Travel France: Lot Valley
Meandering majestically, the River Lot carves out its identity through the landscape of five departments in four different regions. From its source in the Goulet mountains of Lozère, though Cantal, Aveyron, Lot and finally into Lot-et-Garonne, it flows roughly 300 miles until it joins forces with the River Garonne en route to the Atlantic.
Spoilt for choice but with time hard on our heels, we decided to explore the river in the two westernmost departments, Lot-et-Garonne and Lot, and landing at Bergerac airport we drove south, past stone farmhouses with square pigeonniers, fields with tractors rumbling up and down, and through bastide towns with arcaded squares and beret-wearing men playing boules in the afternoon sun.
In Montflaquin the streets rise up and curl around the hill on which the town is built. The central, arcaded square of this picture-perfect bastide houses many restaurants, including Le Mercerie, where the terrace was full of diners enjoying the Indian summer. After a delicious dinner of duck, the first of many opportunities to eat this southwestern staple, we made our way to the Domaine du Moulin de Labique, a charming riverside residence with chambres d’hôtes in a peaceful setting.
Eager to get a glimpse of the river, we set out early next morning. Travelling out of season we had the roads to ourselves and at Villeneuve-sur-Lot we parked in the centre, walked through one of the town gates and headed down towards the Lot. With the mist still low, it was just possible to see the higgledy-piggledy skyline of the medieval houses on the opposite bank. Villeneuve is a bastide town too; one of more than 300 built in southwest France in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries to act as administrative centres. They share many architectural characteristics, such as streets set at right angles, town gates and arcaded squares.
The nearby village of Pujols is extraordinarily beautiful and richly deserves its place as one of the Plus Beaux Villages of France. Entering through the fortified gate, every stone house was a postcard in itself and the surrounding mist only added to its beauty.
Nearby Penne d’Agenais, is not an official PBV, but is also quite lovely. This village, the origins of which go back to Roman times, differs from Pujols in that many of its buildings are not just built in stone but constructed in a mixture of stone and pink brick, the type found around Toulouse. During the Middle Ages the richest villagers lived on the Rue de Ferracap, and this is where you’ll find the finest houses, some of which are a mixture of timber, brick and stone. Around the village there are many bricked-up arches, which were once medieval échoppes that opened onto the street to sell goods to the public.
The cuisine found in the western part of the Lot Valley is typical of southwest France, with duck and goose featuring heavily on the menu. Love it or hate it, foie gras is an integral part of life here. In Souleilles, the foie gras farm has a little museum that documents the history of the farm and demonstrates how it is made. The farm buildings have windows for viewing, making it possible to witness the modern process, from the controversial gavage or force feeding, to the preparation of the foodstuffs which are sold in the farm shop – tiny tins of paté, giant jars of confit de canard and everything in between. Then, after all that theory, we made our way to the farm’s restaurant La Taulejada in nearby Frespech, and enjoyed a long and leisurely lunch of several courses, most of which featured delicious duck and buttery foie gras.
Cryptic messages
At the eastern edge of Lot-et-Garonne sit the still-majestic ruins of the Château de Bonaguil, not far from Fumel. Sitting on a high spur (the name comes from the old word bonaguilh meaning good needle), the castle was built in 1510 by local aristocrat Bérenger de Roquefeuil. Given the work that went into ensuring it was impenetrable, it almost seems a shame that Bonaguil was never attacked; its fortifications never put to the test. No images of Bérenger de Roquefeuil exist today but it is believed he was short and round, with a hunched back, so perhaps we should be grateful. Entry to the ruins includes a detailed leaflet for a self-guided tour so you can climb the towers, peer through the canon holes and inspect the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century cryptic messages in the great tower carved by past inhabitants.
Cahors wine is some of the oldest in Europe, with the Romans planting vines in the region as early as 50BC. Following the river into the department of Lot, at Château Latuc we met Belgian wine grower Jean-François Meyan and his wife Geneviève, who spent more than four years scouring the wine-producing regions of France for a suitable vineyard to buy before finding Latuc, 19 hectares of gentle slopes producing AOC Cahors near the village of Mauroux.
Before embarking on a search for the right vineyard, Jean-François and Geneviève spent eight years working in the vineyards of Alsace on every aspect of wine production so they have an excellent understanding of and respect for the industry. The fact that they are non-French and are not following in family footsteps means they are comfortable with trying new techniques.
‘It’s important to keep French traditions while learning from the New World,’ says Jean-François. ‘Cahors has a reputation for being difficult to drink, but that’s not really the case. Now wine makers are trying to make softer wine.’
Cahors gained its AOC status in 1971, which means wine makers must abide by certain rules; for example AOC Cahors must not contain the Cabernet Franc grape. Jean-François also produces aVin de Pays, which he says gives ‘freedom to vignerons’, meaning it’s in these wines that the wine makers can experiment and try new techniques and blends. I felt inspired by this happy and welcoming man, who had spent years learning his craft, then a few more years waiting for the right opportunity to come along before finally realising his goal of owning a vineyard. For those who dream of becoming a vigneron but are less patient, you can rent vines from Château Latuc, which allows you the chance to buy Latuc’s excellent wines at production cost.
After lunch we continued eastwards, following the Lot closely as it flowed across a landscape with an autumnal spectrum from muted greens and chocolate brown through lime green, red and yellow. The river cuts back and forth across the land in large loops, known as meanders, so that despite being 481 kilometres in length, the Lot only travels a distance 200 kilometres as the crow flies. At Puy-L’Eveque terraces of old houses spill down the hill to the waterside. This town was an important commercial stopover along the river until the end of the nineteenth-century, and its street names recall trades such as dyeing and nail making that once made this town so prosperous.
