Jo Moore

There are places in France that seem made for walking. In the south, where Mediterranean light meets rugged mountains, ancient villages cling to hillsides and ruined castles rise dramatically above the landscape, the Pays Cathare is one of them. Here, walking is more than a way of getting from one village to another. It is a way of discovering a landscape shaped by centuries of history, wild weather, agriculture and human determination. Paths wind through vineyards and oak woodland, cross...

Sometimes life seems to get faster without us quite noticing. One minute you're enjoying a quiet morning, and the next you're rushing from one thing to another, checking your phone, answering messages, thinking about tomorrow, and wondering where the day went. There is always something else to do. And even when you finally have a moment to sit down, your mind can still be running ahead of you. But perhaps we don't always need to find a way to do more. Perhaps we need to remember how to slow...

Sometimes we don't need another holiday. We need time to breathe. Time to walk. Time to think. Time to stop thinking. We need somewhere that feels far enough away from everyday life to allow us to see things differently — yet welcoming enough to feel like home. This is where a walking and wellbeing retreat in the Aude, southern France, can offer something rather special. The Aude is a land of ancient paths, vineyards, forests, rivers, mountains and medieval villages. Here in the heart of the...