Dordogne

In May 2022, I flew with Charlie Waite and Sue Bishop to Toulouse and travelled up to the Dordogne for a brief photographic excursion around its towns and villages. Loubressac in particular is worth a mention. It is 15 km north-east of Gramat, towards the northern border of the Lot department and is classified as one of the 'most beautiful villages of France'. It is a very pretty village set on a rocky outcrop surrounded by woods and open fields. Charlie has previously found this delightful little church and has planned the timing of this this visit just so to catch the afternoon light coming through the stained glass window. We spend time shuffling the chairs around and placing this remaining one just so. We also visit Carennac, which lies in the fertile valley of the Dordogne under the arid plateau locally named 'le Causse'. Its landmarks include a medieval priory, combining an 11th-century church and cloister, and a 16th-century castle. Then to Argentat: since Gallic times there has been an important ford here on a historic way to the Mediterranean. From the 10th century Argentat is known to have had a priory in a walled city. The town experienced significant economic growth in the 18th and 19th centuries from rivernavigation by scows, which were known locally as courpet, that allowed the delivery of goods (mainly oak staves for cooperage and carassonne-stakes for grapevines) to the Bordeaux region. This activity began to decline at the end of the 19th century following the outbreak of phylloxera, which devastated the vineyards, and the inauguration of the railway in 1904. The reflections are topsy turvy, I hope you noticed