Eleanor
1000+ Posts
This trip report was originally published on Slow Travel. All the pictures can be found here.
BACKGROUND TO THE TRIP
We enjoyed Brittany so much last year that we decided we wanted to see more of France this year. We decided on a week in the Loire Valley, followed by the Auvergne. This is mountainous country with many narrow winding roads. I soon realised that this covered a large area and looking at the maps driving times would be slow. We decided to spend two weeks based in two different areas. This report covers the first week spent in the Cantal region. We spent the second week in the Haute Loire.
We wanted to use Brittany Ferries to book ferry crossings and accommodation. There were only a few properties in the area we wanted to stay. I dismissed those that would entail a long drive along narrow roads at the start and finish of the day. This reduced the choice to one;L’Oustalou de Vernusse just outside the small village of Cassaniouze, about 25 miles south of Aurillac. (The gîte is still available for letting but no longer through Brittany Ferries.)
The gite was about 5 minutes drive from the village, on top of the plateau with a superb view across the rolling countryside with wooded valleys.
There was no light pollution and on a clear night the stars were amazing. There were a few isolated farms and the only sounds were cow bells, crickets and the occasional donkey. It was a typical Auvergne building of dark volcanic stone with a flared stone roof to throw off the winter snows and shutters. There was a small garden and terrace where we ate our evening meal. This was a delightful place and we really enjoyed it.
It was also a good base. Cassaniouze had a bakers and a small but well stocked Utile supermarket. There is also plenty to do within one to two hours drive. This is an area which gets few foreign tourists and hardly features in the guide books. Apart from the larger towns there is often little information on the web. I had planned out itineraries for everyday but soon found this is an area to throw away the guide book and my itineraries and we used the Michelin 1:200,000 road atlas to explore. Driving times were slow and we frequently didn’t achieve as much in a day as expected. It didn’t matter as we found many delightful small villages well off the tourist beat.
As the report is long, I have broken it up into separate sections for the different places we visited.
#2 Impressions
#3 Uzerche
#4 Cassaniouze
#5 Settlements on the south bank of the River Lot
#6 South of the River Lot - Sénergues
#7 South of the River Lot - Espeyrac
#8 North bank of the River Lot - Viellevie
#9 North bank of the River Lot - St Parthem
#10 North bank of the River Lot - La Vinzelle
#11 North of the River Lot - Montsalvy
#12 Truyère valley - Entraygues-sur-Truyère
#13 Truyère valley drive
#14 To the south of Cassianouze - Conques
#15 To the south of Cassaniouze - Abbey church of St Foy, Conques
#16 To the south of Cassaniouze - Bozouls
#17 To the south of Cassaniouze - Belcastel
#18 To the south of Cassaniouze - Peyrusse-le-Roc
#19 To the west of Cassaniouze - St-Santin and St-Santin-de-Maurs
#20 To the west of Cassaniouze - Montmurat
#21 To the west of Cassaniouze - Capdenac le Haut
#22 To the north of CAssaniouze - Souceyrac
#23 To the north of Cassaniouze - St-Céré
#24 To the north of Cassaniouze - Autoire
#25 To the north of Cassaniouze - Loubressac
#26 To the north of Cassaniouze - Laroquebrou
#27 To the north of Cassaniouze - Girgols
#28 To the north of Cassaniouze - St Cernin
#29 To the north of Cassaniouze - St-Illide
#30 To the north of Cassaniouze - St Martin de Cantalès
#31 To the north of Cassaniouze - Salers
#32 To the north of Cassaniouze - Puy Mary and the Jordanne Valley
BACKGROUND TO THE TRIP
We enjoyed Brittany so much last year that we decided we wanted to see more of France this year. We decided on a week in the Loire Valley, followed by the Auvergne. This is mountainous country with many narrow winding roads. I soon realised that this covered a large area and looking at the maps driving times would be slow. We decided to spend two weeks based in two different areas. This report covers the first week spent in the Cantal region. We spent the second week in the Haute Loire.
We wanted to use Brittany Ferries to book ferry crossings and accommodation. There were only a few properties in the area we wanted to stay. I dismissed those that would entail a long drive along narrow roads at the start and finish of the day. This reduced the choice to one;L’Oustalou de Vernusse just outside the small village of Cassaniouze, about 25 miles south of Aurillac. (The gîte is still available for letting but no longer through Brittany Ferries.)
The gite was about 5 minutes drive from the village, on top of the plateau with a superb view across the rolling countryside with wooded valleys.
There was no light pollution and on a clear night the stars were amazing. There were a few isolated farms and the only sounds were cow bells, crickets and the occasional donkey. It was a typical Auvergne building of dark volcanic stone with a flared stone roof to throw off the winter snows and shutters. There was a small garden and terrace where we ate our evening meal. This was a delightful place and we really enjoyed it.
It was also a good base. Cassaniouze had a bakers and a small but well stocked Utile supermarket. There is also plenty to do within one to two hours drive. This is an area which gets few foreign tourists and hardly features in the guide books. Apart from the larger towns there is often little information on the web. I had planned out itineraries for everyday but soon found this is an area to throw away the guide book and my itineraries and we used the Michelin 1:200,000 road atlas to explore. Driving times were slow and we frequently didn’t achieve as much in a day as expected. It didn’t matter as we found many delightful small villages well off the tourist beat.
As the report is long, I have broken it up into separate sections for the different places we visited.
#2 Impressions
#3 Uzerche
#4 Cassaniouze
#5 Settlements on the south bank of the River Lot
#6 South of the River Lot - Sénergues
#7 South of the River Lot - Espeyrac
#8 North bank of the River Lot - Viellevie
#9 North bank of the River Lot - St Parthem
#10 North bank of the River Lot - La Vinzelle
#11 North of the River Lot - Montsalvy
#12 Truyère valley - Entraygues-sur-Truyère
#13 Truyère valley drive
#14 To the south of Cassianouze - Conques
#15 To the south of Cassaniouze - Abbey church of St Foy, Conques
#16 To the south of Cassaniouze - Bozouls
#17 To the south of Cassaniouze - Belcastel
#18 To the south of Cassaniouze - Peyrusse-le-Roc
#19 To the west of Cassaniouze - St-Santin and St-Santin-de-Maurs
#20 To the west of Cassaniouze - Montmurat
#21 To the west of Cassaniouze - Capdenac le Haut
#22 To the north of CAssaniouze - Souceyrac
#23 To the north of Cassaniouze - St-Céré
#24 To the north of Cassaniouze - Autoire
#25 To the north of Cassaniouze - Loubressac
#26 To the north of Cassaniouze - Laroquebrou
#27 To the north of Cassaniouze - Girgols
#28 To the north of Cassaniouze - St Cernin
#29 To the north of Cassaniouze - St-Illide
#30 To the north of Cassaniouze - St Martin de Cantalès
#31 To the north of Cassaniouze - Salers
#32 To the north of Cassaniouze - Puy Mary and the Jordanne Valley
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