Serignac to Lagreure. Padavin. A Nature ramble

Thursday 27th May
Serignac to Lagreure. Padavin. A Nature ramble.
As we arrived quite late last night we hadn’t taken much notice of where we were but in the morning we immediately noticed the very famous twisted spire of Serignac Eglise and realized we’d a) been here before and b) could have stayed in any number of village B&B’s, anyone of which would have had rather more charm than where we’d been.

Twisted spire at Serignac

The day was overcast and under the trees along the canal quite cold. Fortunately by lunchtime it had warmed up and by sitting in a field away from the shade of the trees it was too hot to strip off without having to plaster ourselves with sun block. (Alec always thinks this requires much effort!)

Men repairing the canal.

                                                                                                                      Lunch spot.

So we sweltered in our clothes and watched and listened to the birds – frustratingly there are so many species hiding in the bushes and we still can’t identify them all even with the book on our knee. Alec spent several minutes poised to take a photo of a heron fishing, which needless to say only caught the fish when the camera ran out of battery.

Heron; needless to says only seconds later he speared a fish.

I was rather more excited by the sudden appearance of tortoises in the water, which look like floating leaves from afar. However, as you approach them, they are very sharp eyed and duck under the water and skedaddle, so photo opportunities are tricky.

Tortoise, or maybe Turtle!

                                                                                                           Stag - only this one's a target.

Suddenly the canal is really quite busy. We counted several different national identity flags on the various barges from as far afield as South Africa, (they were quite definitely not sticking to the 8 knots speed limit,) quite a few Americans, Australians, Scots and lots of French of course.
We encountered our first experience of ‘lock rage’. An elderly (much older than us) English couple who from the look of it had brought their boat all the way from Grimsby were slowly and methodically tying up their boat in advance of the lock doors closing behind them and the lock filling up from in front. A Frenchman crewing a hideous floating caravan singlehandedly clearly thought that they were doing all of this far too slowly and realized that there might be room for his tub ahead of them - closer to the lock exit. So he sets about overtaking them in the lock, something that anyone in their right mind could see that he clearly could not do. After much yelling and shouting we left them too it and peddled off.

Lock rage, the Frenchman at the back was determined to overtake!

We finally reached the Pont Legruere which was our clue to leave the canal, go into the restaurant right there beside the bridge and ask directions as to where our B&B was.
We returned 2 hours later for supper which was excellent but we were dismayed from the restaurateurs’ perspective to find only one boat moored outside and that we were 2 out of only 5 who had dinner there all evening.

Supper!

The season for the canal is only June to mid September so any business operating there has to work fairly hard to make it viable. He seemed fairly relaxed about this as he plays in an orchestra in Bordeaux for the rest of the year.

Dappled light along the canal!

St Nicholas de la Grave to Serignac-sur-Garonne

Wednesday 26th May.
St Nicholas de la Grave to Serignac-sur-GaronneWe fear the farmer’s efforts may have been in vain as it tipped down with rain for most of the night. However by the morning the sky was blue and everything appeared back to normal.



Au Chateau - very pleasant B&B


Perhaps heavy rain is OK and only hail does the damage. At least we now know why the fruit trees are covered in white netting!

Netting to protect the fruit from the hail.

We left Au Chateau returning to the canal path and for the first time passed several boats which had been hired out to holiday makers.

The first boat we've ever seen moving on the canal. The banks are now being strimmed to make it all look very respectable!

