Tales from Andorra

This is the true story of a writer’s good luck as he works on a book about the Pyrenees. The writer in question is, of course, me.

As well as being popular with tourists, many people like Andorra so much, they never leave. The population has multiplied by 20 since 1920, and by nine since 1960. Of the 83,000 people who live there today, only 48% are Andorrans. Over a similar timeframe, nearly every other Pyrenean valley has suffered a spectacular population collapse. How Andorra has bucked this trend and developed so quickly was an obvious subject for my forthcoming book about the Pyrenees and how people have made themselves at home in the mountains for the last 500,000 years.

After considerable research, both at my desk and in Andorra itself, I was rather pleased with my draft text for this section. But then a lady called Sophie Ferrier sent me an unexpected message about my first book, Lauragais: Steeped in History, Soaked in Blood.

‘Dear Colin, I wanted to thank you for writing your amazing book. I bought a copy for my dad, who is ex-army, passionate about history and lives in the Gers. He was thrilled with it and said it was the only book he has actually read twice! I’m sure that if you ever find yourself in the vicinity, he’d love to meet you and swap stories about his part of the southwest of France.’

Such a kind and encouraging message called for a swift response, and in the ensuing exchange, Sophie told me that her father, Hugh Garner, moved to Andorra in 1970 and stayed there for 40 years. For the last decade of his residency, he was Honorary British Consul. 

In case you don’t already know, the Gers is a rural department to the west of Toulouse, and I drove there last week to meet Hugh on his idyllic farm. During our wide-ranging fireside discussion, I learned that Hugh had been involved in the real estate business and the development of Andorran skiing, two activities which gave him a deep understanding of why people visit the country and why they settle there. As British Consul he knew almost all of the British residents, as well as many of Andorra’s politicians from the prime minister downwards. He also witnessed Andorra’s transformation from an almost medieval backwater to a vibrant and modern economy based on service industries.

As a writer, you never know where you might find inspiration, or even information. I would never have expected to gain such an informed and fascinating perspective on Andorra by travelling to the Gers. As a result, I am now busily editing that section of my book. This is one of those occasions when extra work feels like extraordinarily good luck.

Finally, a few words and photos extolling Andorra’s natural charms.

The vast majority of Andorra remains much as it was before hydroelectricity arrived in the 1930s, or Hugh in the 1970s. And so it will remain, largely because of altitude, climate and topography. One of my favourite areas is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that occupies 9% of the entire country. Madriu-Perafita-Claror is the only Pyrenean valley to have attained this status, a landscape of stony peaks, lakes, forests and ancient pasture. Although this bucolic landscape begins exactly one kilometre south-east of the giant Illa Carlemany shopping centre, most visitors never see this side of Andorra.

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