Hike to Montferrand castle and Lac de Cécélès — how it went

How it came together

The idea came from one of the members early in the month: a randonnée to Château de Montferrand, the ruins of a 12th-century medieval castle standing above the valley next to Pic Saint-Loup. On 1 March the organiser turned it into a proper announcement: a scenic spot, easy paths, “fine even for a slow stroll” — bring blankets and snacks and spend a day in nature. The date was set for Sunday, 29 March.

Sign-ups grew fast: on 2 March — “we’re already about 15 people”, by mid-month — around 20, including five young travellers aged 6 to 11, and four days before the hike — already about 40 people, kids included. For families the organiser ran a dedicated poll, asking for children’s ages in the comments so the route would suit everyone.

Because the group grew so much, the plan changed on the fly: the picnic moved from the castle to Lac de Cécélès, a ten-minute drive away. The result was a “two places in one day” format — a walk to the ruins, then a drive and a shared table by the water. Anyone who only wanted the picnic came straight to the lake for 1 pm.

Logistics

Meeting time was 11:15–11:30 at the castle car park, with the exact spot shared as GPS coordinates. People without cars were paired up: the organiser collected via DMs who was driving and who had spare seats, then sent confirmed passengers their driver’s contact and pick-up point during the week. The day before, the chat even got a reminder: “we still have a few free seats in the cars”.

Gear questions were asked right in the chat: “proper hiking shoes, or just trainers?” — “Trainers are fine.” The packing list was simple: comfortable shoes, water, something tasty for the shared picnic, a blanket and a good mood. Later additions: folding tables and chairs for those with cars, balls, badminton, kites — and a guitar was “most welcome”. The forecast promised around +15 °C with changing clouds.

One detail of that particular night: France switched to summer time between Saturday and Sunday. “So coffee in thermoses won’t hurt,” the organiser wrote the evening before.

How it went

The morning was sunny and very windy — the chat joked about the wind, but “basically nobody chickened out, everyone’s coming”. One thing that didn’t work out: “We have a guitar, but no musician” — a guitarist never materialised. By 11:15 people were arriving (“Yoo-hoo! We’re at the car park”), and at 11:42 the group set off: “Guys, we’re off.”

By 12:45 they had climbed to the castle. Up top the wind was serious — the chat asked: “Haven’t you been blown away up there? What a gale”, and the answer came back: “We’re doing great.” At the ruins there was a big photo session with panoramas over the mountains and the garrigue — the Mediterranean scrubland the trail runs through. The trail itself is easy, by the way, but not pushchair-friendly.

After the descent everyone drove to the lake. Around three o’clock, photos from the water’s edge appeared in the chat: “So this is our lake”, “Nice neighbourhood.” A participant with a small child joined just for the picnic, as planned. In the evening dozens of photos landed in the chat — dumps from the organiser and at least three participants — and the day was summed up briefly: “Thank you all for this wonderful day. It was great” and “Yes, we challenged the wind and the sun :))”.

If you join our next hike

The community picks routes to match who’s actually coming — you can join with kids and with zero training; a pushchair won’t make it. Trainers are enough, water is a must, food is potluck for the shared table. Sign-up and carpooling happen in the community chat a week or two before the date: watch the announcements — the next trip is born in the same place this one was. Incidentally, the summer plans were agreed on during this very hike — and the community went on to open the season with the big barbecue at Saint-Just.