Diable - see below.

WoW recomended



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MONTPELLIER

3 really interesting places to visit - WoW recommended

The Mare Nostrum - Aquarium - at the Odysseum

A really fascinating place and do visit the mock up of the bridge of a ship going through the "roaring forties" - noisy and it rocks - literally. Just re-visited and it is a thoroughly excellent half day - do not rush it - there is so much to see. All the signs are also in English - which helps!


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The Zoo - it is a hard act to follow the aquarium - this is less "fun" and more worthy but still an interesting visit

Take the time to visit the re-creation of the Amazon Rain forest - well worth the trip.
And the British Council have provided a number of boards explaining Darwin - odd to see English first on the panels - left over from last years 200th anniversary no doubt!

Le parc zoologique et la serre amazonienne seront ouverts du mardi au dimanche.
Pendant les vacances scolaires de la zone A et tous les jours fériés, le parc zoologique et la serre amazonienne seront ouverts du lundi au dimanche.
Les caisses de la serre amazonienne seront ouvertes de 10 h à 16 h, l’accès au parc zoologique sera possible jusqu’à 16h30.

Also ate a pretty good meal overlooking the Amazon. The zoo though is very disapointing - perhaps the animals were on strike - they were not very obvious.



And while you are in MONTPELLIER - search out the Chateau D'O

Sorry - pictures don't work - but it is a fine spot and beautifuly maintained
The park contains a theatre and a couple of outdoor areans in which a whole range of concerts and events are held.

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A couple of places to visit near Narbonne


Fontfroide Abbey
The Abbey is a delight and a visit is as professionally organised as you would find at a National Trust house. Well signposted, many of the information points are in English and German and there is even a bar and a restaurant plus a bookshop.

A little like Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire - the building is hidden until the last part of your walk from the car park.

In the summer the Abbaye also hosts a series of concerts and events - see the excellent website for more information www.fontfroide.com


History from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fontfroide Abbey or l'Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Fontfroide is a former Cistercian monastery in France, situated 15 kilometers south-west of Narbonne near to the Spanish border.
It was founded in 1093 by the Viscount of Narbonne, but remained poor and obscure until in 1144 it affiliated itself to the Cistercian reform movement. Shortly afterwards the Count of Barcelona gave it the land in Spain that was to form the great Catalonian monastery of Poblet, of which Fontfroide counts as the mother house, and in 1157 the Viscountess Ermengard of Narbonne granted it a great quantity of land locally, thus securing its wealth and status. The abbey fought together with Pope Innocent III against the heretical doctrine of the Cathars who lived in the region. It was dissolved in 1791 in the course of the French Revolution.
It was re-founded in 1858 by monks from Sénanque Abbey. The community was driven out of France by French legal changes in 1901. The premises, which are of very great architectural interest, passed into private hands in 1908, when the artists Gustave and Madeleine Fayet d'Andoque bought it to protect the fabric of the buildings from an American collector of sculpture. They restored it over a number of years and used it as a centre for artistic projects.
It still remains in private hands. Today wine is produced here of the AOC Corbières quality under the French appelations system. It also has a small working farm, bookstore and restaurant and takes paying guests.

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FORTRESS OF SALSES

Closer to the Spanish border – a delight and more than that – an ingenious design which was designed to confuse anyone who stormed the walls. So complicated that a new garrison spent 3 weeks learning the tricks laid by the castles designer. It is as if the building has a sense of humour!


Salses fortress, is a unique example of military architecture combining aspects from medieval castles and modern bastions, located 15km from Perpignan.

Visiting Salses fortress

• A masterpiece of military architecture. Salses shows the transition from a medieval castle (with a keep and round towers framing long curtain walls) to a modern fortress (it is strictly geometrical with deep foundations). With walls from 6 to 10 ten metres thick, the construction has three wholly independent parts running from east to west. The various levels are connected by a labyrinth of passages with a multitude of zigzag internal defences.

