Amazing structures in the south of France

Astonishing tales from the earliest days of French aviation

In 1910, Armand Viguier built a pedal-powered aeroplane in his village church. When war broke out in 1914, he served successively as cavalryman, bomber pilot and fighter pilot. Learn more about the extraordinary structures that tried to fly in the ealiest days of French aviation. astonishing-tales-from-the-earliest-days-of-french-aviation.html

AZF Memorial, Toulouse

At 10.17 on 21 September 2001, Toulouse was shaken by an explosion which killed 31 people. The cause? A fertiliser factory run by AZF.toulouse-in-memory-of-the-exploding-fertiliser-factory.html

‘Give us this day our daily bread’

Discover how silos provided food security in ancient times. give-us-this-day-our-daily-bread-or-food-security-in-ancient-times.html

Château de Montfa

Discover the connection between this castle and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. how-far-to-montfa.html

Forteresse de Salses: discovering history on the autoroutes of France

An autoroute rest area with a difference: discover the Forteresse de Salses, built in 1497, besieged many times until it was made redundant in 1659 by the Treaty of the Pyrenees which moved the border 40 kilometres further south. forteresse-de-salses-discovering-history-on-the-autoroutes-of-france.html

Equal opportunities on the Canal du Midi in 1669

Pierre-Paul Riquet offered his workers sick pay, holiday pay, monthly pay, equal pay, and he expressed a preference for employing females. Why did he make such a generous and enlightened offer? equal-opportunities-in-1669.html

Pigeonniers in the urban landscape of Toulouse

Follow this 22-kilometre circuit in Toulouse and discover eight magnificent pigeonniers built between the 17th and 19th centuries. pigeonniers-in-the-urban-landscape-of-toulouse.html

The mysterious object in the lake

The obelisk in the lake at Saint-Ferréol only shows itself during times of extreme drought (eg 2022) or when the lake is drained for maintenance (last done in the winter of 2016-17). What is its purpose? the-mysterious-object-in-the-lake.html

Pigeonniers: the inside story

Arguably, no creature has had more beautiful homes built for it than the pigeon, and the 6,000 that remain in our region display an astonishing variety of shapes, sizes and styles. This raises an obvious question: why did so many people go to so much trouble to house a bird? pigeonniers-the-inside-story.html

The Canal du Midi at Béziers

When it was opened in 1682, the Canal du Midi was called the Eighth Wonder of the World, a 240km waterway connecting Toulouse to the Mediterranean. From its highest point at Naurouze, the canal descends 189 metres to the sea via 45 locks. Perhaps the most impressive of these hydraulic lifts is the flight just outside Béziers called the Nine Locks of Fonsérannes. the-canal-du-midi-at-beziers.html

A rare look inside a pigeonnier or dovecote

A couple of months ago, a local historian told me about a pigeonnier which, he assured me, was the most fascinating example he had ever seen. Since then, I have been waiting for the harvest to finish so that I can take a look inside without trampling the farmer’s crops. Earlier this week, the monument’s owner – Monsieur Albouy – announced that my wait was over. I took a short drive over to Saint-Germain-des-Prés near Puylaurens, and then off we went across the stubble armed with a ladder and a camera. inside-a-very-special-pigeonnier.html

On the ice house trail in the Montagne Noire

Pradelles-Cabardès lies just below the highest point of the Montagne Noire – the Pic de Nor. A century ago, this tiny mountain village dominated the ice industry in our region. The best way to grasp the scale of this enterprise is to take a stroll along Le Sentier des Glacières (The Icehouse Trail). not-sure-what-to-do-in-winter-visit-an-icehouse.html

Why was Thomas Jefferson so determined to visit this pretty lake at Saint-Ferréol?

Saint-Ferréol is a ten-minute drive from my home in the Lauragais, and with temperatures forecast to top 40 degrees Celsius this afternoon, I’ll be going there for a swim as soon as I finish writing this post. Thomas Jefferson, in contrast, was more interested in the engineering aspects of Saint-Ferréol because it is, in fact, a reservoir, not a lake. why-was-thomas-jefferson-so-determined-to-visit-this-pretty-lake.html

Fired up about ice: restoring an icehouse at Pradelles-Cabardès

Thank you, Daniel and Marie-Christine Bertherat, for sharing your enthusiasm for ice houses and showing me your unusual restoration project. A century ago, ‘les glacières inépuisables de la Montagne Noire’ seemed truly inexhaustible, and the tiny village of Pradelles-Cabardès supplied ice to towns as far afield as Bordeaux, Perpignan and Toulouse. fired-up-about-ice.html