Four days on the Sentier Cathare (Cathar Way) – Day 2: Bugarach to Cubières-sur-Cinoble

I woke early and was packed and ready by 6.30am.

It was a lovely fresh summer’s morning and I was looking forward to hitting the trail.

An hour or so later I arrived at the long-abandoned hamlet of Campeau.

The surrounding countryside and gently rolling hills reminded me of home.

Campeau was magical, bewitching.  I spent some time here trying to imagine how it must have been when all the ruined buildings were occupied.  I thought of  the people who had lived here.  There were no ghosts, just the birds and the odd black squirrel.

The path began to climb and I was soon rewarded with a fine view of the brooding mountain of Canigou, the highest peak of the Mediterranean Pyrenees.

I descended into the valley of the river Agly.  I took a short diversion to visit the source of the Agly.  It was midday and very hot, my feet had never been so happy to be thrust into cold water.

I continued on a path that kept more-or-less next to the Algy until I arrived at the Le Vieux Moulin campsite just south of the village of Cubières-sur-Cinoble.

At 10 euros the campsite was a pretty good deal with nice hot showers and bar/restaurant.  I set up camp and then took a walk down the nearby Gorges de Galamus.

The highlight of my stay at the campsite was a wonderful dinner of hamburger in baguette with chips and a beer, oh simple pleasures!  The bar/restaurant is delightfully placed with the river Agly running alongside.

The only downside of the stay was knowing my air mattress would need blowing up every 90 minutes, oh well, lesson learnt (bring a repair kit next time).

See day three