7 More Stops and We'll be 'Home'!

Tuesday 19th March 2019 ⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅
Mileage 89 from Cahors to Perigueux
Parking Co-ordinates 45.1876, 0.73099


Today's journey took us into the Dordogne Department of France and there we spotted loads of orchards with lots of bare old spiky trees that looked half dead and we wondered what they were😕!  A quick Google search informed us that they were walnut trees and that the Dordogne Valley is the biggest producer of walnuts in France.  Furthermore, France is ranked the 7th largest producer in the world  with crops of 38,314 tons per year, but China wins that race because they produce 1,655,508 tons.  Additionally, it seems that within the Dordogne Valley, if you should wish, you can follow 'La Route de la Noix' and find out even more about  not only the 🔩Nuts🔩 but also how the wood is used to make beautiful furniture!  However, maybe you wouldn't want one of these trees in your garden because they drip a compound called 'Juglone' onto the ground and it's toxic to other plants causing stunting and death to nearby vegetation - thus they hog any available water, nutrients and sunlight for themselves!

As is our usual habit we arrived at our at our destination around midday so by the time we'd eaten and got out to explore the town it was around 2ish - and there was quite a lot to see.  To start with we're parked very close to the lovely River Isle, and the path right beside it very quickly led us towards the historic old town and also provided us with fantastic views of the Perigueux's very unique Cathedral St Fort.  Parts of this ancient religious building date back to the 11th Century, and once inside it was very hard to know how it's builders could have erected this stunning creation without the aid of our modern day equipment!

St Front Cathedral
The plan below is on the same orientation as the pic above!

1. Is the Nave, 2. the Pillars that support the dome over the Nave, 3. The Bell Tower, 4. The Five main domes,
5. The pillars supporting the domes, 6. The magnificent Alter piece, 7. The choir stalls,
8. The beautiful walnut pulpit, 9. The alter, 10. The Bishop George's Cenotaph, 11. Confessions
12. The Chapter Hall and 13. The cloister.  

The Cathedral, both inside and out was quite amazing and it certainly had the quite spiritual atmosphere that we'd missed at Montserrat, and besides that, it's beauty almost takes your breath away with it's very unusual architecture that is reminiscent of Saint Mark's Cathedral in Venice and modelled on a Greek cross .

The 17th Century Altarpiece.

As you would imagine viewing the above took quite a while so we probably didn't do the rest of the town justice, but we did get to admire some of the very old waterfront dwellings, and also Park de l'Espace Francois Mitterand which displays several areas dedicated to planting, a library and also a small beach that was complete with gaily painted huts and deck chairs!





Finally, as we returned to the van we took the time to glance at some of the buildings from the Middle Ages on Rue du Gravier.  This street follows the river and in times gone by it earned it's name because regular flooding left a layer of silt and gravel along it's length.  Much of the very old labyrinth of ancient buildings became so dilapidated that they were demolished between 1950 and 1972 but a few still stand (like the one right above), and quite a few more have undergone major renovation to make them into elegant (and I would guess very expensive) residences that are occupied today.


Wednesday 20th March 2019 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞⛅⛅ but a bit chilly at times!
Mileage 68 from Perigueux to Oradour-sur-Glane
Parking Co-ordinates 45.93458, 1.02583

Our short journey today was very pleasant and completed in lovely bright sunshine, but it was also uneventful so I'm not going to talk about that!  Our destination was the town of Oradour-sur-Glane and John had picked it because of it's interesting, if macabre and grim history!

One of the many ruined streets in the town.

Oradour-sur-Glane was a large town near Limoges that was almost razed to the ground and nearly all it's occupants massacred by a Nazi -SS Company -  possibly as retaliation for the fact that the German's were starting to loose the war following the D-Day Landings at the beginning of June 1944.   On the 10th June 1944 all the women and children from the town were herded into the church and systematically shot.  The men were rounded up into groups in various buildings in the town and also shot and then the town was set alight. and even the local doctor who was visiting patients outside the town was shot as he drove back into the central square.

240 women and 205 children - some as young as a few months - were shot within the walls
of this church.
197 men were shot elsewhere in the village.
The total death toll was 642.

The ruins have been left as they stood and each building carries a plaque honouring those who died there.

The Doctor's Car

The remains of the doctor's car still stands where it was abandoned, as do many old household artefacts that would have been in use at that time.  As we walked around we could see the old tram lines hanging down over the streets, grass and weeds climb among the ruins and all we could do was to try to take in some of the abject awful atrocities that had taken place in this area.

The Tram Lines

Inside one of the ruined houses

At the entrance to the village there was also a tiled wall were every person who had lost their lives was commemorated - some with photos and some with just blank tiles, but one group of 5 young siblings was heartbreaking because  there ages ranged from just 3 to 8 years.  Additionally, many of the adults looked much older than their years but maybe that was because they'd already endured so long at war and the hardships that would have gone with it!

In the past we've visited quite a few of France's war cemeteries but this place saddened us much more - you would think that by now mankind would have learnt it's lesson - but no - the killing and worse still goes on!

A new village was built nearby after the war and the then French President, Charles de-Gaulle, ordered the original town should be maintained as a permanent memorial.  But this memorial has now been added to with a new museum that was built underground nearby so that it didn't distract from the scene, and although we didn't go in it apparently contains many more harrowing images of the massacre.