We have, on our travels, seen people outside caravans sitting on folding chairs, outside Motor Homes – sitting on folding chairs and now we are seeing people on canal boats – sitting on folding chairs. Is this we ask ourselves how people in mobile, static or afloat homes spend their days?
It is curious cycling along the route we took last year albeit in the opposite direction. It all looks rather different and the names mean very little until we arrive somewhere. We are trying hard not to visit the same places so managed to visit Valence for the first time which would have been worthy of a longer look, but we just had a glance at the centre, bought our picnic and had to get on as we had a long day ahead. We followed the canal to Agen (Home to the world’s finest prunes) where we had stayed back in October last year. We did not like it then, but this time looked rather more attractive in the sunshine. However it is very noisy. After a completely silent day on the canal it is a horrid sensation arriving on the outskirts of any town and finding yourselves surrounded by traffic and such a lot of movement and activity. We really wonder how we will cope back in towns/cars/roads at home.
We visited the tourist office to find out how to progress up the Lot river towards Bergerac as this was our plan, and we had read that there is a bike route between the 2. I became mildly irritated with the lady helping us, as when we asked her if she knew how we started on the route towards Villeneuve sur Lot, she said that we had to go there and ask them as they would know! However I think I must be becoming more tolerant as I let this somewhat stupid suggestion pass!
We then went to the train station to see if we could take the train to Bergerac as we hope to take in the Dordogne on the next phase of the route. We were told that the direct one left half an hour ago, the next one leaves at 7.30 but goes via Bordeaux (not on our agenda) and that we couldn’t go tomorrow as there is a national strike so Friday would be the earliest we would go anywhere by train. As we didn’t want to spend the night in Agen it was back to the Office du Tourisme who did manage to find us somewhere to spend the night about 7 miles to the west. They booked us into Le Prince Noir in Serignac which gave Vivi a sense of déjà vu because she sensed she’d stayed there with her parents too long ago to mention. It was OK but we felt a little pretentious (it was one of those dining rooms where you have to talk in a whisper as it might detract from the food experience, and since most of them were business men on their own, they managed this, but we struggled) And the food wasn’t even very good either, but they were kind and it was a pretty place.

Montauban to St Nicholas de le Grave

Tuesday 25th May
Montauban to St Nicholas de le GraveWe didn’t find Montauban very exciting but did spend a couple of minutes in Notre Dame, the cathedral. It was only built in the 1700s so positively modern compared to most we have seen. The most interesting things in it were the enormous statues of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John just inside as you enter, which looked ancient enough to be from Roman times. In fact they were also made in the 1700s for the roof top but the stone was so porous they had been pitted dreadfully by the weather. There are now some rather attractive newer ones on the roof.

We are almost at the point where the Tarn meets the Garonne which we cycled down last October in some fairly inhospitable weather. So to avoid retracing our steps we stick like limpets to the Tarn. It is very pretty and little roads seem to follow it on either side which makes it very pleasant. As we left Montauban we stopped to buy lunch, stamps and to consult the map and were joined by a couple of locals on bikes. After telling them our life stories (they did ask!) one went into town and the other insisted on escorting us to the point where we’d meet the Tarn again. As with all of these enthusiasts, they firstly are carrying no luggage and secondly they feel the need to show off to two people who ‘claim’ to have been cycling for 8 months. Consequently they set off through the traffic like Lance Armstrong occasionally casting a glance over their shoulder to check that we are suitably impressed and not so close as to make the pace seem normal. This man was no exception and by the time he waved us goodbye we couldn’t go another yard without a gulp of water and a rest. Mind you it’s as well he showed us the route as it wasn’t straightforward.
We have spent a lot of time on this trip peering into churches and have always been on the lookout for any Anglican ones where at least we would know how to behave. Quite unexpectedly we suddenly pass the ‘Temple Protestant’

The Protestant church - locked of course!

And if Canon Ian is still reading this, we really are still trying to go to church!
We stopped by a wood where the birdsong was particularly lovely and a nightingale very obligingly sang from an exposed perch in the wood. We were able to finally see one, and to listen to the song which is what we have heard on many occasions all up the cycle routes. Alec was just about to record it when a microlight decided to circle overhead. Was it you, Mike?!
As the rivers are so large they don’t have nice sloping grassy banks to sit on and have a picnic but steep banks usually covered in fierce vegetation.
The Tarn is no exception so when we found a place where a hole had been pushed through the vegetation and a load of builder’s rubble deposited it seemed not the ideal place but at least ‘a place’ where we could have a picnic and see the river. It was a typical French scene with a chateau to compliment it.





