Quillan Sights

Today we had our first decent walk since arriving home two weeks ago. 4 months worth of tasks have been claiming much of our time.

It was the old familiar route down into Quillan and up again, divided by a coffee. It took over two hours and it was hard and it was hot. A fall and climb of over 350 metres over rough, some say "nadgery" ground

The sun was shining nicely through this fountain in Quillan, which I have been meaning for some time to photograph in such light.

The building is the old bath house. There are people of my generation living hereabouts who, when they were young, whichever town they lived in, had to traipse along to such a building for their regular, or in some cases irregular, baths. Evnen our friend Josette, who lived in one of the large hotels in Quillan, had to take her turn - no chance of an en-suite then!

The man lurking behind the fountain is, in statue form, the priest Felix Armand, who led the effort to force a road through the Gorges de Pierre Lys, which start just outside Quillan, and which were impassable by vehicle until old Felix took up his pickaxe in 1776.

The Gorges now hold the road to the coast, and are pretty awesome to drive through.

The first picture is the view, taken on our walk back, across Quillan and straight down the Gorges.