It’s the end of May, and a couple of months since we took off for our stolen few days before the third confinement in France. That lasted for all of April, then gradually they released the non-essential shops and restaurant terraces – and therefore also the campsites, so it was time to escape once more.
After a last-minute hitch when we found out that the onsite restaurant at our chosen lakeside destination was only open Fridays and Saturdays – the 2 nights we were not due to be there – we reversed the order of our trip and set off eastwards along the Dordogne valley.
Twenty minutes later we were back in Rouffillac at our favourite riverside spot, usually reserved for delaying our arrival home from the return leg, but this time our first stop. That was Sunday – and in France also their Fête de Mère (Mother’s Day). Again, at the last minute I realised that and rang to book our table at the campsite restaurant for lunch, which was a good call as on the day they were full!
It was fabulous – sunny and hot, the sunshade was deployed, and we revisited our favourite choices of Burger Maison for B and Steak Tartare for me. Our first restaurant visit of 2021, and first in 7 months, though we are still in the terrace only phase here. The next day, Monday, they were happily also open for lunch so after a walk along the nearby Voie Verte we tried some new things and enjoyed 2 days in a row without cooking!
Next morning the good weather was holding, and I found a town close to our route as a stop off – potentially for lunch – so we headed for Ussel. Turned out to be quite pretty, and relatively busy as 2 main routes N-S and E-W cross there, and there is some sort of university. We wandered for 10 minutes and then returned to the important business of finding lunch for the 3rd day in a row…..
The Restaurant de Paris was open and we arrived at the right moment to take over the table of a couple just leaving. We were told there was one menu of the day with no choices so that’s what we were having! We paid just €13.50 each for 3 courses, 2 beers and coffee – that is what we Brits think France should be like, but often isn’t anymore. Starter was a large place of Jambon de Campagne (air dried ham), main course was a duck stew with large pieces of tender duck and a huge pile of unnecessary pasta, dessert was a nougat ice-cream parfait affair – no complaints 😉
Then off to Lac de la Siauve and a Huttopia campsite I had booked on a whim (and rebooked twice!) based on 5 nights for the price of 4 special deal on a lakeview plot. The view did not disappoint, even if the ever-changing weather forecast did at times – who would be a meteorologist when it seems that the old wives tales are just as reliable when you get more than a day ahead?!
Turns out the lake – also called Lac de Val – is a dammed section of the Dordogne, so once again we found ourselves by that river, so well known to the British.
Anyhow, we arrived and set up camp. The wind picked up, so we set up camp for a second time – at a different angle to protect the sunshade from the wind. The wind picked up more, so we had to wind the sunshade (and rain protection) back in anyway and resign ourselves to a wet mat which at least reduces mud transfer as the rain came down.
Next day was grey with more rain predicted – and for the rest of the week. I was bored within an hour and wanting to go home after 2…… B held fast and as the rain threat receded, we went for a walk alongside the lake on a lovely winding path through the woods on its bank.
The lake is another EDF reservoir and hydropower facility, like the Lac du Feyt from our last trip, but on a much larger scale. I knew from the map that there was a chateau nearby, which we found after about an hour of walking and as Chateau de Val popped into view it was well worth it.
The next day the sun popped out again – joy! Out came the bikes and off we went to properly visit the Chateau. On the ride we saw some lovely views of the distant extinct volcano peaks – we are in the Massif again, a bit further north than our Salers trip – but we were on a busy road so we kept going.
The Chateau de Val does not disappoint. It has had a chequered history, with the base remaining from the 11th century donjon, later rebuilt in the 13th and 14th centuries to what you can see now. It has 6 towers, each having a different design and once stood on a hilltop with impressive views across the valley below.
It has also been through many owners as the list over the billiard room fireplace shows. The most recent family was Les D’Arcy who were forced to sell to EDF. Initially they were going to flood the valley high enough that the chateau would have been lost, but EDF found that the rock on the Corrèze side of the Dordogne river was not strong enough for the original plan, so the size of the barrage (as they call a dam here) was reduced and the chateau saved. However, all the land around was flooded so family D’Arcy took the compensation and left, taking all the original artworks and furniture with them.
EDF finally “sold” the chateau to the mairie of the town of Bort-les-Orgues for a franc, and since then they have been responsible for the maintenance and furnishing so that it can be visited. All the furniture was purchased locally and some of the paintings are copies of the originals. The 2 stunning fireplaces are originals and there is a story about the use of the royal fleur-de-lys motif on the one in the salon, which was authorized by Charles VII to Guillaume IV d’Estaing who was his Chamberlain. The same Guillaume is responsible for finishing the building of the chateau to what we see today.
The ceilings of the salon, dining room and billiard room are beautifully painted wood beamed affairs and the floors are wood parquet, both later additions as the chateau passed from one family to another. Some of the turret rooms have painted plaster ceilings and wall murals which conceal doors, and one room has a cache used to store Resistance weapons in the last war. The upper floors are not furnished, but you can see the old kitchen and work room, and the huge, exposed beam construction at the top of one of the larger turrets.
Nearby in Lanobre we discovered Bar-Resto Delmas and were lucky enough to get the last table without a reservation – again a Menu Surprise which was really very good apart from the rosbif (!) being a little tough. The starter was a truly excellent cream of various forest mushrooms over a puff pastry crouton, main was the sliced beef with creamy mash. Then they brought us a huge plate of local cheese – mainly Cantals and Bleu d’Auvergne – and left us to help ourselves! That was a first. To finish, there was Tarte au Fraises which was lovely. So 4 courses for €19 including a carafe of wine and coffee – what’s not to like?! I can feel the pounds piling on this week, but it has been such a treat to finally get to eat out – and, as I keep telling B, its our duty to support the restaurants or we will lose them!
The sting in the tail – as often seems to happen these days – was a massive storm which ultimately resulted in a leak around the central rooflight so we awoke to dripping and a soggy patch of carpet. Luckily it happened while we were in residence so we were able to mop up and minimize the wetting before lumbering back over the dam – they call it a barrage here – and homewards to appointments with the local motorhome repairer (he lives just around the corner which is helpful) and the garagiste for a returning issue of fuel starvation when going up steep hills (not helpful given the terrain round here).
PS I normally run these posts past B for content and error checking, but as he is watching England play footie right now that’s not going to happen so apologies if you spot something 😉