A tiny ribbon of a road cut into dramatically steep gorges, running along a small river. It is jaw-dropping both in its grandeur and suddenness when turning a corner and being presented with a new postcard of a view.
Gorge de Saint-Georges itself is just under one kilometre in length, would you believe that? This may not sound very interesting until you actually see it. A single lane road regulated by a traffic light at either end. The road follows along a small stream. One that has cut this narrow gorge through impressively vertical rock formations, even leaning over into the road. The grandeur surpasses the size…
Even the drive up towards the border region is like something out of a movie. We pass through the Catalan Pyrenees regional park with its thick, green forests and winding little roads and are equally reminded of our altitude by the signs for ski pistes and the ski lifts spanning the hillsides in the distance.
These little roads are quite narrow and cut into a steep hillside covered in thick forest. How they managed this, is in itself a feat of engineering. There are a couple of hamlets along the way. I find it interesting to speculate on what they might be doing for a living out here…
Always time for a brew…
Thankfully – once again – we avoid the main roads and manage to pick up the narrow D118 which becomes evermore twisty as it negotiates the steep hillsides strewn with trees and boulders. How they managed to build these roads at all is an impressive feat. You just don’t want it to end. At certain times you are all alone on the road and the isolation is fantastic.
My swimming trunks literally hung on by a thread for 50km
Once we are down to ‘normal’ levels of elevation the countryside flattens out quite quickly and we are into the French vineyards surrounding Limoux. It has all passed by too quickly! A reminder to keep your eyes peeled.
From here we bypass the castle town of Carcassonne and head straight for the coast. We are looking for some seaside to balance the spectacular mountains.
But we don’t manage to get a really good vibe with it. Near Béziers and Agde the little seaside town of Marseillan is in fact not so little in regard to the number of people flocking to the coast! All campsites are full – and thankfully for that in one sense as this is quite a loud and busy place when all you are looking for is a quiet campsite.
So we head further inland. About three kilometres from Marseillan is a wine-producing Domaine set on the banks of the étang de Thau. Let’s go and check it out…