13, Rue du Cabanot, Lavagnac, Lapradelle, France.

The village.
Lapradelle/Puilaurens is a small Commune with a population of around 300. It is set on the banks of the river Boulzane in the foothills of the Pyrenees, on the main road from Perpignan to Quillan and Foix. It boasts its own Town Hall and parish churches, two restaurants/bars and adequate shopping for food and other essentials. The village is dominated by the castle of Puilaurens. On all sides there is spectacular countryside of great beauty, as well as many places of historical and architectural interest. Lavagnac is a small hamlet across the river from Lapradelle. From the end of Rue du Cabanot a lane runs down to the riverside under the railway and road bridges up into the village of Lapradelle, a short walk which avoids the need to cross the road. Rue du Cabanot is virtually a cul de sac and very quiet. It quickly turns into a footpath through the woods towards Caudies de Fenouilledes.

Recreation.
Picturesque walks abound in the area, leisurely and verdant in the valleys, more strenuous and dramatic in the hills. They are well marked on the ground and on maps. There are good swimming-pools at Quillan and St. Paul de Fenouillet, and bathing facilities in natural settings at Puivert and near Chalabre, amongst other places. There are cafes on the lake-side at Puivert and at Montbel near Chalabre. The river Aude between Axat and Quillan is nationally recognized as a centre for supervised water-sports for all ages and abilities - canoeing, kyaking and rafting. This stretch of river is about four miles from the house. There are local mountaineering and rock-climbing schools, and horse-riding facilities for occasional, short or longer journeys. The nearest ski-slopes are at Mijanes, fewer than twenty miles away from Lapradelle off the main road from Axat to Mont-Louis, and there are others further along this road as it climbs towards the high plateau of the Cerdagne. While the area around Lapradelle will appeal most to lovers of the French countryside, its fauna and flora, its history, architecture and traditional 'maniere de vivre', the sea and the sea-side resorts are not too far away. It is about an hour's drive to the sandy beaches of Canet, St. Cyprien and Argeles sur Mer. Between these two last resorts is the Aquapark. South of Argeles the Pyrenean range descends to meet the sea in rocky inlets and coves - the Vermilion coast, paradise for fishing enthusiasts and sub-aqua divers. Collioure and Ceret are major artistic centres. Perpignan itself, Narbonne, Carcassonne and Beziers are interesting places to visit with good shops and attractive pedestrian precincts. There are many good restaurants in the area, often in the most elegant settings. Apart from those in the towns, it is a pleasure to seek out the less formal restaurants in the small villages and farmsteads. There is often a choice between the best of traditional French and Catalan cuisines. Languedoc produces more wine than any other part of France. Some of the best are produced locally - Maury, Fitou, Corbieres, Muscat de Rivesaltes and Blanquette de Limoux.

The surrounding area.
The castle of Puilaurens, now a substantial ruin, was founded by the Visigoths before the beginning of the last millenium and was one of a ring of such fortresses - the 'five sons of Carcassonne' of which Queribus and Peyrepertuse, further east, were also part. It resisted the seige laid by Simon de Montfort during the crusades against the Cathars in the thirteenth century. Catharism was a pacifist and highly spiritual form of Christianity which took root in this part of France, particularly amongst the nobility and the wealthier strata of society. Declared a heresy by the Pope, it was the object of a bitter crusade - incidentally an opportunity for the king of France to extend his borders to the south - and was finally destroyed with great loss of life. Puilaurens is one of several austere monuments of Catharism in this area, the most awesome perhaps being the castle of Montsegur between Quillan and Foix, said to have been the inspiration of Wagner's Parsifal. Through the villages of Puilaurens and Lapradelle flows the river Boulzane. Its source lies beyond the high forest-land to the south. Here there is excellent, well-marked walking country, particularly in the Foret de Boucheville on the mountain road to Rabouillet. After Lapradelle, the course of the river turns to the east along the valley which divides the Fenouilledes hills from the Corbieres. The crags to the north marked France's border with Aragon until 1659. On both sides of the valley there are deep gorges, easily accessible - particularly the Gorges de Galamus near St. Paul de Fenouillet and the Gorges de St. Jaume near Caudies. To the west of Lapradelle, over the water-shed into the Aude valley, lies the attractive village of Axat. From here, the road winds up through the mountains, past the ski resorts to Mont-Louis and the Cerdagne, a plateau surrounded by the high peaks of the Pyrenees. Statistically, it seems that this is possibly the sunniest place in France as witnessed by the huge solar-energy mirror which has been constructed there. Beyond Axat towards Quillan, the road passes along the defile of Pierre-Lys, through tunnels bored into the rock. This, 'one of the most beautiful routes in France' according to the Guide Bleu, was pioneered by the local residents in the eighteenth century, working with hand-tools under the guidance of their priest. It was completed only a little over a hundred years ago. After Quillan the river Aude flows along a picturesque valley past Limoux, home of the famous sparkling Blanquette wine, to Carcassonne. The largest fortified medieval city in Europe, Carcassonne stands magnificent on its hill 150 metres above the river. Restored in the last century, it is a dream of the medieval city with its three kilometres of ramparts, thirty-five defensive towers, its moat, Viscount's castle and basilica. It draws more visitors than almost any other tourist attraction outside Paris. To the west of Quillan, under the silhouette of its huge three-towered castles, lies Foix on the main road from Toulouse to Andorra. A scenic round trip may be made from Lapradelle to Andorra via Mont-Louis and Foix.

Final remarks.
We hope that you have found this summary interesting and informative. If you would like further details please get in touch with us. Lapradelle and its surrounding area are very beautiful and we trust that the house likewise will provide the comfort, style and equipment to make your holiday relaxing and memorable. Being a traditional village house it has certain disadvantages. It is a tall house with stairs between the three floors. Although the stairs are perfectly safe and fitted with hand-rails, regrettably the property may not be entirely suitable for disabled people. Furthermore, as has already been made clear, the house is very well furnished and decorated with many ornaments and pieces of equipment which are intended to make the living-space comfortable and pleasing to the eye. For reasons which will be obvious to you, we would also discourage smoking in the house, especially in the heavily timbered living-room on the top floor. The house accommodates a maximum of seven people.