• Contemporary art at Salses. There have been major public commissions of artwork for the fortress since 1986. Three sculptures by Toni Grand (1986-2004) are currently on show, as are installations by Antoni Muntadas, Marc Couturier, and Daniel Firman, among others.

Understanding Salses fortress

• A strategic defensive position between Catalonia and France. The fortress was built by the Spanish in the late 15th century on a site with a source of spring water, most useful in the event of a siege, and it guarded the old border. It was besieged, captured and recaptured in 1503, 1639, and 1640, before being definitively taken by the French in 1642. The Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 redrew the borders, and Salses lost its strategic role and importance. Nevertheless, Vauban began partially restoring it in 1691.



You may have seen it from the autoroute - but stop next time - it is a treat
More info at www.castles.info/france/salses


~~~

And if you like patchwork - The European Patchwork Centre sits on the canal in Sallèles d'Aude at 32 quai de Lorraine
Latitude : 43.2588558 Longitude : 2.9487738
Téléphone: 04 68 46 02 47
More info on the slowest website in France!
www.patchwork-cep.com

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Days out – some new ideas from WoW in the Agde/Meze/Etang de Thau area

It doesn’t all have to be sun and sand!

AGDE

The Ephebe Musee is just splendid - and best of all - every thing has been found in the River or the Sea.
It might look a bit like Milton Keynes on Sea but follow the road down into town - and when you get to the roundabout with the filling station - turn left - ie second exit - and follow to next roundabout and come back and turn right in to the musee. Really good collection and a bonus - great air con on a hot day!
Ephebe statue below - but there are also 2 splendid little bronzes of young boys - plus an amazing array of locally found artifacts


Photo courtesy of "Musée de l'Ephèbe".

And a bonus while it is hot in summer the museum is air-conditioned!


*LOUPIAN – Mosaigues and partial excavation of the Gallo Roman Villa



WoW readers familiar with Bath and its wonderfully preserved Roman spa might be a touch disappointed. However this villa – discovered by vignerons in the 1930’s is worth a visit – certainly the Romans knew how to pick a great spot – over looking the Etang de Thau and of Sete.
Work did not start on restoration until after the site had been classified as an Historic Monument (probably to do with grants!) and the path has been slow.
Work really started on the mosaics after the ground had been underpinned and most of what you see has been virtually rebuilt and re-layed. It is nontheless impressive to find such delight in what msut be the most boring building for a thousand kilometers!


(Lattes museum is really splendid - see below)
Money for further excavation has run out but there is no doublt this is a fine example of a merchants house and much more is thought to be underground.
The introductory area, before one goes to the site itself, has good explanations and translations in to English and German too

Originellement, une modeste ferme a été bâtie à quelques kilomètres au sud de la Via Domitia, sur le versant regardant l'Étang de Thau et la colline de l'actuelle commune de Sète. La ferme a rapidement prospéré et s'est étendue. Pendant le Haut-Empire, aux premier et second siècles, la villa est devenue une grande résidence patricienne avec des thermes. La principale activité agricole était la viticulture, pour laquelle a été construit un chai capable de contenir 1 500 hectolitres de vin stocké dans de grosses jarres (dolia), retrouvées sur place. À cette période a été aussi construit un petit port au nord du bassin de Thau, destiné à l'exportation du vin. On a également retrouvé un atelier de potiers pour la fabrication d'amphores destinées au transport de ce vin. Ces amphores sont estampillées M A F.
Au Ve siècle, la villa a été complètement rebâtie et se transforme en une résidence somptueuse dont le sol est couvert de mosaïques.

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*BOUZIQUES – do visit the museum on the Etang – really interesting and lively and explains how the oysters are reared



*ABBEY DE VALMAGNE – one of the most beautiful and atmospheric places for miles around.
The church is stunning but the lavabo in the Cloisters is the most beautiful we have seen.


*buy a ticket for one of the above and get discount when you visit another of the sites above

