THE CATHAR MEMORIAL AT LES CASSÈS / This windy promontory hides a tragic history and a moving memorial to some of the victims of the Albigensian Crusade.

A VISIT TO THE CASTRUM DE ROQUEFORT – HOME OF HERETICS, HIDEOUT OF BANDITS / The earliest written reference to the fortified village of Roquefort dates from 1035, and for the next couple of centuries it was the home of the Roquefort family. Walking through the only gate to this well-protected community is an eerie experience. Roquefort has been abandoned and barely touched for 600 years, making it one of the least-investigated Cathar castles.

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.