6, Rue d'Andorre, Banyuls dels Aspres, France.

The village.
Banyuls dels Aspres is a small village with a population of 700, set on a low hill in the Roussillon plain. It is about ten miles from Perpignan, ten miles from the Mediterranean sea and ten miles from the Spanish border. A quiet place with no through traffic, the village is surrounded by vineyards for miles around, and has its own Co-operative 'Cave' or wine-making establishment. Local people say that Banyuls dels Aspres is the sunniest village in the Roussillon, itself the sunniest part of France. The main square is set at the top of the village and is overlooked by a Romanesque church whose pink-stoned tower is illuminated in the evenings. Around the square are a baker's, a tobacconist, a general store and a bar; mobile shops visit the square regularly, and a fruit and vegetable stall is set up there on most mornings. Barbecue meals are often served at the bar. Banyuls dels Aspres is the centre of the local Commune and boasts its own Town Hall. There are parking spaces in the main square and elsewhere in the village.

The surrounding area.
Banyuls dels Aspres is ideally situated for anyone wishing to explore the Roussillon, the Catalan area of France. In particular, the valleys of the rivers Tech and Tet are within easy reach by car. Both lead to the heights of the Pyrenees and to passes into Spain. The shorter of the two, the Tech valley, is densely wooded to the very tops of the hills. The road passes Ceret, the town of cherries, with its ancient buildings and modern art museum. The home of Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Chagall and Dufy early in the present century, Ceret is said to have been the birth-place of Cubism, as Collioure is of Fauvism. Further up the valley lie Palalda, a medieval village clinging to the hill-side, and Amelie les Bains, a bustling spa town in a beautiful setting. Towards Arles sur Tech, Prat de Mollo and beyond, the valley becomes steeper and more spectacular, with deep gorges to either side. The longer valley of the Tet leads past many small medieval towns to the mountainous area of Mont-Louis and Font-Romeu, the ski resorts and ultimately to Andorra. The little yellow train from Perpignan or Villefranche de Conflent runs all the way up this valley, making a very pleasant day's round trip. A detour by road to Vernet-les-Bains leads to the upper slopes of the Canigou, 2784 metres high, a mountain celebrated in Catalan song and story. Further afield lies the castellated city of Carcassonne, and on the way there are numerous ruined castles recalling the days when this area was politically independent of France and heretical in its religion. Around its ancient centre, Perpignan is a modern busy city, the commercial centre of the Roussillon. It contains good shops, broad avenues along the river-side, and open-air cafes in its pedestrian precincts. On its outskirts, the hypermarkets are numerous and huge, and offer a comprehensive range of goods. For purchases beyond the capacity of the shops at Banyuls dels Aspres, however, the nearest shopping centre is Le Boulou, a town four or five miles away straddling the Route Nationale. Le Boulou has good restaurants and cafes.

The guide-books say that the Roussillon has twenty kilometres of rocky beaches and forty kilometres of sandy beaches. All are within easy reach by car, the nearest being little more than ten miles away. The sandy beach from Canet Plage to St. Cyprien and beyond is safe and generally not crowded. Near the towns, it is supervised and kept very clean. Many of the beaches in the area have been awarded the highest EEC commendation. South from Argeles sur Mer, towards the Spanish border, the coast is more rugged with many coves and inlets. Collioure, Port-Vendres and Banyuls sur Mer, interesting places in their own right, have clean and safe beaches. This is the Vermilion Coast, its clear waters providing endless scope for sub-aqua sports. The fishing is said to be good. There is a first-class golf course near St. Cyprien and an aquapark near Argeles sur Mer. Close to Banyuls dels Aspres are tennis courts and horse-riding facilities. There is a swimming-pool in Le Boulou, and easy bathing facilities off the sandy shore of the lake at Villeneuve de la Raho. The Alberes mountains, only a few miles from Banyuls dels Aspres, offer wonderful walking country, and the large-scale maps which are easily available show the routes through the forests clearly. The Alberes are over 1000 metres high but still more vigorous walking country lies towards the tops of the valleys in the heights of the Pyrenees. It is about 90 minutes drive to the ski slopes beyond Mont-Louis, in the Cerdagne and Capcir. The Roussillon combines the full range of French cuisine with the Catalan style of traditional cooking. There are plenty of good, inexpensive restaurants within a short distance from Banyuls dels Aspres and most are written up in the house's Travel Journal. The local wines, including those available from the Cave in the village, are cheap and very acceptable, whether table wines, sparkling or fortified. Banyuls dels Aspres lies a mile or so to the east of the Route Nationale from Perpignan to Le Perthus on the Spanish border. The village is well sign-posted from this main road. The motorway and the Route Nationale run in parallel at this point, and travellers on the motorway should leave it at Perpignan Sud or preferably at Le Boulou. Figueras with its notorious Dali museum is approximately 30 miles away; Gerona about 50; Barcelona 110; Carcassonne 80; Montpellier 100; Toulouse 135 miles. All these cities may be reached easily by motorway. Mainly by the Tet valley road and through the spectacular mountains, Andorra is around 100 miles distant. This description of the house, the village and the surrounding countryside may seem almost too good to be true. It is admittedly difficult to think of any significant hazards or disadvantages.

There are some forty-four stairs in the house. They are quite steep and may not be convenient for a physically disabled person. The village is not a sophisticated place; it is mentioned in few guide-books; apart from its occasional festivals and firework displays, it provides little entertainment or night-life. While it would be easy to survive well on the produce of local shops and spend lazy days on the terrace, visitors will need transport to see the Roussillon and to make the most of the beaches,the mountains, the valleys and the local sights. Public transport is not plentiful. Some people may be deterred by the fact that foreigners are still relatively rare in the Roussillon; there are few tourists to be seen beyond the main resorts and not many local people speak English. To some, this may be a source of perplexity and irritation; to others of pure delight.