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LATTES

A huge range of artifacts found on this site.
Située au bord du Lez, Lattes - l'antique Lattara - fut un port important de la Méditerranée occidentale, occupée du VIe siècle avant notre ère au IIIe siècle après J.-C.

Après une parenthèse de plusieurs siècles, Lattes deviendra au Moyen Âge le port de Montpellier.
Le musée archéologique, situé dans l'ancien Mas Saint-Sauveur aux abords de l'ancien port, vous invite à découvrir ces vestiges. Le musée permet aussi au public de découvrir, à travers ses expositions temporaires, d'autres civilisations méditérranéennes antiques.


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AGREED - this is not exactly a "day out" but the idea of the French inviting Anglophones to re-enact Waterloo seemed too good to miss in WoW!



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TOULOUSE - not in Herault but only a couple of hours away

Take a tour around the Airbus plant.


The tour begins in the «telemetry room» with a presentation of the A380 programme. You will then enter the Jean-Luc Lagardère site and see, from a observation tower, the general testing stations, the outside testing stations and an overall view of the entire site.

Finally, as a new feature of our exclusive tour, you will board a full scale model of the A380 (a 16m section of the fuselage with fully equipped main and upper decks) and discover the secrets of the interior of the world’s only true double decker airliner.

Things you might not know – it takes just 3 weeks to assemble an A380 – and then it takes 6 more weeks to test many of the functions in the largest building in Europe – 10 Hectares – or 24.71 acres. And then more tests outside.

The statistics are mind boggling – for example the wings are made in Wales, weigh 35 tonnes and are 150 foot long. They start their journey to France on a barge on the River Dee, transfer to a sea ferry, onto another barge and then by road (it takes 3 days, traveling at night), to bring the wings to the factory)
The major sections come from UK, Spain, Germany and of course France. The myriad of parts for the giant airliner are made by 1,500 companies in 30 countries

A fully loaded plane weighs 560 tonnes – each wing can hold 100 tonnes of fuel.

Superlatives don’t really explain and lists of statistics are boring – why not go and see for yourself – it is a fascinating half day

More info on the website
pagesperso-orange.fr/manatour-taxiway.fr/gb/airbus.htm

Open every day except Sunday and bank holidays
Monday to Friday : 9h00 - 18h00
Saturday : 9h00 - 12h30 / 13h30 - 18h00
Tél. 00 33 (0)5 34 39 42 00 / Fax. 00 33 (0)5 34 39 42 05
e-mail : reservation@taxiway.fr



And while in the Toulouse area - you are about half an hour from the resevoir which feeds the Canal du Midi and a museum which traces the work and the engineering of this "grand projet"

The water source, the reason the canal rarely runs dry, was an act of brilliance by Jean Pierre Riquet. Walking in the area a country man pointed out to Riquet that streams hereabouts divided - some running to the South and the Med - the others heading North to the Channel. Also being at the end of Black Mountains the rainfall was reliable and could feed the canal. THE ideal place for a resevoir.

So here - at Saint-Ferreol near Revel - was built one of the largest man-made structures in Europe at the time - the massive lake which still feeds the canal over 400 years later

It makes a great contrast with the very 21st century Airbus visit - but in it's way was, at the time, just as cutting edge as the planemakers are today
.
Look on the map - it is about 20kms eastwards from Castelnaudry.
Lovely lake, breathtaking scenery and fine civil engineering -

Water cascades down to replenish water lost from the Canal through channels



The fountain "powered" by the water in the dam

In the summer this is a super place to cool off.

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Special winter rates on the train jeune



A softies way of seeing the snow for €10!



Le petit train jaune was built at the beginning of the century in order to link the towns and villages high up in the mountains with Perpignan and Prades, the principal administrative towns. It links Villefrance-de-Conflent with la Tour de Carol and is 63 km long, made up of wooden compartments with bench seating. It is the highest railway track in France with the highest SNCF station and the views are stunning as you pass over the viaducts; Séjourné (named after the chap who built it) and the Pont Gisclard, built 80m high overlooking a precipice.

