Mountains and Maps

30/09/2021

Lovely walk from Octon, past the ruins of Chateau de Lauzieres, into woods, open farmland, a visit to the ancient chapel, Notre-Dame-de-Roubignac, through the red earth landscape of the region and back to Octon for a pleasant lunch. 8kms, yellow markers - there is a stream to cross so the walk needs to be done when it's been dry. There was a big hunt on which was a bit unnerving!

27/05/2021

Great walk at the top of Caroux today. Perfect conditions; sunny but not too hot. Beautiful spring green foliage, fantastic views and a varied trail. Never tire of doing this circuit walk in either direction. Start at Douch, 8.5km and 300m of ascent.

26/05/2021

06/05/2021

Great walk at Portiragnes today. Birds and wildlife in the wetlands, wonderfully empty Mediterranean beach, then wildflowers and more birds along the Canal du Midi. 12.5kms, starting at edge of Portiragnes village at the carpark by the Canal and following the bird signs through the wetlands.

02/05/2021

03/02/2021

Fantastic 4 days walking the Queen Charlotte Track in the Marlborough Sounds; 17, 12, 23 and 21kms respectively. Gorgeous native bush and wonderful birdsong along the way, plus stunning views over the Sounds. Each day ended at comfortable accommodation and a welcome beer. Followed by great food and wine before collapsing early, ready to start the next day's walk. One of NZs Great Walks and well worth doing.

24/01/2021

Southern Walkway in Wellington - a great 12km walk starting from Island Bay with distant views of the South Island. Along the coast to Houghton Bay then a climb up to Mt Albert. The well-sign-posted track follows the green belt up to Mt Victoria then down into Oriental Bay with wonderful views of the city and harbour. An interesting and active way to discover Wellington and also to appreciate the vast amount of green space available so close to the city.

06/01/2021

A great coastal walk today at Waipatiki, north of Napier. Great views across the sea to Cape Kidnappers. Finished with a refreshing swim at Waipatiki beach.

01/01/2021

Scenes from early morning walk along Wellington harbour. Started from Wadestown, down the hill, along the waterfront to Oriental Bay and back again. 12kms.

16/12/2020

Stunning day for a bike ride around the bays and Miramar peninsula in Wellington, NZ. A favourite route with two good coffee stops along the way. A rare day with very little wind! The pohutukawa's (a NZ native tree) are just starting to blossom with their vivid red flowers, which make for a cheerful sight along the way.

03/12/2020

Great walk in the hills above Wellington, New Zealand. As well as the lush native plants, the birdsong was also wonderful. Looking forward to more great walks while in NZ.

17/11/2020

This is what a 4km morning walk while in quarantine in NZ looks like. There is a lot of walking up and down the carpark, but I am feeling grateful to be able to get outdoors at any time during my 14-day quarantine.

10/10/2020

An afternoon walk from the village. Spent some time with the Kashmiri goats, being fed on natural food from the garrigue, they have beautiful soft coats and a lovely relaxed demeanour. Further on, the walk went past the male goats - more aloof - and a gorgeous donkey. Feeling blessed to be living in an area where we can walk freely, without stress and see these beautiful animals. Plus the vines are starting to turn into autumn colours which is always beautiful to see.

03/10/2020

A quick walk up Mont Peyroux above the village, before the forecasted rain comes in this afternoon. Clear skies and 360 views to the Mediterranean, Caroux and snow-capped Pyrenees. 7kms circuit and just over 260m of ascent.

28/09/2020

An unexpectedly chilly Monday, but not a problem for a 10km walk from La Tamarissière. Started at the beach and viewed the remaining WWII bunkers, then walked inland beside wetlands, alongside the Canal du Midi and back again to the beach for a nice lunch. Not too much wind and no rain so a good day for a bracing coastal walk.

