The Oppidum d’Ensérune near Béziers is the best example in the south of France of a fortified Celtic settlement. A lawyer called Félix Mouret rode up here in 1895 and wondered why the ground beneath his horse’s hooves sounded hollow. READ MORE

In the morning, a beautiful view of the Pyrenees cloaked in snow. In the evening, my book, ‘The Pyrenees: A Human History’, becomes available for pre-order, even though the definitive text was only sent off for typesetting the previous day. If you are curious about how a book goes from an idea to a finished product, this post reveals all. READ MORE

The spoked-wheel fields of Montady are the result of a 13th-century project to transform a disease-ridden swamp into productive farmland: 400 hectares divided into 80 slices by 120 kilometres of drainage ditches. READ MORE