It’s braking system is unique in the world, being the first train to have used electricity. These "aéro-statiques" brakes use electrical current and stop the train by electro-magnetisme: the heat created by this friction is dissipated by enormous elements underneath the machine. which are cooled by air. The brakes of course are important as the downward run is particularly steep between Olette et Saillagouse. Despite the steepness of the return journey, there has never been an accident apart from the day of the train’s first trial run in 1909! Ooops! The line nevertheless went on to be opened safely in 1910 from Villefranche to Mont-Louis, progressing in 1911 to Bourg Madame, but not arriving in Latour until 1927.

The line is a single track and the trains can only pass each other at certains stations (Olette, Fontpédrouse, Mont-Louis, Odeillo, Saillagouse, Bourg-Madame) so the driver has to check by radio with the control centre in Villefranche and obtain permission to leave each station!

The line leaves Villefranche-de-Conflent, goes up through the Tet gorges to Mont Louis and crosses over the col de la Perche into Cerdagne. It passes Font-Romeu, descends towards Saillagouse, Osséja, Bourg-Madame, Ur, and finishes in Latour-de-Carol where passengers can link up with the "Transpyrénéen" ( Paris-Toulouse-Barcelone). It goes through 19 tunnels and over 2 viaducts:

Timetables at : www.ter-sncf.com/languedoc

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HOT SPRINGS - close by the train jeune

Les sources naturelles d'eau chaude
Eté comme hiver, il fait bon se prélasser dans des bains d'eau chaude sulfureuse à ciel ouvert (dont la température avoisine les 35°C), à Dorres (anciens thermes romains en granit), à Llo ou encore en Haut Conflent, à Saint Thomas-les-Bains.

Bains de Saint Thomas
(eau à 36° l’été et 38° l’hiver) près de Font-Romeu à Fontpédrouse. Au nombre de six, les sources qui jaillissent sont parmi les plus chaudes des eaux sulfureuses de la Vallée de la Têt (3 bassins extérieurs)
Tél : + 33 (0)4 68 97 03 13

Les célèbres bains de Dorres en contrebas du village de Dorres à 14 km de Font Romeu permettent de se baigner dans des eaux sulfurées à 42° (baignoires romaines en plein air)
Tél : + 33 (0)4 68 04 66 87

Les bains de Llo à 25 km de Font Romeu
Eau thermale sulfureuse : un bassin en plein air avec une eau à 31° (jacuzzi et nage à contre courant) un bassin couvert à 30°.

www.sunfrance.com/
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Week-end trappeur en Cerdagne
avec des chiens de traîneaux...

Venez vivre, le temps d’un week-end, au rythme des trappeurs dans des sites exceptionnels. Vous évoluerez dans les forêts de pins, vous traverserez les étangs gelés, accompagnés par les chiens de traîneaux.

Description de l’offre :
JOUR 1 : Raquettes + baptême en traîneau.
13h45 rendez-vous fixé à Font-Romeu.
14h00 : balade en raquettes sur les hauteurs de Font-Romeu en direction du site des chiens de traîneaux. Lecture des traces, découverte du milieu montagnard enneigé.Prise de contact avec le musher et ses chiens. Installation dans les traîneaux pour une balade de 4 km au milieu de la forêt de pins.
16h30/17h30 : boissons chaudes offertes et retour vers les véhicules.
Dîner et nuit à l’auberge.

JOUR 2 : Raquettes + repas chaud en refuge.
Rendez-vous fixé à Mont-Louis.
9h : départ pour une rando raquettes à neige dans le Massif du Carlit. Nous évoluerons au travers des forêts de Mont-Louis et de Llivia en début de journée, pour ensuite traverser les étanges gelés tel un trappeur canadien. Pique-nique (tiré du sac) ou repas chaud pris au refuge à proximité de l’étang des Bouillouses, un des plus beaux sites de notre région.
L’après-midi, sur le chemin du retour, il n’est pas rare de croiser un cervidé ou les traces d’un grand tétras entre deux glissades improvisées.
16h45 : fin du circuit.

www.sunfrance.com/

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The Dali Triangle

Granted Figueres doesn't seem an obvious day out from Herault but......

BUT it is less than 3 hours away from here and it is magic.

Do try to do at this is the time of year to avoid the crowds and queues.

First Figueres and the Theatre museum

Why here?

Well this theatre was virtually destroyed in the Civil War
AND Dali was born in the town
AND baptised in the church you can see in the background

See the stage and large windows where once there were the curtains



The car stands where the auditorium once was



