Home > Holidays > Horse riding > The Tarn Valley > Travel diary

Horse Riding

Les Juliannes, the Tarn Valley

This is one of our most popular riding holidays, here's an account of the trip by one happy rider, Julie Snowden.

A Perfect Holiday - report by Julie Snowden

This was my first full riding holiday, which I enjoyed with my sister. We had both been riding reasonably regularly for about two years - the usual kind of Sunday afternoon hacks for an hour or so and were a little apprehensive about whether we would cope with riding every day for a week. As the holiday got nearer we increased our hours in the saddle building up to a couple of half-day rides, something I would really recommend.

The journey was straightforward, with the short flight from London to Toulouse, the airport bus to the station, and time for a coffee before our train to Albi. There, we were picked up by Nick Hudswell, who runs the centre with his French wife, Marie-Christine, and driven through the lovely, rolling countryside to their 17th century farmhouse. It was August, and pretty hot, so the first thing we did when had settled into our room was to have a cooling swim in the scenic outdoor pool. Lovely to swim with views over a gorgeous wooded valley.

There were another four Inntravel guests. It was the first riding holiday for all of us and we wondered what to expect - after a glass of wine or two over dinner we were all looking forward to it. Breakfast and dinner were served in the farmhouse, and we sat around a big wooden table enjoying Marie-Christine's excellent country cooking and discussing the day's riding. The next morning, we gathered to begin the riding, meeting our French instructor, Fabrice, who speaks good English. We were introduced to our horses in the indoor riding school to give Fabrice the opportunity to check we were matched with the right mount and then set out for a hack into the countryside. We rode for around 2 hours, with plenty of cantering across the meadows and along the country tracks. Unlike England, it seems easy to get well away from roads in France, and we enjoyed the spectacular countryside. The time sped by, and we soon felt entirely at ease on our new mounts, which were forward going and well-schooled. My horse, Topaze, a lovely chestnut was one of the best I have ridden - a real gentleman who could pick up the pace when required.

This being a holiday, we spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool working on our tans, and building our appetites for another superb dinner. One particularly fine evening Nick stoked up the barbecue and we enjoyed barbecued duck and other delights in the open air. The vegetarians in our group were well looked after too with some tasty quiches and vegetable bakes.

And so the pattern was set. Each day we enjoyed a good ride, and afternoons were spent relaxing. We even managed a full-day ride towards the end of the week meeting up midway with Marie-Christine who had prepared a picnic lunch for us. Twice, we borrowed the centre's bikes and explored the idyllic countryside. Over the week, we could feel our riding skills improving, and our confidence growing, something shared by our entire group.

A truly memorable holiday.

< To the top of this page