On more than one occasion, as we lazed on the beach and our gazes drifted to the south and the hills and mountains of the Albères Massif and the Pyrenees beyond, we could make out the small town of Collioure, which we had both read was worth a visit. We had also discovered on one of our bike rides into Argelès, that we could catch the train there – something we love to do when we can. So, equipped with a timetable, we just needed to decide whether we would cycle to the station (about 30 minutes) and leave the folders in one of the impressive and free cycle cages (hoping one might be empty), or maybe get a cab.
We decided to try the bikes, and on the morning of the day we had set aside for our adventure, Mr B checked the train times, having already shared with Mrs B that they were every hour in each direction. Somehow, upon closer reading however, they had changed to every two hours, and we had just missed the window for the next train – oops! After a quick exchange of views (!) we decided we would drive back to Port Vendres in Evie, and take the Tourist Train from there instead. We had been told about the train in the tourist office, and it sounded like a fun alternative!
This time, as we parked up in the Aire, ready for the long hot walk to the town, Mrs B proved yet again how much better she is with preparation for hot weather, leaving Mr B scrambling for his knotted handkerchief…
Perhaps not the luxury of an SNCF train, our Puffing Billy promised an intriguing 10 minute ride to Collioure, and a 30 minute return. Recognising that we may have lost something in translation, we anticipated a return journey ‘along the coast and vineyards’…
Depositing us right outside the market area of Collioure, we soon found ourselves drawn down towards the sea, glinting away in perfect picture postcard style, with the bell tower of the Notre-Dames-des-Anges church just asking for a visit…
The harbour wall we were walking along initially skirted the base of a very imposing old Vauban fort – Miradou, which turned out to be the training headquarters for the French Army commandos…
Mr B was particularly excited to learn that we might see some of their sea-borne training, but his luck was out…
...so he settled instead for one Mediterranean cliché after another, with views across the bay to Fort Saint Elme on a nearby hill…
...to the mountains in the distance…
… a very southern Med town…
...and another bay on the north side of the harbour with a small chapel Saint-Vincent…
...from where we could see back to the stretch of pine forest and woodland our site was in…
...and where we met two lovely Yorkshire women, both in their 80th year, busy travelling the world and currently exploring France by train, before we walked out to the end of one of the harbour arms for a different view…
...with crystal clear water all around…
With our return 30 minute adventure on Puffing Billy pre-booked, we had just enough time for Mrs B to explore a Cave that specialised in Banyuls wine, a naturally sweet dessert wine she had developed a taste for as an aperitif on one of our meals out, before we were heading off into the unknown. And as the train took a very sharp hairpin bend heading up into the steep hills behind the town, we realised that we were heading into the vineyards that clung to the hillsides all around…
...that gave us views back to the coastline, rather than us travelling along it…
...and seemed to be heading to the fort we could see from the port, perched atop that very steep hill…
...surely we couldn’t be heading up there we thought, until after more hairpin bends than we’d care to remember, we arrived at Fort Saint Elme, and were allowed out to steady our nerves (maximum quatre minuits we were told)…
...before heading back down the other side of the hills into Port Vendres! Thanking the driver for his skill in returning us alive, we were torn between finding a bar for a stiff Cognac, and having a little lie down. But then we remembered the artisan ice-cream vendor, and headed off there for a cold and creamy delight instead!
On the walk back to Evie, we were suddenly immersed in the sound of cicadas – a defining feature for us of travel in the south. But what we hadn’t realised until this trip and after Mrs B had undertaken a bit of research, was that they needed consistently hot temperatures of 30c+ over a period of time, before their wing membranes are dry enough to be able to make the sounds at that loud buzzing level – and we had clearly just reached those two criteria being met!
Returning to Evie to find, again, that we had been able to park for free, we had a little chuckle that although our initial train adventure had not quite gone to plan, we’d ended up with an altogether different and certainly exciting adventure by ‘train’ instead!
And, as we arrived back at the campsite later that day, we realised that our time in Argelès was coming to a close, even with our bonus canicule-avoiding days added on! Would we come back here? Oh yes! Maybe at a time with less wind would be good – but wind seems to follow us everywhere, all year it seems, these global warming days!
Our agenda for the next leg was straightforward: arrive at Chris and Sue’s in Salies-de-Béarn, with enough time to get up to the ferry at Dieppe without having to drive overly long days. Six nights and seven days to cover just over 800 miles should be plenty, or so we thought...
S&J 31.07.26
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