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Europe 2016: Villefranche de Conflent and the Little Yellow Train
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Villefrrance de Conflent is a town in the Pyrenees which is completely surrounded by fotified walls. Above the village, high up in the mountain behind it, there is a fort. The fortifications were designed by Marshal Vauban, a prolific builder of forts for the French Kings in the 18th Century.
The stronghold above the town of Villefranche de Conflent.
One of the gates into the town.
The Church of Saint Jaume in Villefranche de Conflent.
I walked through one of the town gates into the hills beyond and took this photo of the fort high up in the mountains. The perspective is quite different to the first photo of the fort (seen earlier) as I had climbed quite a few feet above the town itself and was almost at the same height as the fort itself.
There was still a lot of snow on the peaks beyond.
This fort, also designed by Marshal Vauban, is in the township of Mont Louis. It is several miles West of Villefranche de Conflent and is joined to it by both an alpine road as well as by a narrow guage railway, used only by The Little Yellow Train.
Many years ago I caught The Little Yellow Train from Andorra all the way to Villefranche de Conflent, which is the end of the line for this narrow guage railway. From VIllefranche I caught a regular train to Perpignan.

Alas, the Little Yellow Train no longer runs all the way to Andorra as the track beyond a certain distance from Mont Louis is now unstable.
This ancient fort is still used by the French Military. It is a school for training young officers and commandos. For that reason, one is not permitted within the fort, but there is a lovely walking track right around the fort.
The Little Yellow Train at the railway station of La Cabanasse, just down the hill from Mont Louis.
Riding across a high suspension bridge on the Little Yellow Train. The photo below of this bridge was taken from the bus which carried me to Mont Louis along some exciting alpine roads.

I took the bus from Perpignan up the mountain to Mont Louis, and came down to Villefranche on the train. Both bus and train journeys were quite spectacular.
From the train one can see the hairpin bends of the road up the mountain.
A view from the train, this time looking UP at the road.
Bye bye, Little Yellow Train.