Charmed By Cosy Conflent
by Sean Hillen
It was an adorable four-legged fellow called Jupi who started my love affair with Pyrénées-Orientales.
An Australian sheepdog, Jupi is the pride and joy of English couple, Norman and Maggie Longworth, who moved sticks from wet and windy northern England many years ago to a farmhouse or mas in the warmer climes of Pyrénées-Orientales, five kilometers from Prades.
One Christmas a few years back, Norman, a multi-book author and expert on life-long learning and Maggie, a retired nurse and leading light in a community effort supporting cancer victims, needed someone to take care of Jupi while they visited family in Old Blighty.
That’s when my wife, Columbia, and I stepped in.
And we’ve been back to this lovely corner of France every year since. Most often twice. In fact, so enamoured are we of this charming region of rocky hills and vineyards, we launched a week-long international creative writing retreat there to share our love of the place with fellow scribes from different parts of the world.
Over the last five years, our writing retreat in Roussillon, under the auspices of ‘South of France Writing Retreat,’ (https://www.irelandwritingretreat.com/) has attracted people from far and wide, including Iceland, Australia, Canada, the US, Scotland, England and Ireland, among them teachers, computer analysts, lawyers, nurses, pastors, bankers, trade union leaders, nutritionists, and social workers, all united in their love of words.
And why, you might ask, Conflent?
Well, we launched creative writing retreats exactly 10 years ago in another corner of Europe – Donegal in northwestern Ireland – then expanded it to Paris – and felt strongly that this particular corner of rural France matched the innovative nature of our retreats – a blend of hands-on writing workshops with memorable cultural and historical excursions and culinary experiences in picturesque places.
As often happens when you believe in an idea passionately enough, the positive energies of the Universe took over.
Through Norman and Maggie, we met another English couple Nick and Kate Wilcock who own the enchanting 19th century Spanish Colonial-style chateau, Villa Lafabregue, with stunning views over Canigou, the sacred mountain of Catalan people; an outdoor swimming pool, a fragrant botanical garden filled with palm trees, cacti, a goldfish pond, herbs and exotic flowers and outdoor seating for meditation.
Villa Lafabregue is a harmonious place that inspires creativity of all kinds. And it’s a mere five-minute walk from the heart of Prades, a charming town with a cafe-filled central square and lively open-air market where local producers proudly display their fresh fruits, organic vegetables, honey and cheeses.
On market days, our writers relax at outdoor tables, wine or pastis in hand and maybe a slice of a sweet pie of puff pastry, while buskers play traditional music as a soft backdrop. Prades also boasts a rich and colorful heritage in both Baroque and Romanesque architecture and centuries-old traditions, with half-timbered houses dating back hundreds of years.
Exploring the region further, we discovered cultural and historical pearls. Places such as the walled, cobblestone medieval village of Villefranche de Conflent, a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring dragons and other mystical creatures, as well as the spectacular red-rock geological ‘moonscape’ of fairy chimneys and organ-like sculptures millions of years old known as ‘Orgues d’Ille-sur-Têt’ with formations known locally as ‘Cheminées de Fées’ (Fairy Chimneys).
To experience local foods and drinks, we’ve delighted in many restaurants in the region such as Le Cafe de la Paix (Prades), Saveurs du Temps (Thuir) and Le Relais de Villefranche (Villefrance de Conflent). We’ve even enjoyed taste testings of olive oil and wine, hosted by local Marie-Neige and her husband Philippe, owners of Huile Des Orgues olive farm and Solenn Genot, co-owner of Mas Llossanes vineyard.
In addition, the attractive town of Thuir in the Pyrenees foothills is always a highlight for a guided tour of age-old cellars where the famous aperitif, Byrrh, is made, featuring the largest oak vat in the world.
Cream on our cultural cake was when we met Fanny Pla, historian and tourism guide in Villefranche de Conflent and long-time member of folk association, Els Dansaires Catalans de Thuir This fortuitous meeting led to a lively evening of traditional Catalan dance and music with performers in full costumes and is now a highlight evening of our week-long retreats. And if that wasn’t enough, Norman and Maggie also introduced us to talented expat singer-songwriter, Derek Taylor, who brings our week to an uplifting farewell with a come-all-ye sing-a-long, complete with songbooks.
I’ve been fortunate insofar as international travel writing assignments for World Itineraries) and other outlets have allowed me to experience many diverse places worldwide such as New Zealand, India Madeira, Romania and Tunisia, but Conflent holds a special place for me and I’m looking forward to returning in March to teach again at the South of France Writing Retreat in Prades, to renew friendships I’ve already made and to start new ones.
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Sean Hillen, former foreign correspondent for The Times newspaper, London, worked at the United Nations Media Center in New York, and is author of several books, including novel, ‘Pretty Ugly,’ memoir, ‘Digging for Dracula’ and novella, ‘Driver’s Diary.’