Oradour-sur-Glane cemetery where many of the slaughtered as well as other town
residents  are buried.
At the back, beneath the tower, a wall commemorates those who died. 

Just one of the many memorials that show the loss of whole families

Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd March 2019  🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞
Mileage on Thursday 148 from Oradour-sur-Glane to Villandry
Parking Co-ordinates 47.33935, 0.50732
Mileage on Friday 🚴🚴 25 miles

Happy Birthday to my Brother Pete - Hope you had a Great Day 🍻

At least this Gillet Jaune member
didn't try very hard to stop us!
It was a weekday so I think they were all at work!

Our drive from Oradour to Villandry was another quite one - that was until we spotted half a dozen wild boar dash across the road in front of the vehicle in front of us!!!  They were far to quick for a pic, but for us, it was a rare and special sight because we hadn't realised that boar roamed in this area.

Then, as we neared our destination John commented 'It's like coming home' - we've stayed on the Villandry Park Night Aire several times before so we know the area fairly well, and as we planned to stay for 2 nights (so that John can have a 'rest' day) it was quite easy for us to indulge in a 'little' outing that wouldn't be too challenging!

On Friday that turned out to be a 25 mile there and back trip on our bikes along part of the Loire Valley cycle track that runs for 800 km mostly sticking quite closely to the banks of the Grand Loire River!  For nearly all our way it was fairly traffic free, tranquil and with some very pretty sights, some of which I tried to capture below.

The Confluence of the Rivers Cher and Loire

Riding along the river towards the settlement of Brehemont

Today's dining room

And a conventional family munching their lunch - Mum, Dad and two Kids!!

Saturday 23rd March 2019 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞
Mileage 90 from Villandry to Les Ventes-du-Four
Parking Co-ordinates 48.43492, 0.26072

This morning we said a sad farewell to the excellent Villandry Aire (€12 a night) and also to our last electric hook up for the next couple of months!  When we get 'home' we'll be parked on our usual  small Certified Site (Camping and Caravan Club) with mostly only a few ducks for company, and only very limited services that definitely won't include electric, but we love it there so it isn't really a hardship!

Our drive today was yet another shortish one, and Les Ventes-du-Four was our target because John had noted that there was a cycling museum that had good reviews fairly close by.  Only trouble was that when we'd walked the mile to it we found that it didn't open it's doors to visitors until March 31st 😠!  However, we weren't really put out because we're parked on another free Aire, we'd had an enjoyable walk in the sunshine, and the 12 euros we'd saved on our admission fee could easily be spent on something equally if not more pleasant!

Sunday 24th March 2019  ☁☁☁☂⛅⛅🌞🌞🌞
Mileage 99 from Les Ventes du Four to Cabourg
Parking Co-ordinates 49.29017, -0.10331

Our intention today was to drive just a short 55 miles to the town of Falaise and to stay the night  in the car park under the austere wall of Chateau Guillaume which was identified on Camper Contact as an acceptable overnight parking spot!  But when we got there it didn't feel quite 'right' and all of the 'Aire' signs had been removed so our plan was swiftly changed!

However, that didn't stop us from spending some time exploring the Castle grounds and also a small part of the town.  I think it's fair to say that the Castle/Chateau is mostly famous for it's occupancy by William the Conqueror who was born in Falaise in 1027, and who later became King of England in 1066 after his victory at The Battle of Hastings.

Bill the Bastard!! (Apparently an illegitimate King) 

The castle sits on a rocky crag overlooking the town of Falaise, but initially only the outer walls of the 'large keep' (grand donjon) were built, with the 'small inner keep' (petit donjon) being added quite a bit later.   The possession of the castle also changed hands several times during it's long history, and at one point in the 17th century it was abandoned altogether, but since 1840 it has been a protected historic monument !

The Inner Keep and the Walls of The Outer Keep

The Inner Keep which could be defended if the outer walls were breached.

3D Binoculars

Entry to the main courtyard is free and around it there are several sets of 3D binoculars mounted on posts that allow you to gaze upon reconstructions of how things would have appeared around 1160.  Your could also enter portals in the outer walls that led into defensive chambers, and within them there were several explanations concerning the weaponry used at different stages of the castles history.


One of the info boards told about the 'Fire Stick' which was a very rudimentary portable firearm made from a metal tube.  It was used to fire small stones or lead pellets, but apparently it was inaccurate, had a small range and was also dangerous because it frequently blew up in the user's hands 💣!

If we'd had more time we would also have paid the small entry fee to enter the 'small keep' which apparently has numerous rooms that have been recreated with the help of 3D images that are displayed on digital tablets - it seems you just have to point the tablet in a certain direction and it will show you how things used to be!

But alas we had to move on to find a more comfortable place to spend the night.  We've always said if the place we plan to stay in doesn't feel 'right' to either one of us we'd abandon it and find somewhere else.  And that turned out to be another free but very popular Aire very near to the coast at Cabourg.  It's actually on the River Dives and our first impression was that it would be a very pleasant place to spend our penultimate night in France.  We landed here about 4.30pm and we're going to stay for most of the day tomorrow when we'll do some exploring.  Therefore, I'll save telling you about it until my next post when I'm sure I'll have one or two pics to support my ramblings about how pretty it is!!

Bye for now 😗😗

Click here to see our French camping spots

PS we've only got 1 more stop before home now!