Thursday, January 24, 2019

Montsalvy; La Poterie du Don; Entraygues-sur-Truyere; Vieillevie; Cassaniouze - September 15th 2018


We set off for a trip to Conques. The landscape throughout is really lovely and in places spectacular. Our first stop was Montsalvy – petite cite de caractere. It was set up in the 11th century and was given the name “Mons Salvi” (Mount of the survivor) or “Mons Salvitatis” (Mount of rescue) because of its role as a place of refuge for pilgrims. We had a lovely stroll through the town admiring the buildings etc.From 900m altitude, the road goes down to the Lot Valley (altitude 230m.) The views were great. 








Abbaye Notre Dame de l'Assomption.






On display are, what I later discovered they are called, the treasures of the Church. Having Church Treasures is a phenomenon of the area.











































We took a detour to La Poterie du Don. This is a Pottery dedicated to contemporary ceramics. It was set up by Suzy Atkins. It is in the most beautiful surroundings with vineyards and down below the Lot Valley. The ceramics were fantastic and very beautifully presented.































We really loved the humour of this.














Next we stopped at Entraygues – sur – Truyere in the Aveyron Department. It is so called because it is at the confluence of the 2 rivers – Lot and Truyeres. This is a beautiful medieval town. The woman in the tourist office gave us an English self guide tour which we did and enjoyed. We stopped for a coffee beside the Lot river – very beautiful.












This is a Valette Door. It is a 16th century doorway at the entrance of a former inn. It has 2 door knockers, one for patrons travelling on foot and one for those on horseback.





"Al Caire" - the corner tower, site of the former town prison.









Hitchcock? He seems to join us often on our travels!






















We wandered through the medieval streets. The 13th century stone bridge over the River Truyere is unpassable at the moment because it is being repaired. However, we did manage to get some photos.
















Truyere Mill. Built in 1373, in 1902 it became the first electricity producer in Aveyron.



























Then we went through Vieillevie which has a lovely group of old traditional houses and a 15th-16th century castle.

When we got to Conques there was a huge amount of traffic and it was absolutely crowded as it was a jour de patrimoine and a visit to the Treasury with its statue of Saint Foy and its processional cross was free. We decided to leave Conques till another day – fantastic views. We returned over the winding road which crosses the chestnut grove and has wonderful views over the Lot valley. Lots of cyclists! We stopped in Cassaniouze – its name is derived from the langue d’oc word meaning chestnut. There we visited the church and its processional cross. All in all a lovely day.

































Having lunched in Entraygues we decided we would eat lightly so bought a baguette in one of our local boulangeries which had lovely patisseries!


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