Yesterday, we needed a tunnel to flatten our route. Today, a couple of bridges would have been useful.
A taxi picked us up from the Auberge du Vieux Port and dropped us off in a small village square after only a couple of miles. We couldn’t understand why a taxi was needed, until it started to climb a steep hill at which point we were very grateful not to have walked up.
Our route started in the little town of Glanes with a long descent through walnut trees and vineyards. It was surprisingly cool this morning and there was plenty of grumbling about cold knees, except for Ken who was suitably smug in his walking trousers. As the route flattened out, we found a small art gallery with an eclectic mix of ceramics, wood carvings, glass work and repurposed denim made by an artisan who sells his work across Europe.
A long and arduous ascent followed, up a wooded, cobbled track towards the Chateau de Castelnau, grateful for the cool, cloudy weather although it spoiled the views somewhat. We were transfixed by the French farmer, coaxing his tractor into life, who kept his head cool with a towel under his sun hat.
The chateau is impressive, perched on a hill and visible for miles around. It’s a gigantic fortress built to protect the borderland between Limousin and Quercy and remained undefeated by the English during the 100 years war. Sadly we arrived just as it shut for lunch but agreed the village, built from the same rust coloured stone was very pretty. We sat outside the chateau’s walls and munched on our packed lunch as the rain started. Rain has been promised most days and we’ve been lucky to avoid it so far. Waterproofs came out, as did Jacky’s poncho. Stylish it isn’t but it didn’t prevent flickers of envy. Most envy was directed at the local who had repurposed a shopping trolley as a barbecue, the smell from his marinated chicken was mouthwatering.
Another descent to the hamlet of Malbec. We had high hopes of vineyards and wine tasting, even a cafe but it only consisted of five houses and we were out the other side before we knew it.
There was some lovely flat walking through the hamlet of Vailles, past a fromagerie. There was no cafe but we did sit on an attractive concrete, car park wall to finish snacks and fortify ourselves for the long climb ahead up to Loubressac,
Loubressac is a tiny fortified village in an amazing position, overlooking the valley towards Chateau de Castelnau and our home for the next two nights
braysabroad 