It's confession time. 

Here is where I admit that this walking business is a struggle. I'm having real difficulties pushing myself to do it and, most of the time, not enjoying it when I do. So I've decided a couple of things.  1)  I will take Sundays off. That's my reward to myself and  2)  If the weather is foul or if I really really don't want to do it on any given day, I won't. That's my safety valve.

Having said all that, not counting today, the last walk I did was on Saturday. Sunday was my day of rest and Monday it just chucked it down the whole day long. It took us an hour to dry out just from nipping down to the local shops so I wasn't about to venture out in the afternoon.

Saturday's walk was OK to be honest. I decided to walk down to the big round-about at Chateau d'O, take the first right and just keep walking for half an hour, then turn round and come back. I had no idea what was down there but ended up seeing some really good sights.

This was the sort of countryside I was walking through - just to give you an idea . . .

The path followed the course of the main road for a Km or so but then, in the distance, it looked as though it was heading away from civilisation. I was a bit unsure about going there. A couple of times I've been walking in Parc Malbosc which is very isolated and felt a bit uneasy. But, in the end I decided that I'd be OK if I could continue to see the road even if at a distance.

It was a pretty walk. Lots of twisting turning paths lined with the lovely parasol pines that Malbosc and the surrounding area seem to be so fond of . . .

Just after I'd taken the lilac photos, I found that the path had headed back towards the main road, though a long way above it. A huge iron bridge crossed it and at the other side I found this lovely water feature pouring its clear water down steps to the bottom of a steep incline. 

Click on the images to make them larger . . .

I was pretty certain no-one would have put this feature here without a reason. It had to mark something and, sure enough, it led on to the gates of our Regional Administrative Headquarters.

It's a sort of town hall but serves the whole Département of Herault . . .

I kept seeing, in the distance, a dome-like structure but was really too far away to tkae any good shots of it. However, a bit later I managed to get up pretty close.

It transpires that it was a local college, the Lycée Jean Monnet . . .

And that was the end of the Saturday walk. From here I just walked back the way I'd come.  

Altogether I walked 4.14 km and burned 314 calories.


Now today's walk (Tuesday) was a whole different kettle of fish. It was stultifyingly boring. Boring suburbia with nothing but endless apartment blocks and a few random shops. So the only photos I took were of flowers I met along the way.


Enjoy the slide show . . .

Wonder of wonders. Chateau d'O has now re-opened its gates to the public. So that's where we are headed today. We enter via the South Gate. . .

Tip of the day:  Click on the smaller images to enlarge them.

Last year it was decided to restore the 18th century gardens, including the fountain in front of the chateau to their former glory.  This first shot is taken in the side gardens.

The next 2 photos are of the Chateau and its fountain and the third is taken from the opposite direction with the house behind me.  The house was never lived in. It was built as a folly rather than a real house. But, hey, we can all let our imaginations run freely can't we?

They've just added a new feature. All over the grounds you find these strange little structures which cast coloured lights on the ground when the sun shines on them.

So, we've seen the house. now let's head off into the grounds. Here we have acre upon acre of cultivated olives.

And dense forest as far as the eye can see . . .

On the road from the South Gate of the estate to the North Gate we pass through what look like three gateways (but without gates these days). Each of them has a statue at either side of it. Together, they make up an interesting little collection of curious figures - some of whom you may recognise.

Finally we reach the north end of the estate where a new amphitheatre, auditorium and restaurant have been built.

And guess what's on in the next few days . . .

So, we've walked all the way from the south of the estate to the north. But I still haven't been out for an hour yet. Solution?  Back towards the south gate via the quickest route along the tramway and then back home through the countryside trails. It's a much longer way round but this is supposed to be an exercise regime after all. Actually, I love this route home with its lovely lanes:

Its bamboo and cactus plants . . .

And its strange fruits . . .

So there we have day 3. I was out for an hour and walked 3.51 Km. BUT for the next several days we are promised heavy electrical storms and I'm not that keen !  So I'll see you when the sun returns. Thanks for joining me . . .