By Naomi Skehan
The taxi ride to Gincla, our starting point, was quite spectacular. Monsieur Rapidel likes to act as tour guide to Inntravel customers during the journey and, realising that our grip of French was limited, pointed out places of interest in Franglais as we drove along.
We were warmly welcomed at the Hostellerie du Grand Duc, the first hotel on the Castles of the Cathars walk. Having arrived in the late afternoon, we had time to stretch our legs and explore the village before dinner, for which I chose melt-in-the-mouth steak, the best I’ve ever tasted.
Our first day’s walk started with a transfer to Puilarens, from where we had a steep climb up to the village’s ruined castle. Apart from this initial climb, the day turned out to be reasonably gentle, without the numerous ascents and descents of the following days, and was a pleasant warm up. From the castle, we followed tracks leading gently uphill through forest, pausing at the frequent clearings to admire the views. At the top of the hill, we reached a large grassy area, a perfect place for lunch, with superb views all around us. With just a long downhill section ahead of us back to Gincla, we lingered here for quite some time.
The second day was again beautifully sunny. Having been transferred by taxi to Caudiès, we struck out away from the village down a poplar-lined avenue that led to an attractive small church. Outlined against cloudless blue skies, it looked like an image from a guide book. From the church, we climbed up to a broad, wooded ridge that we were to follow for the next three or four hours. Despite being in woodland, we still had good views down into the valleys on either side dotted with tiny, neatly ordered villages. We passed our hotel far below, but the minor frustration about having to continue along the ridge to then double back was soon forgotten as we spotted a golden eagle circling round its nest. In the next few minutes we saw two others, this time flying beneath the ridge. It was an amazing sight! There are in fact quite a few golden eagles in the area – the rocky terrain is ideal for nesting and the presence of so few humans provides added security.
At the end of the ridge we passed a thermal spring. The warm, bubbling water is meant to be excellent for eczema. Fortunately, given the water’s foul smell, this is not something that I suffer from! Instead, I waited until we reached the Hotel le Châtelet in St Paul, where we treated ourselves to a well-earned glass of wine on the terrace and enjoyed the views of the ridge, marvelling at how far we had walked.
The route from St Paul to Soulatgé started with a section along the twisting Gorges du Galamus. The gorge is very narrow in parts, and the river that runs through it is very clear – we saw some 30-centimetre-long trout swimming through the water. We visited a tiny hermitage in the rock, which I can’t begin to imagine how they built. At the end of the gorge, knowing that a long ascent to the top awaited us, we took advantage of a conveniently placed café converted from an old mill to gather our strength. When we finally reached the top, we felt as if we were on top of the world – until we turned round and saw the Pyrenees towering behind us! We continued to a narrow ridge from where we could see Soulatgé and Peyrepertuse (apparently on a very clear day you can see all the way to Quéribus, where the walk ends). The last leg was easy, through woodland of box. Given that in Britain you can pay through the nose for small ornamental box trees, it was strange to see it growing so abundantly in the wild.
Soulatgé, our destination, is a very sleepy little village. We had trouble finding La Giraudasse, passing it the first time without realising it. Its unassuming façade, however, belies a delightful interior and Anibal, who runs the chambres d’hôtes with Katia, certainly knows how to welcome his guests – the minute we stepped through the door, he came to greet us with a lovely cool beer for each of us. Dinner was a three-course meal of delicious country cooking (even the bread had been baked by Anibal). He explained to us that, wherever possible, he uses local organic produce in his cooking.
We were escorted out of Soulatgé the following day by a pair of dogs. So keen were they to ensure that we had gone for good, that they accompanied us for a good two miles before finally deciding to call it a day. Shortly afterwards began our climb up to the château de Peyrepertuse. Half way up, we passed a pretty waterfall from which Eleanor of Aquitaine is said to have drunk. Just below the castle, we turned the corner and came to some medieval stone steps that lead into the castle through a ‘secret’ entrance. Appearing in our walking boots and with red cheeks caused by the exertion, several day-trippers, who couldn’t believe we’d been mad enough to climb all the way up, stared at us disbelievingly! Peyrepertuse is the largest and best preserved of the three châteaux visited on the walk. We explored the castle and then sat down for our picnic on the grass, watching two golden eagles in the sky above us.
After lunch, we wound our way downhill to the village of Peyrepertuse and walked through vineyards to the Auberge du Vigneron in Cucugnan. Cucugnan sits on a strange mound in the middle of the valley, and is quite a bustling little place, with a few art galleries and craft shops. The bedrooms at the hotel are attractively rustic, with exposed stonework and plenty of nice little touches. The restaurant is in the cellar, with huge wine vats running down the length of the room and an enormous fireplace in the middle. It was packed with locals and we had a delicious meal: goat’s cheese in filo pastry with tomato chutney followed by lamb in a tarragon sauce accompanied with pommes de terre dauphinoises. For dessert we had pancetta, a crème caramel mousse, which was so lovely that I have made it numerous times for myself since returning home!
Our last day's walk involved another steep climb but fortunately it was relatively short. The views from the château de Quéribus were amazing – we could see the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean very clearly, and could also trace our week’s route. Looking across to the jagged peaks, I promised myself that my next Inntravel walk will be in the Pyrenees themselves.