Walks in the Cathar Region - Cathar castles of south-west France

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Availability

Reprinted

Cover

Paperback - Laminated

Published

1 Jun 2011

Edition

First

ISBN

9781852844233

ISBN (10)

185284423X

Size

17.2 x 11.6 x 1.4cm

Weight

240g

Pages

208

No. Maps

No. Photos

Originally Published

23 Jun 2005

Walking in the Cathar Region

Cathar Castles of south-west France by Alan Mattingly

Guide to over 30 walking routes around the Cathar castles of south-west France, reminders of religious turmoil from 1000 to 1250. Routes from 16 centres, including Béziers, Minerve, Lastours, Foix, Roquefixade, Lordat, Montailloe, Puivert, Montségur, Usson, Puilaurens, and Rennes. More...

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Seasons

Possible year round, but the winter wind (tramontane) is blustery. Height of summer can be very Read More... hot lower down.

Centres

Béziers, Narbonne, Perpignan, Carcassonne, Foix, Quillan, Ax les Thermes and many small towns Read More... associated with the Cathar Castles.

Difficulty

From half- to full-day walks. Most are straightforward, but includes some longer and tougher Read More... routes and even a scramble.

Must See

It's all about the castles really, with Béziers, Minerve, Foix, Montségur, Roquefixade, Read More... Peyrepertruse, Puilaurens and many others.

‘Former Ramblers Director Alan Mattingley retired to southern France several years back, but this little book demonstrates he is still putting his walking expertise to good use. It explores the beautiful and evocative eastern corner of the Pyrenees associated with the Cathars, a mystical and egalitarian Christian sect, who were ruthlessly suppressed as heretics by the Roman Catholic church in the 13th century. The looming castles where the Cathars hid from their persecutors, some of them seeming to grow from the rock of their hilltop perches, provide the bases for a varied range of day walks using the extensive waymarked footpath network in the area as well as parts of the long distance Sentier Cathare.
It’s an evocatively written guide, with much on history and nature as well as practical walking information and great colour photos of striking landscapes.’