The theatre is just packed with delight including the jewellery he made and his collection of old masters. Too big and diverse for us to describe - you just have to see it "in all it's glory" - never has an old and overworked phrase worked so well.

Going from the heart of Figueres to his sea side house is a nightmare as there are almost no signs until you have nearly arrived. Aim for the C 260 and go to Cadaques. Just beyond is Portlligat and the shack which he and his Russian wite Gala grew into a maze of invention and delight - house and gardens - all got the Dali treatment. A mere fishermans shack grew into a fascinating space of interlocking and inter connecting rooms set on a small hill overlooking the bay and the ocean

See his famous couch by the pool



And his Granada inspired swimming pool.


You will have to join a timed guided tour but the guides, building and gardens are superb. Proof of age over 65 results in a modest discount.

Oh dear - did we say a day out? Ah well - probably you need to stay or return again to Pubol and the castle that he and Gala refurbished and which is her burial place (he did not want to be parted from her)
Though she died at the sea side house he drove her back to their castle in the Cadillac, now garaged in the castle. Though described as a castle it is not vast andhas only 2 bedrooms and yet has grand public rooms and an enchanting garden. Also it sits virtually in the heart of the village of Pubol.

At the end WoW felt not so much a chance to see the work of one of the great and strange surrealist artist of the lobster telephone fame but more the life works of an enormously talented and gifted artist in so many spheres of art.

Again not many sign posts and again WoW got lost - but - follow the C66 from Girona and look very carefully for the turn to La Pera and Pujol - once you have left the main road it is pretty well signed and well worth the distance. Calm and yet weird, ancient and yet strikingly modern.

More at www.salvador-dali.org

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Grottes Clamouse

It is simply not possible for this old hack to pen a portrait lyrical enough to do justice to the Caves at Clamouse.

How often have we all sped by the Grottes, between St Guilhem le Desert and the Pont Diable thinking, "well we have DONE Wookey Hole so lets press on - they can't be that special!"

A grave error as this complex of caves are not only beautifully presented - they are simply stunning.

What is more the preparatory film explains, as nothing before has managed, the mechanism and chemistry of the caves and the formations. Plus the most delightful and helpful guide who slips from French to English.

This is a WoW must 3*** place. (3 * is a max WoW measure)

Soon to close for the winter but re-opening in early February.
(WoW co-judge admitted afterwards that he had thought it was not exactly going to be his tasse de the - but was also delighted)
Ed note - not too strong I hope Patrick??

Visit the website now and promise yourself a visit in the spring - we do not think you will be disapointed.

As a teaser - look at this formation - very rare indeed and unique in Herault -



It looks as amazing in real life and this is just a wee snapshot from the hour long tour. A fair bit of walking is involved, but cleverly there are seats from time to time where you just sit, look and marvel - including a pretty stunning son et lumiere.

www.clamouse.com

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STEAM TRAIN -

Trouble on the line - you need to check if the train is running this year.

If you like the smell and noise of the past there is a steam train in Gard - Les Cevennes
More info 04 66 60 59 01 or www.trainavapeurdes-cevennes.fr
or www.trainavapeur.com




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ANDUZE

And while you are in the area - do go to the Bambouseraie - might sound dull but it is most certainly not


The magnificent bamboo-lined entrance.

The Bambouseraie is a unique site given up to that extravagance of which nature only has the secret, and to the exuberance of plants in the most unexpected forms. However, the Bambouseraie is a living place, open to artists, a place to dream and meditate where every kind of sensitivity can satisfy one’s desire for enchantment and knowledge. Through real rites of passage, visitors are free to increase their culture and make discoveries to be shared, helped discreetly and efficiently by all the members of the team present in this exceptional garden.
www.bambouseraie.com

WoW recommended