Monday 7th September 2015
After croissants and coffee we wave farewell to Camping de la Cite in amazing Carcassonne.
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| Early morning at Camping de la Cite |
Mick's
dip beam headlight bulb has blown, not good because I rely on seeing
his bright light in my mirrors so I know he is following me okay.
So
Tomtom comes to the rescue again. We find a Bosch service centre in the
'Points or Interest' lists. It is just a few kilometres away. In fact it is a
diesel truck place but the obliging staff search the shelves in the back
and come up with a match. We fit it in their car park and are soon on
our way.
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| Rest stop |
Now we are riding across an undulating plain through
acre after acre of grapevines, This is the Languedoc-Roussillon wine
growing area which has brought me many happy evenings over the years.
Mick is just hoping we will find more 8% beers on our next shopping
trip. Then off up into the hills on a winding country
road following a river up over a saddle. Tomtom takes us into the centre
of a small village, probably a waypoint, up impossibly narrow and very
steep winding streets. It will be impossible to turn around here if we
get stuck. Thankfully we emerge and find our way back to the main road.
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| Very narrow streets |
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| And back on Main Street |
We
are heading towards Millau but not in the most direct way. It is not
very far, less than 200 miles, and when planning the trip I wanted to
incorporate plenty of mountain roads as well as the faster main roads
which tend to follow the valleys.
So we meander over
small cols and up and down steep valleys. At one high viewpoint called
Roc Suzadou where a handy sign tells us we are at an altitude of 720
metres. We stop for a brew, gazing out over the rolling Languedoc
hills.
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| Top of the Col |
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| Good spot for a brew |
We ride through dense forests of
ancient deciduous trees, the road is dappled with beams of sunlight
between very dark tunnels of trees. It is breathtaking.
By
mid afternoon the narrow twisting roads are beginning to take their
toll and we are getting quite tired. We are still 50 miles shy of Millau
and although we could divert to the motorway to complete the planned
agenda we spy a small town up on a hill to our left with a ruined
castle watching over it.
Tomtom tells me there are
several hotels and lodgings to be found so we ride on up into Le Caylar.
It is a quaint and historic village. There is a small square with an
extraordinary sculpted tree trunk. There is a church, bar, shop,
restaurant and a nice B&B called Le Barry where we book in.
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| Le Barry B&B |
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| Strangely carved dead tree with roof |
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| The cafe bar in Caylar |
It
is a very old house. The rooms look out onto a small garden courtyard
at the back, converted storehouses or stables. Two massive St Bernards
seem to own the place. The price is over our notional budget at €88 for
B&B, but it is comfortable and we need a good night's sleep without
the hassle of erecting tents and walking half a mile to the loos and
showers.
In the evening we go out first to the bar for a
beer, then the shop to stock up for the following day. Mick is well
pleased to find more imported heavy duty ale and I buy a bottle of
chateau-bottled red from the estate just below the village.
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| Seven cheeses and cherry pie |
Then
we repair to the restaurant for a simple table d'hôte supper of salad
and braised chicken leg followed by cherry pie and a selection of seven
cheeses. The waitress tells us that six are from local farms with just
one foreigner. They are all made from either sheep or goat's milk. Cost
is €15 each plus drinks.
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| Our digs for the night complete with guard dogs |
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| That'll do nicely sir |
In the village square there is
an extraordinary exhibit. It is a tree intricately carved and sporting a
roof to keep it warm. Behind it is the church and towering over
everything is the ruins of a medieval castle high on the hilltop.
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