Day 3 Duilhac to Carcassonne

Well that was a marvellous day on a bicycle, pedalling through Languedoc in the foothills of the Pyrenees.


It was the region of the Cathars and their castles are perched on top of rocky crags.  The Cathars were apparently religious rebels who lived simple lives of austerity and were persecuted by the Catholic Church in 13th century crusades. It’s hard to imagine the violence and massacres in this peaceful, beautiful and empty part of France. 

After breakfast we climbed out of Duilhac in gorgeous sunshine.







The only activity came from these three gorgeous chaps doing a very good job of guarding a field of sheep and goats.

Snack stop was at Rennes les Bains, a sleepy village  with a thermal spa and more importantly, a gorgeous cafe dog.

The climbs today were mostly through peaceful, shaded woodland which made the puffing uphill more comfortable, but the headwind added an extra challenge.

Lunch was at a lovely spot in the woods next to a river, only one car went past as we munched our picnic.

The traffic obviously increased as we headed into Carcassonne but the very modern hotel is comfortable and quiet, with ‘interesting’ decor.

Turning the shower on completely defeated me so I had a lovely huge bath and did my usual cycling kit washing bathroom destruction. 
We let the tourist masses leave for the day before heading into the old city for walkies and dinner.
Carcassonne is a UNESCO World Heritage site and every bit as impressive as I remember from my last visit.

Dinner was surprisingly good in such a touristy place and the creme brûlée was delicious (sorry Rusty!)

The walk back to the hotel completed a really fabulous day, I’m feeling so fortunate to be doing this trip.










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