The wonderful village of Autoire (Lot)
The wonderful village of Autoire (Lot)
(A continuation of the trip report from Part 1: The Massif Central)
Day
7 (57 km): We headed west along the south
bank of the Lot, stopping for coffee at Ambeyrac, a
pretty little hamlet, then a long climb to the Saut de la
Mounine (gruesome legend - too long to relate). Lunch was
down at river level in Cajarc, a likeable little
town. We'd like to stay there someday. We continued along south shore
(a lovely ride), finishing with a steep climb to St.
Cirq Lapopie (yet another "Plus Beaux"). We've been to
this village before and this is definitely the best way to come in.
You'll find tonnes of tourists here for the site and for the artists'
and artisans' shops. We stayed at the Auberge du Sombral where we had
a great meal - pricey, by our standards, but we knew that coming in.
Day 8 (61 km): We took the north shore of the Lot east, back to Cajarc where we had breakfast. We continued along the river past the impressive castle at Larroque-Toirac then climbed up (steeply) at St. Pierre Toirac (neat church and steeple) and continued over the hump and down to the valley of the Célé river (the "Valley of Paradise" - a beautiful road at river level through the gorge, passing through many very pretty little villages from Figéac towards Cahors). But we'd travelled that road a couple of times before so this time we crossed the river and continued on a narrow country road, up a couple of steep climbs to Cardaillac ("Plus Beaux" - they're everywhere in this area) - a tough ride on a very hot day. We went into the only hotel in the village where we had planned to stay (Chez Marcel - we had read about it) and he said "Complet!". Full! And 13 hilly km to the next town! We must have looked devastated because he said "Sometimes my neighbour rents rooms." So we stayed next door at the "Bar le Rustic" with the "douche et W.C. sur l'étage" (shower and toilet down the hall). It was clean and only 85 FF!! And dinner at Chez Marcel was great in a beautiful old dining room. The village itself has an interesting old fort.
Day
9 (36 km): Easy day. We began with a long
climb, then long descent into Lacapelle-Marival
("Plus Beaux") where we had our 'pause café'.
Then there was another long climb and a very long descent into
St. Céré, a
pretty little city with a small river running through it.. We were
ready for a restful day.
Day 10 (65 km): We left our panniers at the hotel and set out on a day trip. Breakfast was in Bretenoux, a 13th C 'bastide' (a fortified town, laid out in a square pattern, built by either the French or the English during the Hundred Years War ) . We continued on to Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne where there's a grand 12th C abbey (where we heard an organist rehearsing - great sound!) We had a picnic lunch (with Roquefort cheese - one of the main reasons I go back to France every year!) near a little church in Tauriac (beautiful ceiling). It's shocking to see the war memorials in these tiny hamlets. Tauriac consists of the church and perhaps 4 or 5 other buildings, but there must be at least 25 names of young men killed in the first World War. "Pour la patrie" or "Pour la gloire de France". Criminal!! We continued on to the formidable chateau at Castelnau where the tour was worth the admission price, then cycled by the beautiful (but private) Chateau de Montal (nice, sad legend here) back to St. Céré. The 60+ km were a piece of cake without the panniers. Good meal that evening at the Hôtel de France.
Day 11 (45 km): Another easy day. We climbed a tiny lane to the little village of Autoire ("Plus Beaux" - there are only 120 or so in all of France, but this region is full of them!) where we had breakfast at a little café in a beautiful setting. From there we climbed again to Loubressac ("Plus Beaux" - I warned you!), a beautiful village with flowers everywhere and great views of the valley below. We continued along the crest on a narrow little lane then descended steeply to Carennac (You guessed it - "Plus Beaux"!) Once again, there were flowers everywhere - and a wedding! Back at the Dordogne river, we followed along to Creysse at the bottom of a hill after a long climb up the wall of the gorge. There's a tiny little church there, with its "apsides jumelées, unique en France " (twin apses), where they were having a village feast of grilled lamb that night. We passed - the lamb looked tough. It was a beautiful evening for a walk - it's always light until late in France. Someone once told me their Daylight Savings is advanced two hours. If that's true, it would explain the long days. (today's route)
Day
12 (55 km): Sunday. Carol had a flat tire
just after we got under way - our one and only problem of the trip.