We are now in cherry and kiwi country. The last time we were here the kiwis were being harvested, now the trees have been pruned, netted and are covered in blossom; so much has happened since we’ve been away!


Rows of kiwis

                                                                                                                      Kiwi flowers

Cherries are in huge orchards and along the roadside – very tempting as they glisten like trees laden with rubies but there is always a sign saying ‘cerise privé – KEEP OFF’ and someone watching usually with a fierce dog – very frustrating! It’s amazing we expected them to have huge grabbing machines as they do for the grape harvest but they really do seem to pick them by hand.

A troop of Royal Hussars and their vehicles (Cherry pickers!) and thanks to Sarah for the confirmation!

Late in the afternoon we reached the point where the Tarn joins the Garonne and to our amazement we were back at the restaurant/hotel Felix where we had recovered in great comfort on one miserable, cold and wet evening at the back end of October last year.
It has been very hot all day so the shade provided by the trees along the canal are a welcome relief from the blazing sun.

Alec cooling his feet in the Canal du Midi

There are still no canal barges and boats to be seen so presumably late May is still regarded as very early in the season.
Still keen to ring the changes we stayed in St Nicholas de la Grave which is a very pretty village on the southern bank of the canal. ‘Au Chateau’ is absolutely perfect and we had a swim and Kathryn the owner kindly cooked us a delicious dinner as the local restaurant was closed.

House rabbit - not on the menu.

It was very humid and there were rumbles of thunder in the distance. We watched the storm from the terrace and also heard what sounded like gunfire. This Kathryn explained was the farmers. The crops here are very susceptible to hail which can wipe out an entire harvest of kiwi, cherries or plums in a matter of minutes. Hence they shroud the trees in a sort of white muslin, and fire chemicals out of canons into the air which disrupts and disperses the clouds in a physically visible manner. It must cost them a fortune but there again if the alternative is losing your entire year’s income it’s something I suppose they have to do. Must drive the neighbours crazy!!

Clouds being dispersed by chemical means! The white line is a sort of chemical reaction.

Rabastens to Montaubon.

Monday 24th May
Rabastens to Montaubon.
We dragged ourselves away in glorious sunshine and set off back towards the Tarn. We took a bit of a short cut and Tim, if you are reading this, it wasn’t quite as flat as you made out! But it was fun and such a varied landscape as we came down to Mezens to re-join the river. We stopped off at Buzet sur Tarn to buy a picnic. It is a holiday today in France so there was no one about at all and the roads were blissfully quiet and we made it to Villemur sur Tarn in time for a late lunch.

River Tarn



We sat by the river under the old city walls in the shade as by now it was almost 30 degs. It is always difficult to know if you feel better or worse after a break.




So I lay on my back and contemplated the meaning of life.






The backside and legs complain a lot for the first 10 minutes back on the saddle and I feel like having a sleep for about the first 30 minutes. Any hills there might be seem a lot higher, but luckily today there weren’t many. In the end we made it into Montauban by late afternoon and booked into the only hotel we could see. A rather grumpy female hotelier gave us a fairly lukewarm welcome and declared she would charge us 2 euros for each bike to be parked in a grubby wash room, quite apart from the exorbitant rates we were paying for b and b. Anyhow, we sorted ourselves out, washed our bike clothes and were relaxing when the phone rang in our room. We were very surprised by this because we couldn’t think how anyone knew we were there, but it was madame again. This time complaining that we had hung our washing in full view of the square in the windows so could we take it down! Oh dear, but it was the only sunny place and seemed too good an opportunity to miss. Luckily it was almost dry by this time. We crept out for a sausage and chips supper which was about the only place open in the town as the whole place was closed for the holiday.

Gaillac to Rabastens - 2 days

Saturday 23rd May.
Gaillac - Rabastens.Breakfast had been laid outside for us as it was another glorious day. Madame came to join us for coffee which was very good for our French, and we had a good chat. They really are the nicest couple and we were very sad to leave; it was the sort of place that needs two or even three days just to soak up the atmosphere.

Breakfast doesn't get much better than this!

