Commune in France

Les Plus Beaux Villages de France – The Most Beautiful Villages in France Tour

Monday 1st of May – ‘Days 13′.

We woke to another rainy overcast day and over breakfast, we discussed what we would do for the day since the weather was so dismal. We knew that today was a public holiday but weren’t sure if anything would be open. We’d planned to visit my cousin at some point during our time in Dordogne and if she agreed, today might be the best time to visit. I gave her a call to see if she’d be OK with that and she kindly said yes.

We packed an overnight bag and decided we’d take a drive around some of the local towns and villages before setting off to my cousins. We didn’t think it was fair to dash up to theirs after giving them literally no time to prepare for our arrival.

Below are a few of the towns and villages we had a quick nosy at before setting off up to my cousins’ place. Unfortunately, I can find hardly any photos for this day. I’m not sure if I didn’t take any because it was raining so much or if they’re lost somewhere amongst the thousands on our TeraStation, or maybe I’ve somehow deleted them.

Below is a Google Maps link with the route we took to see the following towns and villages. Click on the image to take you to Google Maps:

Campagne was very small and there was some sort of event going on so we didn’t get too close but I do remember it having a lovely chateau not too far from the road. Château de Campagne

Le Bugue was a busy, bustling little market town and one we wanted to come back to if we got the time. We couldn’t find anywhere to park which was probably due to it being a bank holiday. Le Bugue

Limeuil looked very old. The village was another one on the Most Beautiful Villages in France list. It looked like it had some really lovely medieval touches but sadly we could only do what came to be called a ‘guerilla photography’ stop from a distance but for some reason, I can’t find any photos of it amongst the thousands that I took on this trip. Limeuil

Le Buisson-de-Cadouin, notable for its 14th-century abbey, Cadouin had a lovely golden tone to its buildings which is so characteristic of this beautiful part of France. We had a little wander around but again I don’t have any photos, hence the link to Google Maps. Le Buisson-de-Cadouin

Belvès was another pretty-looking village, again on the Most Beautiful Villages in France list. We were intrigued and put it on the list of villages we’d like to come back to. By the time we arrived here, the rain was very heavy. We had a whistle-stop and very wet tour of this village but we had to dash back to our apartment when Amanda remembered that she’d left the coffee pot on. Oops! Belvès

I have no idea where these few photos were taken but they’re all I could find for this day. 😦

We were very bedraggled looking by the time we got back to our apartment, so I jumped in the shower to try to make myself somewhat presentable for meeting my cousin and her husband who I hadn’t seen in over a decade.

Once we were all sorted we set off north to Diane and Peter’s place, which according to Google Maps was going to take us approximately 2 hours.

My cousin and her husband moved over full-time from the U.K. to the Dordogne 7 years prior to our visit having bought their property back in 2003. They’d been slowly renovating it ever since.

Peter continues to work as a Quantity Surveyor and Diane works alongside him. They also own and run a small caravan park and chambre d’hôte in the Périgord vert region of the Dordogne that is now up for sale. I’ll be doing a separate post about their lovely property soon. Highthorn at Haute Epine Facebook Page – Haute Epine Website

We found the property with no problem at all and they quickly came to the electric gate to let us in. They both looked amazing and seemed genuinely pleased to see us. Their property was lovely, homely, and quite old. Their 2 dogs ran to greet us too. Sidney was a tad bonkers but very sweet and the other dog was called Bella (I think) and much more timid but equally lovely. They also had a couple of cats but I can’t remember their names.

We were given the Grand Tour and the place was really lovely, they’d obviously worked extremely hard to bring this beautiful property back to life.

Peter served us coffee and cocktails, while Diana cooked us a lovely dinner of duck, roast potatoes, and peas. We had a wonderful evening chatting and catching up and I really wish we’d had longer with them.

After a good sleep and a quick breakfast, we set off back to our accommodation in Saint-Vincent-de-Cosse.

In my next post, I’ll be showing you more of Diana and Peter’s property but here’s a little taster. 🙂

All photos and videos are the property of myself and Amanda unless otherwise stated.

Thanks for visiting.

Touch of Cinnamon