Wednesday 2nd July

After 8 days of stormy cold wet weather since arriving in France we finally got lucky on arrival in South Brittany on the Atlantic coast, NW France, being the most unlikely place to have the top temps at this time of year. A most enjoyable change from the sameness of medieval towns and castles.

La Turballe Beach

and rocks

Beach Wimbledon

Man swimming in a hat disguised as a rock

Atlantic sunset

The perfect finish to our 10 week road trip.

Monday 30th June

Following the Dordogne River on its journey towards the coast our first stop along the road was at La Roque Gageac with its honey coloured houses cut into the gorge cliffs.

The cliff hugging houses at La Roque Gageac

Further on down river on the south bank lies Chateau Castelnaud an Englishman's (Aquitaine) castle stronghold from the 100 years war, and you guessed it, just up river on the north bank the French rival, Chateau Beynac was the enemy fortification.

The Englishman's castle

and the Frenchman's

From here we left the river and headed north via Perigueux the capital of the Dordogne region.  The major city sight being the Cathedral St-Front, its controversial restoration is the work of the the man that gave Paris the Sacre-Coeur.

St-Front

The last stop en route was Brantome, on the river Dronne, this is one of the more tranquil and beautiful places in the Dordogne region, with that in mind we decided on camping here by the river for the night.

Brantome

Stepping out in bottle green overalls and cloth cap

Tuesday 1st July

From Brantome we headed North west towards Angouleme the capital of the Charente. Angouleme is perched on a plateau above the river Charente which we followed via Cognac all the way to the Atlantic coast.

Sunday June 29th

Heading NW towards the Dordogne valley, the first stop along the way was the imposing Chateau de Bonaguil, a relic of the 100 years war with the English. These days the British invasion is in the form of second homes in the Dordogne, being the most popular place to buy compared with elsewhere in France.

Chateau de Bonaguil

Our next and final stop for the day was Sarlat, the ‘grand central’ of the valley. If truffles, foie gras and tourists are your thing then this is the place to be.

Truffle Town

Couple of locals

Saturday 28th June

We wound our way north from Saint Antonin, following the Bonnette valley to the Lot valley.

Our first stop for the day was the picturesque town of Saint Cirq Lapopie perched on a cliff edge above the River Lot.

Saint Cirq Lapopie

Continuing along the Lot valley we made our way first to Cahors, the old provincial capital of Quercy. Its claims to fame are the remarkable medieval, fortified bridge Pont Valentre, the Cathedral, (which is a place of pilgrimage as it allegedly holds the Holy Coif, a cloth that covered Christ’s head in the tomb brought back from the Holy Land according to legend) and last but not least, the incredible Malbec wines of Cahors.

Pont Valentre

Cahors Cathedral

The incredible Cahors Malbec Wines

Puy-l'Eveque

Further on down the valley we made camp for the night at Puy-l’Eveque.

Friday 27th June

Last night we camped on the bank of the of the River L'Aveyron beneath the sheer cliffs of the Gorge and were treated to a campsite soiree of canapes and Leffe on tap.

Celebrations to thank local government funding

Today a short walk  took us into the local enchanting town of Saint Antonin Noble Val. It is a living museum of the most unusual medieval buildings.

Ratty takes an early morning swim

Veggies in a gorge

Riverside washing

Town tower

Messing about on the river

More messing about

Wednesday 25th June

Headed north via beautiful river Aude valley to medieval city of Carcassonne.

Turret town

Thursday 26th June

From Carcassonne we followed the Canal du Midi to Toulouse and and then on to the Gorges de L’Aveyron for the night.

Canal du Midi

Tracks along the canal

Tuesday 24th June

Just 26 km from the Spanish border where the Pyrenees mountains meet the Mediterranean sea lies the pretty Catalan harbour of Collioure. This place has been immortalized by many artists including Picasso, Matisse, Dufy and Chagall just to name a few.

Traditional lanteen rigged boats

Back alley

Balcony breeze

Castle on a rock

Harbour bathing