A short day following the Albi to Castres Voie Verte. Just as well it was a short day, as the previous night was a late one. We, along with thousands of citizens of Albi stayed up to watch the spectacular fireworks over the Tarn and Cathedral to celebrate Bastille Day. We missed the earlier parades and speeches and went straight for the main event. As darkness doesn’t fall until 2230, the fireworks were scheduled for 2300. We had made our way to the city centre (10mins walk from our accommodation) to see the crowds milling about there at 2100, and then found a spot on the Pont Vieux by 2130, so we had quite a long wait (us, and hundreds of others) The crowd was good natured, and well mixed (all ages and colours!). We were on the best viewing area, and there was a cursory search for bottles and cans for those going on the bridge. There were stalls selling large plastic ‘glasses’ of beer nearby, so no-one was dying of thirst. The display was fast, furious, loud and full on for 30 to 35 minutes, so the late night, and the wait, were worth it, and also it was great being part of the crowd on a warm night with a mellow feeling of having a good time. After a late and leisurely breakfast, it was time to say goodbye to Sylvie, our lovely host for the past two nights, and head south to Castres. Our RidewithGPS route picker had us picking up the Albi-Castres cycle way for a bit and then taking a ‘short cut’ to Castres. We elected to stay on the cycle way, which added a few km, but avoided a few hills and some steep, if short, climbs. So we were probably ahead in terms of energy expended by taking the cycle way. Unsealed for the most part, the surface was fine compacted gravel and clay, and really good to ride on, although a bit dusty today with the dry heat (we saw temperatures above 40 C on the bike thermometers) The cycleway, as usual, seemed to bypass most of the towns en route, but that was OK, as there was plenty to see in Castres - or at least as much as we wanted to see after a late night! Castres is the birthplace of Jean Jaures, a famous French politician and orator assassinated in 1914. He became a spokesman for the working class, challenged colonial politics and was a pacifist. There is hardly a town in France without a street or school named after him, so we went to the museum dedicated to him here. Unfortunately, while potentially very interesting and enlightening, everything was in French, without any English translation, so the finer points passed me by. Definitely still worth the visit though. The houses along the river (the Agoute that we first saw in St Sulplice) date from the 12th century and served as workshops for tanners, parchment makers etc who used the water from the river to work the skins. Castres also has many beautiful private hotels and another “jardin remarquable” - also a Bishop’s Palace garden as in Albi.