But onwards and upwards towards the UK, but first stop back to the Leclerc where amongst other things we were fascinated to find a ‘milk machine’ where people brought their own receptacle and filled it with milk – amazing and they had a cow beside it to prove it was the genuine article. Imagine that outside Tesco in Dorchester!!


Milk machines

                                                                                                   People queuing for the Milk machine

So eventually we were under way and yet again we passed through the most beautiful countryside. Each day we have thought that it cannot become any prettier but the area around the Tarn is very varied. Today we were mainly on the plain alongside the river, surrounded by Gaillac vines, attractive villages and rather impressive small chateaux.

We had been told to visit Lisle-sur-Tarn as it is very pretty and was built in the time of the Cathares Crusades (Simon de Montfort who later gave it all to his brother) It is one of the many Bastide towns in the region built around a central square where all commerce and meetings went on so they could protect themselves from attack. This central square is enormous with lovely old cloisters all around it.

Lisle-sur-Tarn

The town was hosting an exhibition of local artisan’s work which was fun. Under every archway was either a metal worker, muralist, musical instrument maker (don’t know what they are called) lead gutter makers, and lots of wood carvers and cabinet makers amongst other trades people.


The painter.





Inlaid boxes













                                                                                                         Musical instruments in kit form!
As we had time on our hands we decided to spend a leisurely hour or so looking at them all. No one else was around but the square was all set up for a big town party and salsa dancing to night which would have been fun to have seen but possibly not to join in!

By about 3 in the afternoon we thought we’d better get going in case our host at the B&B was waiting, so headed off to Rabastens and then up the 5k hill (well to be honest up and then down) to their house. The final 300yds to the house is up it’s own drive through a wood of tall old trees and at the end the most delightful huge mansion which looks as though it has been there forever but in fact was only reconstructed after a fire by the present owners.

Hence it is known as Le Phenix (http://www.lephenixfrance.com/) We were greeted by a chocolate brown Labrador who had been left on guard and in charge and a note stuck to the front door saying back at 16.30. As it was only 16.40 we made ourselves comfortable and after an exhausting day fell asleep on the grass.
Tim, our host is an inspired chef so we had the most delicious dinner with another couple who were also staying. They didn’t speak a word of English so we had to concentrate pretty hard to keep conversation flowing. As you know Alec and I are not known for long silences so every time there was an awkward one, we ploughed on in our best franglais and much arm waving. They were a bit amazed I think by our enthusiasm to talk to them so much. Fortunately we had all seen the Artisan’s works this afternoon so that helped and Tim gave help when they were at a loss to understand what we were on about!
Just before dinner Lulu texted saying her flight had been canceled which was a real blow as we were so looking forward to seeing her so we drowned our sorrows and fell into bed very well wined and dined a couple of hours later.

Sunday 24th May. A Day off at Le Phenix.
We had a very lazy day, mostly by the pool

The Pool - best place to be today

but we did manage to bike as far as Rabastens to have a better look. It is yet another pretty town and the Church of Notre Dame which began life in the 13C was perfectly beautiful. The paintings on the walls of the nave date right back to the end of the 13C and depict the life of Christ. They were quite simply executed but had been painted still using the local material, woad so they are a beautiful mix of blues and natural reds and oranges.

Inside Notre dame

There are swastika designs on the ceiling but these were put there in 1846 at a time when the symbol was one of energy and life.
Like Albi and in fact every town along the Tarn, Rabastens has a boom across the river and generates it’s own electricity, this works so perfectly that there is hardly a sound from the turbines - very similar to the French wind turbines which also seem to manage to generate energy inoffensively.

Hydro boom at Rabastens

We stopped for some lunch in a bar in Rabastens which looked quite civilised and wasn’t also a betting shop, ordered some Rose and when that arrived, asked for a menu only to be told they weren’t doing food today. Probably explained why no one else was there! So we raided our emergency rations of oranges and chocolate and starved until Tim produced the cheese biscuits before dinner (which Moley the lovely lab enjoyed sharing when our backs were turned!)


Guard dog Mole and house!