Pampered priests
Further along the road, Castlefranc is another pretty bastide town worth exploring. It bears the hallmark church on the edge of the square as well as a covered market place.
The town of Cahors nestles in one of the Lot’s meanders, creating a teardrop-shaped town that is flanked by water on both sides. The town has a wealth of uneven medieval houses, many of which are being renovated, as well as smart buildings from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; making it an ideal place to go for a meander of your own. We were here on a different mission however: to discover the town’s secret gardens. Les Jardins Secret de Cahors was established in 2002 to rediscover the secret gardens that were designed for the pleasure of the moneyed merchants and pampered priests who lived here in the Middle Ages. Now there are 29 gardens to be sought out, mainly in the older, western part of town, such as the exotic Jardin Mauresque in Rue du Petit-Mot with its Arab-style courtyard or Le Courtil de Moines at the Archdeacon’s House, which, with its wild rocket and beetroot plants, recreates a monk’s kitchen garden. For a guided visit, ask at the tourist office on Place François-Mitterand; it’s a great way to see Cahors on an intimate and unique level.
From Cahors the landscape changes as the road follows the north bank of the river, lined with limestone cliffs, or causses, that rise up sharp and bright against the deep green countryside below. St-Cirq-Lapopie has the kind of fairy-tale quality that every Disney executive would give his right arm to recreate. Standing more than 100 metres above the river, you can climb to the ruins of the old fortresses that belonged to the village founders and feast your eyes over layers of houses in stone and timber with steep-pitched, brown Quercy roofs tumbling down the hill in a chaotic fashion. Despite the scores of tourists, the restaurants and pottery shops it feels genuinely unspoilt, as if it’s barely changed since the thirteenth century.
Only 23 people live in the village all-year-round; for the rest it’s an exceptional place to own a maison secondaire, attracting buyers from as far away as Australia and the United States. There are a couple of places to stay in St-Cirq and we were lucky enough to be staying at Mme Dadoune’s chambres d’hôtes in the heart of the village. By nightfall, the village was quiet and we made our way to the restaurant, L’Oustal. Moonlight fell softly on old houses, the cobbled streets were dark and shadowy, and St-Cirq felt even more magical than in daylight.
We didn’t think it was possible to better the beauty of St-Cirq above ground, so next morning we thought we’d try our luck at the prehistoric caves at Pech-Merle, high on a hill near Cabrerets where the village houses are wedged deep into the causses. Discovered in 1924 by two teenagers, there are twelve caves containing ancient art, with Pech-Merle, the most important and the only one open to the public. Accompanied by a guide, groups of visitors explore an exhibition of bison, mammoths, horses as well as human figures that date as far back as 25,000 years. I found it wondrous to see the negative handprints on the walls, where some young man or woman had felt the need to document their presence so very long ago.
It seemed natural to follow the River Lot eastwards into Aveyron, Cantal and towards the source in Lozère. Who knew what we’d see along the way? We’d already found secret gardens, hidden caves and ruined castles with coded messages, places where those who have lived by this beautiful river had left their mark. We didn’t leave anything behind, but instead took with us a desire to return and to discover what secrets were awaiting us in the rest of the Lot Valley.
Fact File:
Domaine du Moulin de Labique, 47210 St-Eutrope de Born. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 53 01 63 www.moulin-de-labique.fr Charming riverside residence with chambres d’hôtes in a peaceful setting, not far from Montflaquin.
Double room: €90 (£60); breakfast €8 (£5)per person. Half board available.
Château Lalande, 47140 St-Sylvestre-sur-Lot. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 53 36 15 15 www.chateau-lalande-sylvestre.com
Stunning 4-star hotel with restaurant set in 9 hectares of parkland with trees. Restaurant with high-quality, locally inspired cuisine. Rooms in the château from €158 (£106)
Hostellerie Clau del Loup, Métairie Haute, 46140 Anglars-Juillac. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 65 36 76 20 www.claudelloup.com Logis de France chambres d’hôtes in a maison de maître with popular restaurant offering local specialities. Rooms €90 (£60), half board from €80 (£54)pp
Chambres d’hôtes chez Mme Dadoune, St-Cirq-Lapopie. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 65 31 49 10. Rooms from
Where to eat:
La Mercerie
Place des Arcades, 47150 Monflanquin. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 53 36 48 74
La Taulejada
Le bourg, 47140 Frespech. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 53 48 18 18
L’Ô à la Bouch
134 rue St-Urcisse, Cahors. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 65 35 65 69
L’Oustal
St-Cirq-Lapopie.Tel: 00 33 (0)5 65 31 20 17
Things to do:
Ferme de Souleilles – Musée du Foie Gras
47140 Souleilles. Tel: 0033 (0)5 53 41 23 24 www.souleilles-foiegras.com
Chateau de Bonaguil
47500 Fumel. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 53 71 90 33 www.bonaguil.org Adults €6 (£4); children €3.30 (£2.20)
Château Latuc
46700 Mauroux. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 65 36 58 63 www.latuc.com
Pech Merle Prehistory Center, 46330 Cabrerets. Tel: 00 33 (0)5 65 31 27 05 www.quercy.net/pechmerle/index.html Tickets €7.50 (£5) June 15- September 15; €6.50 (£4.35) low season