18/09/2020

A walk today along the Chemin des Eucalyptus in memory of Merv, who passed away a year ago today. It is a route we did many times together, both walking and on mountain bikes. Just one of the many walking and cycling routes which made us love living in the Herault area of France. What a year it has turned out to be...

15/09/2020

Great walk above Roquebrun on Saturday. A bit hotter than expected but at least the walk could end with a refreshing dip in the river. Just over 11km and 410m of ascent ... it seemed more in the heat! Spectacular views under a cloudless blue sky.

01/08/2020

Name the cyclist - if you can. Route d'Occitanie has just passed by Clos du Magnolia's door. First came the motorbikes and official cars, then the cyclists and then the team cars - all in about 5 minutes! At almost 40C I wouldn't want to be racing in this heat. Chapeau to the riders.

30/07/2020

An early start to do a walk on the Caroux yesterday to mark Merv Capewell's birthday. It was one of his favourite walks in any season. At this time of year there are beautiful heather-covered hills and always stunning views. Well worth the crack-of-dawn start as back in time for a nice lunch and Merv's beloved order of Café Gourmand for dessert

25/07/2020

Next Saturday, just after 15.00 the Route d'Occitanie will pass right by Clos du Magnolia’s door! Expecting to see: Chris Froome, Thibaut Pinot, Romain Bardet, Tony Gallopin, Warren Barguil, Egan Bernal amongst others. So exciting to be able to see it all from the front door balcony and able to maintain social distancing.


https://www.laroutedoccitanie.fr/edition-2020/parcours-2020/etape-1-saint-affricain-roquefort-sept-vallons-12-cazouls-les-beziers-34/

30/06/2020

Great 11km walk from Pailhes this morning. Even starting early, it is getting too hot for longer walks. Great open vistas towards the Haut-Languedoc and the Pyrenees. Lovely stop at Chapelle Montalaurou among the welcome shade of pines before heading out through the vineyards towards Puimisson and back to Pailhes. This would be a stunning walk to do when the autumn colours are in the vines.

04/06/2020

Great walk yesterday from Cabrerolles to Pic de la Coquillade. Nice combination of walking in shady, woodland paths and coming out into wonderful open spaces with views towards the Mediterranean on one side and Caroux on the other. 8.5kms and just over 500m of ascent.

31/05/2020

Lovely short walk at Mauroul today - when we eventually found it. Several wonderful cascades (waterfalls) and good swimming finds for when it gets very hot here. Discovered the beautiful village, with many stunning roses in bloom, then had a personal opening of the church and tower for us by a charming local resident. Surrounded by gorgeous nature, birdsong and the sound of running water through the waterfalls as well as many elderflower trees still in bloom. Better than being in lockdown!

17/05/2020

How wonderful to be out for a decent walk today with a small group of people accompanied by lovely dogs. They really enjoyed being able to stretch their legs as much as the humans. However, the 10+km walk tired everyone, having not been able to do these distances for a while. Great walk near Cazedarnes (Herault), through vineyards, up an escarpment, water - more than we expected - to a plateau with great open views of Caroux in the distance. Kept our social distance but also grateful to be out safely enjoying the fantastic landscapes in this area in Occitanie, France.

12/05/2020

Woohoo - back out doing 'proper' walks. This morning did the Ceps (Herault) 10km trail, without an official form and as much time as we liked to do the walk. Still kept social distancing but being able to do a great walk, with friends, seeing stunning roses, first cherries, gnarly old vines and great open vistas was bliss. Things can only get better ...

06/04/2020

On todays walk in the sunshine, managed to catch sight of a few frogs basking in the sun. Quiet and peaceful here, but they are currently quite noisy at night.

31/03/2020

Have managed to work out a circuit walk around the village of around 4km, keeping within the 1km radius distance from the house. Feel so lucky to be able to be out in nature and see the heartening signs of spring.

26/03/2020

These books were ordered before the Covid-19 lock-down. Seem apposite to the times & have plenty of time to read them now.