Once we got back there was no peace for the wicked (this time Vivi) because 7 y. o. daughter of the house, Amelia wanted to show her everything in the garden from the ducks to the frog spawn to the wild flowers and kittens. Vivi was fine on the even ground but following a 7 y.o skipping across uneven ground made her realise that she isn’t as agile as she used to be! Tim cooked yet another sumptuous dinner and tonight it was a lot more fun as it was just the three of us. Sadly Amelia had been bribed (or should that be tricked) into going to bed.

Some kind of princess

On the principal of ‘what a small world’ Tim and I (Alec) started work at Lloyd’s in 1974 and Tim’s son is at school just up the road from our home. So hope to see lots more of them.
If anyone fancies a very comfortable few days away in beautiful unspoilt countryside (don’t expect to leave having lost any weight) this is your place!

Albi to Gaillac

Friday 21st May
Albi to Gaillac
Lulu is coming to stay with us this weekend on her way to a girl’s week of culture near Uzes. So we were in two minds about going to visit the Toulouse Lautrec exhibition in the Bishops Palace in case she would like to do it on Sunday.


Just to demonstrate how enormous it is, this is the top of the cathedral from behind some houses down by the river.




The Bishop's palace - all part of the UNESCO site.







Looking over the Bishop's gardens north across the Tarn.



However we decided that it probably wouldn’t hurt to see it twice so before leaving Albi went to have a look.
Having only known TL as a 4’ 10’’ cartoonist whose work decorated school study walls we were fascinated to learn that he painted a number of extremely accomplished pictures in oils starting almost from when he was able to pick up a paintbrush and amongst his favourite subjects was not Parisian life, but horses and hunting scenes. The exhibition is huge and he must have sketched and painted at a prodigious rate. After his death his work was offered to the Louvre in Paris but they declined to accept it, so it was given to the museum in Albi (where he came from) and is a great asset to the town like the Cathedral and the river.
We left Albi at about noon and headed west across the most beautiful countryside although one has to admit that cycling in nothing other than sandals and cycling shorts may be a contributing factor to the enjoyment. We pray fervently that this weather will hold until after Lulu’s trip!
We were following one of the many signed routes for bikes and they take you along lovely rural roads with no traffic, mostly along the banks of Tarn. The gardens are full of Irises and Roses and it is serious hay making time in the fields so there is a wonderful scent of new cut hay. We had bought a picnic before leaving so all that we needed now was a pleasant riverside spot to stop and eat it, which was easy. In the afternoon we passed several lakes where the sound of the frogs seemed to be getting louder and louder until eventually there was nothing for it but to video the bulrushes and hope that the singing frogs could be heard. I can’t actually hear them saying Bud – Wise – Errrrr, but I’m sure that if they could they would have. Singing Frog Video!

The very tall tower at Marsac sur Tarn. We still don't know what it's purpose is!

The instructions from the B&B we are booked into, were to get to the MacDonald’s roundabout and give them a call. But at lunchtime I noticed my back tyre looking suspiciously as though it was wearing out so we stopped in a bike shop in Gaillac where the tyre was declared ‘mort’. Vivi being such a lightweight hers of course was fine!

Rather appropriately this appeared in a shop window and could be the reason why I needed a new tyre. We guess they are Antipodean due to the van but Harry, Ferg or George will know!

Before I had time to even consider the options my bike was on the car equivalent of a ramp the back wheel was off and the tyre being removed from it. Within 25 minutes we were back on the road again. I’m certain if you took a bike into a store in England they would say OK can you come back in a week!
The shop also Googled the address of our B&B and showed us how to get there so no need for a MacDonald cry for help, and in minutes we were standing outside the most lovely French Farmhouse introducing ourselves to the most charming couple who welcomed us so warmly we began to wonder if we’d stayed with them on our way down France 6 months ago.

Our wing of the farmhouse where we B&B'd - early morning sunshine.


