Days 12, 13 & 14 – It can’t be that hard, surely? . . .

For some it comes naturally. The ability to chill. To totally switch off. Relax. Take it easy for a day. Do next to nothing. For others, that can be more difficult than it seems.

Day 12 – With the weather showing encouraging signs of heating up, we decide to gamble. Book a three nighter at Albirondack Camping, a forty minute walk from Albi centre-ville.

It’s a self-called spa-site. [apart from a heated pool, it has a jacuzzi! – big deal!!] Our allocated pitch is not what we expect for the price we’ve pre-paid. A piece of hardcore, barely large enough to house Beastie’s belly, or his backside. It’s Sunday evening and the terraced wooded camp is choca. Beggars can’t be choosers and all that. We make do, for now.

Earlier in the day, the clear sunny morning finds us giving our calf muscles another work out as we step the steep and cobbled way up to the picturesque 12^thC century Bruniquel Chateau. Sublimely perched at an altitude of 820ft.

Before we can sneak and peak inside the chateau, a weather front sneaks in behind our backs. Outflanks us on all sides with its drizzly mist. Which is soon replaced with the real McCoy. We’re totally unprepared. Wonder how long we’ll have to sit it out inside.

Mr S is all sunny smiles; Mrs S is already dreading the rush back to dry Beastie

Spoilsport – not much to see of the meandering Aveyron river as real rain sets in

An hour later and by the time we’re back inside Beastie, it’s relented. The day is still young and we’ve heard of yet another pretty town, worthy of our presence – Saint-Aintonin-Noble-Val. A lively ambiance that attracts shoppers and diners. It stays dry.

The continentals know how to relax – it’s an automatic ‘go-to’

One of the most unusual looking shop fronts

Day 13 – It must be 15th September then. Mary-Ann’s 75th Birthday and she’s still looking as beautiful as ever. With breakfast and pressies done with, we stroll roadside down into town.

First stop, the extraordinary Sainte-Cecile Cathedral.

Reputed to be the largest brick building in the world.

Ancient architects must have gained great pleasure from seeing attendees take on their pre-mass work-out

At first sight its design appears like any other religious interior – apart from the paintwork that is

It has the most painted interior of any other church in Europe

Wonderful geometric patterns cover most surfaces

Next door to the cathedral, the world’s largest collection of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec’s works are housed within what was once the Bishop’s Palace – itself a massive construction.

His life can be summed up as having a sad beginning and a sad ending, but with a glorious inbetween.

Mostly recognised for his familiar poster works

After his death in 1901 his mother gifted his entire collection to Albi

Like all good palaces, it provides a picturesque outlook towards pleb-land – from across the river Tarn

Day 14 – Unable to ‘waste’ the day just relaxing, we discover a much more éco-friendly route into town. L’Echappée Verte, hidden and huddled between the suburban growth, is a meandering mix of delightful tracks and mini river crossings.