While the rest of France and most of Europe is shivering under a blanket of snow and an onslaught of icy winds from Siberia, we are enjoying sunshine and spring weather here in our little corner of the foothills. This is often the case in this region because, cliché though it is, we have a microclimate in the valleys of the Pyrenees thanks to the protected location with the mountains to the south, the Atlantic to the west and the Mediterranean to the East plus rolling hills in all directions.
That’s not to say that it is balmy all year round but, being a long way south with both gentle Atlantic and Mediterranean influences we do not seem to suffer the extremes of weather of other areas such as floods, or heavy snow or heatwaves; we have a very benign climate with all the benefits that brings.
There is sometimes a belief (especially amongst Brits) that if you can see mountains and snow on the horizon, the climate must be a mountain one but that is not at all the case in the Pyrenees (perhaps more so in the Alps). Whilst we can be skiing within an hour here in the winter, the climate is very different between the valleys and the higher mountains. Yesterday for example, I set off from home in double digit temperatures and sunshine and yet, within 40 minutes of heading into the mountains, having reached 900 metres of altitude, I was in snow and minus temperatures.
If you are looking for a climate that is sunny in winter, cold but not freezing and with views of mountains and snow but not in the snow; warm but not over hot in summer with plenty of rain in the shoulder seasons to keep the hills green, then this could be the perfect climate for you.
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