We want to let the pictures speak for themselves but have to give a tiny word of explanation nevertheless. St Chamant and St Sylvain are our nearest neighbours, so you won't have to go far to see some delights.
St. Chamant Church
A Gate in St. Sylvain
Within a few miles of here, in the hills to the east of us, there are many gorgeous villages, of which we've shown you just a glimpse.
Soulage Château.
Château just outside La Roche Canillac
Behind La Roche Canillac Church
La Roche Canillac from across the valley.
We would be remiss if we didn't show you some of the renowned villages a few miles to our west. There's Collonges-la-Rouge, a gorgeous village built in red sandstone, which was the weekend retreat of the Counts of Turenne, another nearby village which is worth a visit.
A mill at Collonges la Rouge.
Collonges IS red.
Then, of course there's Rocamadour, which is the second most visited site in France, after the Mont St Michel (we're a little far from there!) and which at some 35 miles from here,is easily reached on a day trip taking in the Gouffre de Padirac (a real must) and perhaps a trip to the Lurçat museum at St Céré.
Curemonte - Mediaeval Village.
The Tympanum at the Abbatiale in Beaulieu.
While in the area, Curemonte is gorgeous too, a beautifully restored medieval village on a hill top. Finally there's Beaulieu. This is a town most of which has like Curemonte, been very well restored. However, the really worthwhile sight there (Michelin 2 stars) is the tympanum over the entrance to the Abbatiale, the abbey church. This is the second best example of a Romanesque tympanum in France, and our picture hardly does it justice. The best is at Conques, and that to can be visited from here in a day's excursion.
A vertical village!
Rocamadour epitomises and encapsulates the best and worst of tourism in France. The site is magnificent - with houses and a chapel clinging to near vertical cliff faces almost seeming to be crushed under the weight of the cliff tops above. In the chapel is the tiny (disappointingly so if you're not forewarned) medieval statue of Our Lady in black wood, which so moved composer Francis Poulenc that he wrote his "Litanies à la Vierge Noire de Rocamadour" A site of pilgrimage and profoundly moving. At the same time, the main street is lined on both sides with souvenir shops of the meanest kind, selling plastic religious momentos, and inhabited by a particularly french type of harpy. Dreadful. But Rocamadour IS a must, and one just has to take the good with the bad!
