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Published: October 22nd 2017
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Geo: 42.5761, 2.34443
Today (Wednesday) we let the train take the strain to transport us from nearby Villefranche-de-Conflent to Mont Louis, on part of the 39-mile special metre gauge track that ends at Latour de Carol, near the Spanish border town of Puigcerda. The yellow livery of the train is highlighted with red, representing the traditional Catalan colours - they seem to play on this quite a lot round here.
The line, which was begun in 1903, is a spectacular feat of civil engineering and for the section of the route that we chose hugs the deep valley of the River Tet, through forests, chasms and gushing streams. This is achieved with numerous tunnels, bridges, viaducts, not to mention France's only rail suspension bridge (Pont Gisclard).
Based on the trains (electric powered, by the way) which have passed alongside the site since we arrived and advice on TA (issues with purchasing tickets in advance, or not, as the case may be, and queues) we decided to take the first train of the day at 8.55am. Indeed, this appeared to be sound advice since the car park by 8.15 was quite busy and the queue to purchase tickets from the one point wound around the
Mont Louis, entrance gate
This is a main thoroughfare, in and out of the town, single file, controlled with traffic lights station foyer. However, with ticket in hand, we made our way to the platform and managed to get seats on the open topped carriage, glad that we had heeded advice to wear something warm since the sun was still quite low in the sky.
The journey got under way, initially in familiar territory that we had explored in recent days, made all the more fun by a group of French people who treated the experience more like a thrill ride in a theme park. They soon began clapping and singing to the rhythm of the train, possibly to amuse the young lad in the party, and on entering the tunnels the cheers rang out, arms outstretched, stopping as soon as they began once the train came out into the sunshine. It was all good humoured and amused us to see them having a good time.
Some ninety minutes after setting off, the train stopped at the station for Mont Louis la Cabanasse where we then walked up the hill to the Vauban fortified town of Mont Louis itself. The scenery here changes too, becoming less rugged, and more alpine with meadows and evidence of ski lifts and runs. Although not as large
as Villefranche, it is still a pleasant, interesting place to while away an hour or so, so we used our time to have a coffee and eat our picnic before making our way back to the station in time to catch the 12.40 train. For the return journey, which takes ten minutes less due to it being mainly downhill, we sat indoors preferring some shade as the sun was at its highest.
We were back at the caravan mid-afternoon for a welcome cuppa, looking forward to paella night at the site's snack bar. It's a hard life!
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