Sunday 9th December 2007

Heavy showers continued all night and the wind rocked the van but by the time that we were ready to head for the castle, the rain had eased to a drizzle. We were very lucky in that it only rained when we were in the covered parts of the castle and we were therefore able to enjoy the visit without getting wet. We opted for the audio guides and these proved to be very informative and added considerably to the visit. The castle started life in the 4th century A.D. When the Romans fortified the town against the threat of Barbarian attack by building a defensive wall with towers. This wall still forms the basis of the current inner wall and some of the Roman towers are still in position. In the Middle Ages the Trencavel family built a keep within the walls but it was when the castle was taken over by the French Royal family in 1226 that most development happened. They added a second outer wall and developed the defences around the keep that faced the town – they were concerned about a potential revolt of the people.
Impressively, in 1853 the French Department for Historic Monuments decided to restore some of the castle, which had fallen into disrepair and was being used as a quarry for stone. The architect was a mediaeval enthusiast and proposed the complete restoration of the castle and this was accepted by the authorities. The restoration took only 9 years but involved the removal of 112 houses and must have been a huge construction project. The result is very impressive and the view of the walls from afar is fantastic, especially when floodlit.
We completed the tour by lunchtime and, returning to Henrietta for lunch, the heavens opened almost as soon as we closed the door.
We then started our slow journey north to Calais and the ferry over to England for Christmas. We had plans for tomorrow, so wanted to go a little further north before we stopped for the night. The Camperstop Europe book showed three possible stopping places in the town of Puylaurens north west of Carcassonne and we headed for that. By the time that we arrived, the rain was coming down hard, it was dark and we had problems finding any of the three locations in the town. However we found a suitable deserted car park with a freshwater supply that may well have been one of them and we settled down for the night.
Photos: Carcassonne inner walls surrounding the keep; Moat and the two outer walls; Saissac Castle on the way to Puylaurens.