We had our own kitchenette and as the house was a kilometre or two outside of Gaillac we returned to the Le Clerc where we were so impressed that we became befuddled and ended up buying ourselves a 4 course dinner. Up to this point of the trip our carbon footprint has been pretty low, but all those micro-waveable cartons can’t do the world much good! We almost over-dosed on the asparagus that we had been wanting so badly. We had a lovely swim and then for almost the first time since leaving home 8 months ago we sat outside in balmy heat eating our supper. They supplied us with a very nice bottle of the local Gaillac Rose too.
There was a family of tree creepers going up and down some trees outside our window, and the noise the frogs made was so bad that to get any sleep we had to keep our bedroom window closed!

Albi

Thursday 20th May.
Albi.
Albi is gorgeous and we were staying in Vieil Albi which is the centre of the city and this area is about to be made a world heritage site. It is almost exclusively traffic free and everywhere you look is seriously impressive and old.



Part of the centre of Albi




We spent a lot of the morning trying to find somewhere to stay tomorrow and having achieved that, we set off for a cultural tour of the town.
The cathedral Sainte-Cecile and the Bishops Palace are a ‘must see’ and are the largest collection of red brick monuments in the world taking 200 years to build started in 1248, it is so massive it is awe inspiring!






Albi cathedral










The inside, owing to the towns early success as ‘woad’ growers and traders, is a gorgeous blue but sadly as the area behind the altar is currently undergoing repairs we were unable to see what is probably it’s best feature the painting of the 7 Deadly Sins.




ceiling to the cathedral.

Apart from spending a lot of time on the internet trying to find somewhere to stay I was also very concerned because I had mislaid my mobile. Calls to the last three places we’d stayed in all proved fruitless and just as I was about to cycle back 15 miles to where we’d last stopped for lunch – it appeared. Roughly where I’d left it, only hiding!!


So that sorted, we walked along the river which is huge at this point and still has the moorings for the boats which took the wode to Toulouse and from there to the Mediterranean and all over the world. Today a boom has been erected across the river and a hydro station inserted which can generate enough electricity for 8,000 homes or 10% of the population of Albi. They are justly proud of the
‘000’s of tons of carbon which this saves.





Hydro boom across the Tarn





One of many Tarn bridges,

Wednesday 19th May
Castres to Albi

Fortunately I woke up first and was reading my book when this chap fell from the ceiling onto our pillow, phew that was lucky.
We thought we were leaving in quite good time until the lovely man on reception was asked to help us with our next hotel booking as we were going from one Logis to another. He was amazingly helpful and then took it upon himself to tell us how to get to the start of the next Velo Route and finally about 45 minutes later we were able to go. In the meantime quite a few rather miserable people were coming into the hotel and waiting for appointments. We thought they were looking for work but it transpired that there was a gold dealer in residence and they were making the most of his expertise. We hope they got fair prices.

River Agout through Castres

Today’s route was exclusively on another Voie Verte which wound it’s way through the most stunning countryside.

Route de Pigeonniers

We were heading almost due north and for once there was little wind and lots of sun. In this area they are very organised and every few hundred yards you get a little sign telling you the names of the various trees, plants and birds that you might see en route. The cuckoos are out in force along with the usual many warblers that sing divinely but are impossible to see. The senses prevail here again as it is the centre for growing rose garlic and you can smell the fields some time before you come upon the acres of crops.


Rose garlic which has it's own AOC


We passed Lautrec which is a village perched on top of a hill, so I am afraid that we admired it from afar. It is the family home of Toulouse Lautrec although he wasn’t actually born in the village.


Lautrec Village


There were no other cyclists until the very end when a handsome boy asked if we spoke English. He was on his gap year and was working for some locals, and had borrowed their bike. Despite being a lovely route there was not a single place on the 30 miles to stop to buy anything to eat or drink, and he was as desperate as we were as it was very hot. Sadly we had finished our water by then. By about 4 pm when we realised that there really wasn’t anywhere to stop, we sat on the side of the path and raided our emergency supplies of 3 small cakes from the hotel breakfast and 2 oranges. The saddest moment was when we discovered that we had left a beautiful bar of chocolate in the hotel fridge!
We made up for it with an excellent supper near the Cathedral.