Take our trails and reconnect with simple pleasures
Tucked away in the middle of a 60-hectare forest, on the outskirts of Castres and the Haut Languedoc Regional Park , Domaine Le Castelet is a luxury country bed & breakfast where we perfect the art of living in the moment.
“The Art of Living in the Moment”
We give our guests an especially warm welcomein this beautiful natural environment that we do our best to protect and preserve. After breakfast you can go for a walk and admire the flora and fauna. It’s a truly magical place, where you can while away the hours sitting on a bench or in a deckchair and just listening to the bird singing then, later, gazing up at the stars.
Over the years (and particularly during the first lockdown), we have opened a number of footpaths where nature lovers can admire the stunning scenery and astonishing variety of trees, including three-hundred-year-old oaks, majestic limes and acacias which are buzzing with bees when they’re in blossom, chestnut trees, ash trees, hornbeams and beeches. And then there are the swathes of heather and cyclamen, multicoloured northern red oaks, holly and mistletoe – perfect for Christmas decorations – cedars and firs, and all against a magnificent backdrop full of gorges, hillocks and meadows, on the edges of which ceps, chanterelles, parasol mushrooms grow.
An unforgettable experience
When they’re in season, tamus communis (known locally as respountsous, also called black bryony, lady's-seal or black bindweed: a sort of wild asparagus) are delicious in an omelette. By the stream or one of the ancestral stone troughs hidden deep in the woodland, you may be lucky enough to come across a fox, a roe deer or a herd of wild boar, or, circling the skies over the meadow, a buzzard hunting for rodents: the estate is a paradise for nature lovers.
The last path we laid, a steep one signposted with red arrows, takes you on a 1.4-km-walk through this stunning countryside; there is also a 1.5-km loop, marked with blue arrows. If you’re looking for a gentler, easier walk, the 800-m orange trail is completely flat. For those of you looking for a longer hike, the boucle des Gourgs starts from Le Castelet and covers part of the Santiago di Compostela route (the Arles route). This hike, around 6.7 km long, offers spectacular views of the Black Mountain and the Sidobre regional park. Hikers and ramblers alike have a total of 10 km of trails to enjoy in a spectacular, varied and perfectly preserved natural environment.
All the trails are signposted and marked, and we can provide maps for your nature walks, hikes or orienteering races.
Preserving our ecosystem
We are lucky – and honoured – to have regular visits from both the local and national forestry commissions, who give us precious advice on how to protect this exceptional yet fragile ecosystem.
On their recommendation, we don’t cut down dead trees, as they are the natural habitat for a host of plants, animals and fungi. We also don’t always completely mow the fields, in order to promote biodiversity. When we do need to cut trees down – for example, Douglas firs that didn’t survive the drought – we replant in the same plot.
Enjoy the simple things
Magnificent trees, countless birds, starry skies: come and enjoy the natural splendours of our region, either on a hike or just by sitting back and relaxing on a holiday with family or friends at our self-catering accommodation or a romantic getaway at our luxury bed & breakfast.
A stay at Domaine Le Castelet in Tarn is the ideal time to switch off, get back to nature, enjoy simple pleasures and embrace our "art of living in the moment".
