Au revoir Dordogne ....

We spent our last day in the Dordogne retracing some of our previous trips that we took when Ollie went off to Bordeaux. La Roque-Gageac and Domme.

La Roque is the amazing little village built between the Dordogne and a ridge of sandstone cliffs. This time we spent a while walking through the streets and being amazed by the views and the way the small cottages hang on to the edges of the cliff.

About 300 or 400 years ago was when the houses were mainly built but before that the caves above were inhabited by the troglodytes who had built a fort into the cliff face about 40 metres above the village.

Over recent years there have been some serious rock falls. In the 1950's a number of houses were demolished by falling rock and three people killed. In 2010 part of the troglodyte fort was demolished by falling rock and it has been closed since. Clearly its not that stable!!

Le Roque Gageac. One of the most beautiful villages in France; authentic

The Tarde Manor under the Troglodyte Fort

The church is even a steep climb. Suffer a little more before you get in the door

The Tarde Manor

Again, underneath the cliff

Château Milatrie

Don't know what it is but it was a deciduous small tree covered in these tiny pink flowers no bigger than the nail on your little finger. No perfume

This Nativity has lost its baby Jesus!!

The view from the top of the Town

Following Le Roque we shot across the valley to Domme for a picnic. We had the whole picnic area to ourselves which has been a bit of the flavour this trip being out of season, we seem to be the only people in some of these villages. Makes a nice trip to be so alone. No queues. 

Domme is another town we visited without Ollie so we wanted him to see it as it a fascinating hilltop bastide town with amazing views back toward Le Roque. 

The whole world at her feet. 

Three wise monkeys!!

After lunch we headed back across the valley to a garden called Marqueyssac. A topiary garden of over 150,000 boxwood trees that spreads along the Ridge behind the Château de Marqueyssac for about a kilometre. Overlooking the River Dordogne the views are spectacularly breathtaking. Slowly you incline as you walk the kilometre long garden until you get to the Belvedere (a sort of lockout) at 130 metres above the River where you get to see the whole Dordogne valley.

The property has been in the same family since the 17th century and the property has undergone extensive renovations. Including the roof of the château, made of limestone rock tiles and weighs more than 300 Tonnes.

It starts impressive. 

There is acres of the stuff

More and more ...

Straight avenues

Irregular avenues

An ocean of it ...

Boxwood walks. 

Through the woods ...

Heads on a plate. 

Even the escarpment is clipped. 

The view on way to Beynac-et-Cazenac

Looking down from the Belvedere to La Roque-Gageac

It's all done by hand. Twice a year. 

The Dordogne valley. And Ollie

Big bales of green hay. 

Château Marqueyssac

What can I say? It's Green ...

We will be sad to leave in the morning. The only consolation us we're going to Paris for a few days then Strasbourg then Munich then Austria. So we cram one more Foie Gras pate in with some confit d'oingons and bread for supper and pack up ready for the next chapter of the Odyssey.