There's posh

We decided to go for a walk this afternoon. Coustouge is only about a 20-minute drive away, but on arrival we realised that although we have driven by a few times on the way to other places, we have never actually been into the village. Down a narrow street looking for somewhere to park, and our mouths dropped open when we found this delightful little square, or rather circle, in the centre of the village. Charmingly dilapidated houses, one of which has been very sympathetically converted into a village social club by a group of volunteers guided by an architect who lives here. The whole village is a delight. We were impressed by this grand maison de maître, but the house I want to live in is the one by the stream with a wood-fired bread oven in the garden.

Our walk took us across the stream, up a wooded slope, and into the garrigue. Masses of rosemary were flowering, and we also found patches of tiny jonquils, a few little orchids (a bit early for them), and more dwarf irises than I've ever seen in one place before. The walk took a lot longer than the hour and a half advertised, but we were in no hurry. We'll be back!