After only being able to get 1 week's holiday to Tenerife this year during May, my better half Sharon decided that we needed a second week's holiday during the school summer break (with a premise to keep it cheap) and started searching European campsites on the internet. Unfortunately most places were fully booked but in the end a caravan was found available for the last week of August in a campsite in the Ariege region of France. Last time I'd been to France was over 17 years ago in the Brittany/Normandy region. Back then my interest in lepidoptera wasn't that strong but I do remember seeing Swallowtail butterflies and Jersey Tiger moths. Since then, I've heard lots from various butterfly enthusiasts extolling the virtues of France as a country to see lepidoptera. "This will be just the ticket" I thought, my expectations racing away
. It will make a welcome change from Tenerife where I've come to the conclusion that I've pretty much reached my limit in what I'm likely to see there in future, within the family holiday scenario.The campsite, L'Arize is near the little town of La Bastide de Serou around 130Km south of Toulouse. After realising the option of driving all the way there from Woking was a no no, in terms of the time we had available and the distance involved (ferries do not run to Bordeaux these days), I booked us a cheap return flight to Toulouse and a hire car (Fiesta) to pick up from the airport. It was only when the online booking was done that I realised we'd be taking two flights to get there and two to get back
: Heathrow terminal 4 to Paris Charles de Gaulle, catch a coach transfer to Paris Orly and fly to Toulouse. Return was Toulouse to Schiphol Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Heathrow. Booked through Bravofly. A lot of potential for something to go wrong ...thankfully it didn't.A few days before we flew out I met up with Wurzel at Shipton Bellinger for Brown Hairstreak and got the low-down on his butterfly sightings in the Czech Republic. He listed around a dozen species I'd never seen before
, but then I secretly thought I could match that and perhaps do even better 
. However what I failed to do was read up about what I might be expected to see. I also didn't consider how much of an impact the more southerly latitude and holidaying two weeks later would have on my numbers. Nor did I consider how little time I'd get away from normal family holiday duties to pursue my hobby. Most of all I didn't expect to lose 2, nearly 3 days to the weather 
. Sat 22nd: On the drive down from Toulouse the weather was glorious but as we approached the hills of the Midi Pyrenees dark clouds loomed in the distance
. To avoid going the 'long way around' via the town of Foix I had decided to take a steep twisty switch-back road (D11) to 'cut-off the corner'. Unfortunately very soon after getting on that short-cut route, the heavens let loose . I've never known a deluge like it, the wipers on full bore were unable to cope. The thunder and lighting too, scared the kids, scared everyone to be honest. In the end we had to stop and wait-out the worst of it. Other car drivers were doing the same. 7 Km later and we arrived at the L'Arize campsite where we met with Brigitte, the campsite owner who apologised for the weather we'd brought with us . Oh well "it's only a bit of rain" and consoled myself with the thought that it would soon pass 
. Two nights of pitter patter on the caravan roof and on Monday morning, 3rd day in, it was still raining
. My mood became morose ... I was a very unhappy bunny at this point 
.The previous day in Foix we'd met a friendly English couple who apart from giving us advice on "what to do when in France" remarked about the extreme weather and said it had caused flash floods in Montpellier (cars washed down the streets). We also were learned about the shocking and sad air disaster at Shoreham
. Later when I explained about my interest in butterflies, the lady (Mavis) told me about a chap called Graham Hart who had surveyed the rare Violet Copper (Lycaena helle). After the holiday she sent me as promised, an email of Graham's list on the butterfly species of the Ariege region (compiled in 2002). She also sent a paper on a talk given by Graham to the UK butterfly conservancy also in 2002, on "Agricultural Change and its Implications for Butterflies in the eastern French Pyrenees". If anyone would like to see this list and or paper let me know and I will forward it on 
Among the recommendations given to us was to pay a visit Carcassonne which we'd already planned to do. And so on that wet Monday morning we set off for a 100km+ drive east to that destination.
Notes on driving in France
In all I drove around 1400Km in our holiday week. French roads and driving? On the minus-side: generally narrow with raised kerb 'tyre biters' nowhere to pull in at scenic points of interest
: drivers don't like to indicate on entry and exit at roundabouts (something which is becoming increasingly prevalent over here). On the upside: less traffic, less potholes, barely any road-works to hold you up; mostly free-parking, no excessive waiting at level crossings; more realistic speed limits (slower in towns and faster on the open road). Less dithering (incompetence). Prefer driving in France to be honest .On the way to Carcassonne we stopped at a town called Mirepoix. In the square surrounded by old medieval timber-framed buildings it was market day and it was absolutely packed with colourful stalls shops and cafes catering for almost anything you could want. Unfortunately (perhaps) we bought some stylish looking 'Rustic bread' but we later found out that it had a crust made from concrete
. Later on I developed forearms like Popeye from having to slice the stuff with an inadequate four inch bread-saw knife, a part of the cutlery kit provided in the caravan. We really needed a pneumatic drill 
. The slices were more like chunks .... but they tasted fine. By midday the market was finished so we headed back on our way to Carcassonne. The weather was brightening up and at one point I'm sure I spotted what looked like a Moroccan Orange-tip on a roadside verge as I drove past. I wished I'd stopped to check it out but as I said pulling-in points were virtually non-existent on these country roads.
After getting some petrol at a one-pump station, waking up the old-boy attendant slumbering in his chair, we made up the final 25km of the journey into Carcassonne and to La Cite, the old town fortress for which Carcassonne is famous. The weather was fine now as we toured the medieval narrow streets within the fortress walls, as well as the visiting the Count's castle (Chateau Comtal) and Cathedral. My first butterfly photo was taken, a Large White at distance. However I promise there is plenty more to come.
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