Continuing
north we spotted the bridge at Orthez decked with babygros embroidered
with names and birth dates so we stopped to look around. The Saturday
market turned out to be small and expensive. It was one of those plain
French towns with music playing through loudspeakers in the streets.
There was a large garden centre on the outskirts so we had a look
around for some gifts for home. At Villeneuve de Marsan the sat-nav got
it wrong as the expected turning was an underpass as we were on the
bypass, then we saw a sign to an Etang Classé so followed the narrow
road to a small lake and picnic spot in the woods with some rather
impressive houses. There were several decorated pine trees in the
gardens
with 40 and 50 signs and ribbons - for birthdays or anniversaries? - we
weren't sure. After a walk around the lake we drove a short
distance to the
lovely small town of La Bastide d'Armagnac which we had discovered a
few years ago and where there was a free aire.
Intrigued by the notices for the cyclists church we walked a couple of
kilometres along a voie verte to the interesting chapel decorated with
many jerseys and momentos of famous racing cyclists.
Notre Dame des Cyclistes entrance
Unable to resist visits to Plus Beaux villages and bastide towns there
were several in this area so we took a winding route visiting Montréal,
Fourcès with its circular tree filled centre, and the tiny fortified
town of Larressingle rather grandly named "The Carcassone of
Gers". After driving through the drab outskirts of Condom we bypassed
Lectoure to reach the aire by a noisy weir at Fleurance. The next day
we needed a food
topup so we headed to the large town of Montauban and found an
Auchan hypermarket before taking a cross country route to the
Gorges de l'Aveyron and St-Antonin-Noble-Val, a pleasant old village,
and another free night at the aire. We thought we had better make
faster progress north so cut back to Caussade and up the good main road
towards Cahors, being pulled in to a checkpoint but they were weighing
white builders' vans so we were waved on. Reaching Cahors there was a
large P + R carpark south of the river with a designated motorhome area
so we parked up and strolled around the city centre and across
the
famous Ponte de Velentre before continuing north west to reach the
bastide town of Villefranche-du-Perigord and an ACSI campsite to catch
up on the washing.
Villefranche du Perigord
With nine days and
700 kilometres to reach the channel ferry, and travelling at our usual
slow pace, we drove all of 30 miles the next day to the town of Le
Bugue where the aire cost €7 and those pesky grass cutters and
strimmers turned up again. After a cool night (10ºC in June!) we headed
north again through farmland bypassing the massive Hautefort
chateau and turned off to Excideuil where there was a good street
market and many English voices. Still in Plus Beaux Villages country we
stopped at the delightful honey coloured St Jean de Côle for lunch. In
the afternoon we drove along narrow lanes to look at the Saut du
Chalard marked on the map which turned out to be a small rocky gorge in a forest.
Our route north took us on a mix of main and minor roads to a night
stop at Charroux with its ruined abbey tower, then to colourful rose gardens and
a hotel with large tree houses at the Parc de la Belle at Magné near Gençay. Always
looking for out of the ordinary places, we detoured to the village of
Curzy sur Vonne to visit an interesting Musee de Vitrail (stained glass), then continued north to the free aire at St Loup
Lamairé.
Orthez babygros
anniversary sign
La Bastide d'Armagnac
Fourcès - one of the Plus Beaux villages
Larressingle - another one!
St Antonin Noble Val
Cahors - Ponte de Velentre
St Jean de Côle
Saut du Chalard
Tree house hotel
at Magné