Mirabel, France

Mirabel is a tiny little village in the department of Ardèche in France. Sitting above the village is an impressively tall basalt outcrop on which is perched the Tour de Mirabel, a 13th Century tower attached to the remains of a ruined castle, that can be seen from most of the surrounding countryside. Mirabel itself is really tiny, a cluster of gorgeous old buildings set on a hill. From the village the country stretches away to the mountains in the distance. My PhD fieldwork has meant I've visited Mirabel twice now; both times it was super quiet. There was nobody there to be seen, just the odd passing car on the sole main road, and a cat padding gingerly across the terracotta roofs. Walking the little alleyways it is easy to imagine how the centre of the village, where the streets are too narrow for vehicles and the cobbles are roughest, has been there essentially unchanged for centuries, watching the passing of the seasons.

The tiny village of Mirabel.

Construction of La Tour de Mirabel started in the 13th Century.

Stone, twine.

Old, old streets.

Awww, a heart.

Roofs, across which sauntered a cat moments after this photo was taken.