Category: Tourism

The Refugee story – designer's impression of the layout

THE UK's Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is to award a grant of £1.2 million for the development of the first national Huguenot Heritage Centre, in Rochester.

The centre will bring to life the Huguenot story; a story of persecution, of flight from France, and of settlement and integration in England.

Visitors will learn of the skills that the Huguenots brought with them to England and be able to understand the impact of those skills on the development of modern Britain.

They will also be able to explore their own historical Huguenot links.

Stuart McLeod, head of Heritage Lottery Fund south east England, said: "This project will provide Rochester with a fascinating historical resource and visitor attraction enabling people to learn about a wave of migration that brought many advantages to British society.

"Giving people the chance to discover if they have Huguenot ancestry will, I’m certain, be especially popular."

The Huguenot Heritage Centre is the first museum in Britain dedicated to the history of the Huguenots, a group of some 250,000 French Protestants who fled from religious persecution in France, over a period of some 200 years, but most significantly at the end of the 17th century.

Between 60,000 to 80,000 Huguenots settled in England, largely in the south east, and this represents the biggest proportionate influx of immigrants in England’s history.

There were approximately 580,000 people living in London in 1700; the 40,000 Huguenots living there, represented approximately 14.5% of the population of the capital.

A heritage centre has long been planned by the French Hospital, which can trace its own history back to 1718 when it was set up as a charity offering sanctuary to Huguenots.

The French Hospital's collection currently consists of highly regarded paintings, prints, drawings, etchings, furniture, silverware, clocks, books, archival records, and other items illustrating the material culture of the Huguenots.

Many of these items will be used to help tell the Huguenot story.

AT the Journée Champêtre à Loubejac, Simone and I had set up the table for the snacks, or the casse-croûtes, as they are called for both the horses and their riders, writes Carol Miers.

A month earlier, the discussion around the choice of casse-croûte had taken a good twenty minutes at the commitée de fête meeting. Its English translation is explicit meaning broken crust, and not grimy crust as I had thought, as in ‘crasse-croûte’.

Before long, under chestnuts beside the chevaux and pedestrian route the tables were set up and people trickled in, lashing their horses on one of two ropes hitched between trees at the back of the glade.

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Taking in the view from the highest point in Brittany, Roc’h Ruz, by Wendy Mewes.

THE Celtic ties run deep through Brittany, so much so that historian Wendy Mewes wonders if it was her own roots that brought her to the region.

For Wendy those ties only strengthened when she drove off the ferry at Roscoff and now after writing walking guides and teaching English-speakers about Breton history, she finds herself entwined in the rich tapestry of the area.

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AUTUMN, my favourite time of the year, with chill fresh mornings, yet the warm rays of the sun create magical, swirling mists which rise from the fields.

Overnight, with a clear, full moon sky, you can take a walk by its light and as the sun rises pick out the tracks of animals in the morning dew.

It is also chestnut season as the local farmers spread their netting beneath the heavily laden trees hoping for a bountiful harvest, but until the husks are split open we won’t know.

Driving around the small, tight lanes of this southern corner of Périgord the bright green, spiky chestnut dazzles high in the trees as the late afternoon sun casts shadows over the valley.

But I have an eye on next year, and as a bit of an experiment, a little square foot garden has popped up with a dozen spring cabbages in place, close enough to the house to be protected from winter frost and hopefully there will be one or two spare to pass on to friends.

THE vast expanse of the Dordogne river basin has been recognised by Unesco as an area of special importance for research into sustainable development.

The Bassin de la Dordogne has been added to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR), which now includes 598 reserves in 117 countries.

The Dordogne’s catchment area provides an example of great biodiversity, from mountainous landscapes to one of the biggest estuaries in Europe.

Unesco highlighted how the river played an important role in the economy due to the tourism industry being based around the Dordogne’s heritage and natural landscape, which works alongside agriculture and forest exploitation.

Related: Coal mines of northern France recognised by Unesco

DIFFERENT points of view and experiences are the stuff of travel books, but for nature lover, Daniel Start, his collection of remote swimming places found in France offers a frog’s eye view of the country.

Daniel has written, Wild Swimming in France, that takes you darting through the waterways on a river watch like a wild pike, recording every flickering reflection and sun bathed pool.

The result offers up a complete guide to France’s remote watering places, perfect for an alternative leisure day out.

A natural sciences graduate and government science advisor, during his time off Daniel whirled around France for twenty six weeks dipping in to ten or fifteen water points daily, such is his love of swimming outdoors.

By amassing this knowledge Daniel is encouraging thousands to breathe, dive, put their head underwater and look about at the beauty of the watery environment.

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A RECENT house move has necessitated a new route for the daily dog walks, but there is a reward half way along the forest path.

This is the view looking west from one of the higher points in Loubejac, taking in the Lot-et-Garonne and, beyond the horses, there is a quarry found just outside the village of Sauveterre La Lemance.

The night market in Loubejac takes place every Thursday during the summer months
VISITORS to the Dordogne have a multitude of discoveries to make, but if you are here in July and August then slow moving lines of traffic and crowds of people in many of the popular stops are things you have to endure.

But what if you wanted to go somewhere a little off the beaten? Places that are a little quieter, give you a chance to breath or experience a dash of real French life.

