Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
It had
six
bedrooms plus a small habitable bothy. But we thought we could probably
make use of these in other ways. It also had a swimming pool, which we definitely didn't
want, but that could always be filled in. As I scanned the specification, I noticed that a ten-
nis court had somehow crept in, which was slightly alarming.
Fortunately there were no other surprises. There were two large outbuildings, suitable
for dreaded DIY activities, with over 100 hectares of fields and woodland set in 'gently
undulating countryside'.
As for the
gibier
(game), I quote:
Stocked with roe deer, fox, hare, rabbit, wild boar, pheasant, partridge, birds and
even wild horses.
A further very appealing (if confusing) addition was:
No nuissances or noise.
All in all, I thought it sounded enticingly intriguing and possibly perfect.
With coffee and paperwork sorted out it was time to go. We agreed to travel in convoy
but without Nicole's boss; he had other work commitments which had cropped up that
morning.
Nicole, taking the lead, trotted off to her car which, in turn, caused Jack immediate
concern because he felt she wasn't old enough to be driving. Nevertheless, as we followed
a safe distance behind, she seemed to cope admirably with the controls which calmed his
anxieties. We spent the rest of the journey animatedly discussing the area and began plan-
ning for future hunting trips on our very own land.
The
domaine
was located in the Ariège department of the Midi-Pyrénées which, on a
map of the region, is in the bottom right-hand corner. It lies between the towns of Pamiers
and Mirepoix. The town of Pamiers lies in an ancient alluvial plain of the Ariège River in
the area called La Basse Ariège and is particularly noted for its rich fertile soil. This, I de-
cided, suggested that the estate land would be productive and lush and therefore ideal for
growing my vegetables.
Apparently Pamiers itself dates back to the fifth century. The origin of its name is the
subject of an interesting debate, which I attempted to share with Jack, along with several
other fascinating facts. Predictably, he reminded me that although the etymological search
for the origins of a name would be enthralling for some, the more salient points for us were
that it is a good sized town with a petrol station, supermarket and is surrounded by hunting
country.
Deliberately taking a scenic route so we could have a closer look at the area, we were
shocked by the aftermath of the previous night's storm. As well as mountains of hailstones
lining the road, there was extensive flooding in the fields and severe damage to the count-
less commercial fruit tree orchards. Several of the houses had holes in their roofs, tiles
