I don’t know why but turning North felt a little like we were heading home and we certainly didn’t want this road trip to end. As it turned out we discovered some of the most memorable places of our trip quite by chance, in the gentle countryside of Gers.
Auch - Is the old capital of Gascony and it is such a pretty and enticing place. We arrived at lunchtime and as usual everybody had stopped to eat. We meandered around the cool alleys and through the small park, looking for the D’Artagnan Statute I had read about, we never found it, but we did enjoy exploring and had a delicious tea and cake at a patisserie.
We were heading towards La Romieu and our next campsite. So following the D930 we drove through Condom (yes believe it or not) and 8 kms down the D41, a lovely country lane that meandered along the fields and hills of this wonderful department, we came to La Florence Campsite in La Romieu.
With a view over the collegiale from the swimming pool, La Florence was a large site with a myriad of hedged pitches and various styles of lodges all surrounded by farmland. It was a lovely location and even better the staff were really friendly and helpful.
www.camping-castels.co.uk
La Romieu is a pretty village in its own right and is mainly known for the UNESCO 14thcentury magnificent Collegiale St Pierre Cloisters. We quite fell for the charm of this petite rural village and the two impressive towers of the Collegiale. There is an interesting story about cats in the village and there are many stone cats perched on ledges, walls and windowsills.
www.la-romieu.com
We explored the collegiale, climbed the tower to the top and admired the views. The church was beautiful and the cloisters were very peaceful to walk around, (aside from the filming for a TV programme).
We also visisted Les jardins de Coursiana, beautifully created English style gardens with the scent of roses heavy in the air and everything in full bloom it was heavenly. It was very hot that day so we enjoyed some of their homemade sorbet sat under the shade of a tree. We visited just at the right time of year to experience the gardens at their best.
www.jardinsdecoursiana.com
There was much to see in the area here are some of the highlights:-
Larressingle – the smallest fortified village in France and quite simply enchanting. Saved from ruin by Edouard Mortier and his fund raising in Canada this interesting village is currently still inhabited.
Lectoure – an old Gallo-Roman town set high on a hill with super views. As with most towns in France it has a bustling market and interesting shops. There was a huge antiques market set in an old hospital still with its beautiful chapel and some interesting mansions lining the main street.
Seviac - a vast Gallo-Romaine villa with a recently completed modern roof covering the remains of the tiled floors and hypocausts.
In some ways this quiet and unassuming area of France reminded us of England-with sunshine, gently rolling hills, meandering lanes and quiet country villages. Many buildings in this department are built with a mellow pale yellow stone very easy on the eye and complement the countryside beautifully.
Yet another wonderful find in a country we had rather fallen for.
Our next blog:- Canoeing, Prehistoric Art and a Cliffside village
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