The Garden and its Pool

The house is surrounded by a secluded, tree shaded garden of Provençal Cypresses, Alep Pines and Palms. Some of these trees are 100 years old. There is a view over the Roman tiled roofs of the village, the vines and the Corbières hills. Outside there is a stone table 'monastère' where you can have breakfast.

The furniture and Fittings The rooms are furnished with period furniture of the 19th century (Louis-Philippe and Napoléon III): chest of drawers, wardrobes, winged armchairs, armchairs, lights, and also modern pieces. The renovation and the decoration is of a high standard and in the spirit of the Mediterranean region. The walls are painted with lime-based paints in warm colours and the fabrics and net curtains are designed by Patricia Guild. The hexagonal terracotta tiles and earthenware pottery are hand made. The beds are good quality with slatted bases, Bultex mattresses and cotton sheets. The bath towels, hand towels and face cloths (gloves) are provided.

The Pleasures of the Corbières and of the Fitou wine region Provence is overwhelmed by holiday crowds but to the West there is the ancient land of Occitania, still unspoiled and tranquil and where you can savour local pleasures and life in a Domaine.

This unusually named region has always been isolated. It is still in the Midi, but without the large number of holidaymakers who seek the sun and the sea in other areas of the South. Here you will find a land of sun and ever-changing light, old fortress castles with a legendary past, perched on mountain tops, and scattered picturesque villages where older people sit and gossip in the shade of the plane trees their voices barely heard above the murmur of the fountain.

At the moment this area remains unspoilt. Here life is still lived as it always has been and a little outside time. You will not find large palaces, or famous, fashionable restaurants, or golf courses, or health spas. There is nature, rocks, wind and some cypresses. On the peaks, which suddenly appear stand the ruins of Cathar castles (dating in fact from before the Cathar period of the 11th/12th centuries although they did provide refuge for Cathar 'Parfaits'), frontier posts separating the Kingdom of Aragon from the lands of the Count of Toulouse.

They were the last bastions of Occitanian independence, and the heroism of their resistance would immortalise them even without the massacre and persecution of the Cathar religious dissidents which wiped out a civilisation. Eight centuries later the tragedy still leaves traces and an impression of evil.

In more modern times the Languedoc is less troubled but there were the economic struggles of the wine growers in 1907.

Places to go and things to do

Discover the Cathar Castles .. la Cité médiévale de Carcassonne , the romanesque abbeys of Fontfroide and Lagrasse. Visit the vineyards, learn about growing vines and the art of wine making.

Have an adventure in a 4 x 4 following part of the route of the Paris/Dakar car race. Visit the African Safari Park at Sigean where there are 3500 animals. Take a tour on a mountain bike following the marked tracks around Cascastel.

Walk along the Cathar footpath or along other tracks and footpaths around Cascastel.

Concerts and evenings of wine and music from November to March at the Domaine. Play boule in the village square. Horseriding 7 kms away; hang gliding on Mont Tauch; tennis 2 kms away. Within 1hr.30 there are the ski slopes of Font-Romeu, Pyrénées 2000, Les Angles... Water sports The swimming pool at the Domaine.

A pool fed by a warm water spring where the temperature is always 21°, 7 kms away. 25kms distant are the beaches displaying each year the "Pavillon bleu" sign of the quality of the water for swimming. The nearest beach is Leucate. Wind surfing/speed sailing at the sailing centre of Pascal Maka (World speed champion). Cruise in a catamaran with or without a skipper. Skin diving/snorkelling. A guided tour round the L'Ile Ste Lucie with a naturalist.

Take a trip on a canal barge along the Canal Robine from Narbonne to Port la Nouvelle. The Canal du Midi - classed as a world historic monument by UNESCO). Fishing. Swimming in gorges, rafting, hydrospeed, canoeing.

Price: 78 € for two people, including breakfast (2007 : 82 €) .