Here is a pick of places to visit in the southern reaches of the Dordogne, and if you have any favourites then feel free to add a comment below.

Urval
You will experience a sense of the real Périgord in Urval. With a medieval fortified church and a 14th century communal bread oven you have a sense of time travel.

Above the bread oven you will see the shelving for the loaves, and stretch your neck up high to get a sense of the presence the church must have once enjoyed. There are a number of sign-posted walks that will take you up the hillsides offering views over this ‘hidden gem’.

Villefranche-du-Périgord

Of course I am biased as this is my local village, but it is a real Dordogne village which is a little rough around the edges, but retains its sense of the countryside. There is a tourist office and small museum about the cèpe mushroom and chestnut, noting its importance to the region.

But take a stroll on the south side of the village in the morning and you get a sense of the village’s bastide roots which date back to 1261. (see: A village view of Villefranche du Périgord)

Loubejac night market (map)
Another local favourite, and whilst some nights you might think half the Dordogne has turned up, again it is another place where you get a sense of French life and not the tourist trappings.

Local producers turn up every Thursday evening in July and August to offer duck, breads, soups, salads, wine, fruits of all types and you can sit down with friends to enjoy a leisurely evening under Loubejac’s church tower. Remember to bring your own knives and forks. And even if you can’t make it head up to Loubejac for a stunning view across the southern tip of the Dordogne. (see: Drop in on a farmers market in France)

D704 road north out of Sarlat (map)
If you can escape the crowds of Sarlat, then a few kilometres out of the town you will be able to enjoy a beautiful view over the woods of the Périgord Noir. Across a full 180 degrees look east and take in the Dordogne countryside, and if you keep an eye open you can spot one or two fine examples of a lauze roof, with its distinctive large, flat stones.

Château de Bonaguil
A small step over the border into the Lot-et-Garonne for one of the region’s most striking castles, often bypassed by those heading to the likes of Baynac and Castelnaud on the river Dordogne. Bonaguil is worth a visit for its dramatic setting and its variety of building techniques and features, with its foundations dating from the 13th century all the way through to its partial destruction during the Revolution.

Its walls feature medieval graffiti, there are caves, defensive structures designed for sharpshooters and if you get to the top of the keep, shaped like a ship, a view over the surrounding countryside. And it is worth walking down to the surrounding village for a great photographic view of Bonaguil, as well as a refreshing ice cream.

Zadkine Museum
If I can stay just outside the Dordogne, this time in the Lot, then I have often taken friends to the museum which features the work of sculptor Ossip Zadkine, at Les Arques. Here you will see a variety of pieces, from small examples of his metalwork to towering wooden sculptures worked from trees dragged from the surrounding woods.

Les Arques is a lovely village to stroll around, it also has a small artists communal centre that features events during the summer. But the real secret is a couple of kilometres away, pick up the key for the Église St Andre which was brought back to life by Zadkine in the 1950s and features remarkable frescoes from the late 15C – it is a mystical place. (see: Zadkine museum, Les Arques, the Lot)

Filature de Belvès
I think a visit to the Filature de Belvès, or woollen mill, is worth your time just for what they are trying to do, and that is tell the story of a once important trade in the Dordogne.

The mill was working until the 1990s, and has a long history, but it is only recently that volunteers have looked to bring the machinery and some of the techniques back to life. Animated guides offer up detailed information on how the mill worked, and you can also take a gentle stroll around the surrounding ponds, busy with wildlife. (see: Woolen mill Filature de Belvès)

YOU are sure to see the steep rock face from the road as you navigate the tight bend, but not many people stop and take a stroll to the Fontaine des trois évêques.

Thanks to a recommendation from my friend Cro, we took a magical walk past rushing springs, overhanging rock walls and sparkling sunlit woods, all of which can be found near the small hamlet of Lavaur, in the Dordogne (map).

The mid-morning sun was trying its best to take the chill off the icy air, but with a faint mist rising off a small stream, and the light playing tricks with your eyes, there was a medieval touch to the day.

Beneath the steep cliff face you will first cross the Fontaine des trois évêques where the old feudal boundaries, and the powerful, were able to meet without fine or charge.

There is also a tumbledown lavoir with its wooden frame and tiled roof taped off to keep the inquisitive at bay.

Continuing past the waterpump house, the path takes you close to the sheer rock faces and although evidence of small streams is still there, the past year has been very dry so the occasional trickle soon heads back underground.

Walking along, with only stout shoes required, their was still a chill along the track but as it rose the air warmed and the icy tree tops began to melt with droplets splashing onto the leaves and twigs below.

The path is established enough to drive along, and car tracks could be seen, but no one else was out that day, just the occasional jay and crow screeching and squawking as we headed deeper into the woods.

As the path gently rises small patches of open space, with banks of wood behind, point to how the forest may have been worked in the past, and possibly sheep and other animals were kept when the area was intertwined with agriculture.

But today it is another trade that leads the way with yellow capped sign-posts pointing to a new belief in tourism and the euros that might bring.

Related:
A walk around Prats-du-Périgord, the Dordogne
Monpazier, the Dordogne

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AS you walk around the Abbaye Nouvelle, found between Gourdon and Salviac in the Lot (map), you begin to wonder what life the monks must have experienced in this corner of south west France.

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