France is wonderfully diverse, and travelling by bike last summer enabled us to seek out remote areas, but also to find delightful rural villages on the way. Tumbling down hillsides, these were feasts for my eyes

We were so fortunate that although unbeknown to us, our route would take us to these special places

Lagrasse, Aude; a medieval village south east of Carcasonne

Minerve, Herault, Languedoc

Minerve, perched on a hillside amidst rugged scenery of deep gorges, I couldn’t believe the dramatic views as we stumbled across this amazing place

Beautiful Olargues, Parc Naturel, Haut-Languedoc

Mik and I made a short visit to Olargues, a cluster of houses above “Devil’s Bridge” dated 1202, where reputably the villagers made transactions with the “devil”. Tiny streets and alleyways, steps, stone doorways and arches, it is a place to roam and explore, and even though a small village, I felt we could easily become lost here

There is a museum of art and tradition, which we didn’t find, however we found an amazing portrait artist within the village, Els Knockaert. Stunning paintings, and a warm welcome to view her art:

Staying in a tiny hamlet in nearby Riols, we explored the surrounding countryside on our bikes: mountains, gorges and lakes and went wild swimming with bright turquoise dragonflies hovering over a cool river pool. Truly magical….we will be back

our ramblings in the beautiful South of France