We had breakfast at St. Sozy by the river. Below
Belcastel, we bought a tin of
'foie gras' from a roadside vendor. (We had it one
New Year's Eve with some friends and a bottle of Ontario icewine.
Decadent!!) We stopped in the busy little city of
Souillac at an antique fair then continued
downstream. At Calviac we discovered that my
puncture repair was less than perfect - a large bubble of tube was
bulging between tire and rim. Fortunately we fixed it before it
burst. We carried on past the impressive (private) Chateau de
Montfort and stopped at Vitrac. We had a great meal
at the Hôtel La Treille. We're getting into the Périgord
now, so duck and goose 'confits' and
'magrets' are starting to appear on the menus. The
next week or so will be filled with goose fat and garlic! Wonderful
stuff.
Day 13 (82 km): We crossed the
Dordogne to the south bank then climbed to Domme
("Plus Beaux"), a hilltop 'bastide' with an
incredible view of the river valley, where we had breakfast. (We like
to get 10 to 25 km under our belts before we have breakfast - usually
'café au lait' and 'pain au
raisin') The descent to Cénac is
steep, short and scary. We continued east over the mountain to
Chateau de Castelnaud, glowering across the river from its hilltop
perch at Chateau de Beynac, which glowers back from
its hilltop perch. Les Milandes, a little further
along, is a chateau once owned by the American entertainer Josephine
Baker. This south shore is quite hilly. We had a picnic lunch under
the covered market in Belvès
("Plus
Beaux") and then had a long, fast, flat ride to
Montferrand-du-Périgord. We debated about
staying there, but decided to press on the 11 km up to
Beaumont. There we found the lone hotel was full and
the nearest was - Montferrand-du-Périgord! So back we went.
It's a pretty, quiet little village, built up the hill and ending at
the forest edge. It was a long day - lots of hills - lots of fast
cycling. The Lou Peyrol is a lovely little hotel run by a young
couple - Sarah and Thierry - she English, he Corsican. Good meal. The
next morning I commented to him about the (traditional) 5:30 AM
garbage truck. He responded "Ah! C'est une partie de la
charme de France."
(Cingle de Trémolat -
Dordogne)
Day
14 (82 km): We climbed back up to Beaumont
for breakfast and dropped our panniers at the hotel - today they have
a room - then set out north to the Dordogne, past the Chateau de
Bannes, a beautiful private mansion in a woodsy setting. We crossed
to the north shore then climbed to the panorama above the
Cingle de Trémolat. (A
"cingle" is a meander in a river. At
Trémolat the Dordogne takes a big loop.) It's
quite a view. From there it's a serious descent, climb then descent
again to the pretty little town of Trémolat. The nice little
chapel in the small graveyard is worth a look. The stream that runs
through the town adds to its charm. Further on, upstream, we stopped
for lunch at Limeuil ("Plus Beaux"), built straight
up the side of the hill above the Dordogne. We climbed up through the
village and out the top (a very tough cobblestoned
hill), then came back down to river level and crossed the unique Pont
de Coude ("elbow bridge"), one span of which crosses the
Vézère, the other the Dordogne, then carried on through
Cadouin (huge old abbey and covered market) and
returned to Beaumont (with it's beautiful large cathedral). No
panniers today - easy!
Day
15 (70 km): We had breakfast in
Issigéac, an interesting old
'bastide'. We're heading south now, away from the
Dordogne. We stopped briefly in the hilltop village of
Monflanquin ("Plus Beaux") and thought of staying
there but the only hotel was expensive and the village was tiny. We
pressed on to the city of Villeneuve-sur-Lot.
The huge red brick church has great murals inside. Easy day, not too
many hills. (today's route)
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