Tuesday 29 November 2016

Castles in the air

You've probably noticed that a number of our blog posts have been about Cathar castles and it seems to have become one of our 'things' to visit them. Sadly, there aren't any castles (Cathar or otherwise) in Australia so alongside photos, I now rely on the power of my imagination and memory to evoke the sights, sounds and smells that feed into the joy of hiking in stunning countryside up to a Cathar castle. The countryside I mostly conjure up in my mind is around the village of Roquefixade and its castle ruin, although the castle itself is technically 'closed' at the moment for restoration. Here are some of the photos we took. Now just add in the deeply resonant sound of silence, broken only by the distant, gentle tinkling of cow bells, the buzzing of insects, and a soft, soothing summer breeze rustling the tree tops ...

Chateau de Roquefixade

View of Roquefixade village
It was easy to think we we were in the middle of nowhere until we came across this emotive memorial to 16 local members of the resistance killed during the World War II in a battle with the milice and some German soldiers:


Memorial at the site of the Battle of Roquefixade

Panneau explaining the circumstances of the Battle of Roquefixade

2 comments:

  1. Hi - pleased to read about your experiences in south of France. we too have visited recently, even considered buying a house...looked in Chalabre nearby you...so perhaps it will happen soon. Hope to contact you agin. greg ggunby@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete