The Vezere Valley» Vezere Valley Dordogne France

Cave with a View

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:07:44 +0000

This wonderful cave, nicely tucked away on a rock ledge just outside Les Eyzies de Tayac. This cave has a fantastic 180 degree view of the Vezere Valley. This cave is on high grounds, and you can see for miles around.

This cave can be explored on Walking Dordogne’s ” Valley of Caves” trip and “Ode to the Neanderthal” trip

www.walkingdordogne.com

Cave once River

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 20:02:55 +0000

Another one of my personal favorites, this very deep and windy cave was once a river. You can clearly see in the cut out ledges the various depths the water used to be.
This cave is well hidden, and has clearly been used for 1000’s of years for various purpose’s.

This cave can be explored on Walking Dordogne’s ” Valley of Caves” trip and “Ode to the Neanderthal” trip

www.walkingdordogne.com

Chateau Beynac

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:49:41 +0000

The castle was built from the 12th century by the barons of Beynac (one of the four baronies of Périgord) to close the valley. The sheer cliff face being sufficient to discourage any assault from that side, the defences were built up on the plateau: double crenellated walls, double moats, one of which was a deepened natural ravine, double barbican.
The oldest part of the castle is a large, square-shaped, Romanesque keep with vertical sides and few openings, held together with attached watch towers and equipped with a narrow spiral staircase terminating on a crenellated terrace. To one side, a residence of the same period is attached; it was remodelled and enlarged in the 16th and 17th centuries. On the other side is a partly 14th century residence side-by-side with a courtyard and a square plan staircase serving the 17th century apartments. The apartments have kept their woodwork and a painted ceiling from the 17th century. The Salle des États (States’ Hall) has a Renaissance sculptured fireplace and leads into a small oratory entirely covered with 15th century frescoes, included a Pietà, a Saint Christopher, and a Last Supper in which Saint Martial (first bishop of Limoges) is the maître d’hôtel.

At the time of the Hundred Years’ War, the fortress at Beynac was in French hands. The Dordogne was the border between France and England. Not far away, on the opposite bank of the river, the Château de Castelnaud was held by the English. The Dordogne region was the theatre of numerous struggles for influence, rivalries and occasionally battles between the English and French supporters. However, the castles fell more often through ruse and intrigue rather than by direct assault, because the armies needed to take these castles were extremely costly: only the richest nobles and kings could procure them.

The castle was bought in 1962 by Lucien Grosso who has lovingly restored it.

Weavers Castle

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 01:10:58 +0000

Only 8 years ago, this cave was the home of an 89 year old lady, who had lived here together with her husband for more than 55 years.. No electricity, no running water, no doors or windows, just a cave, (actually it is two caves) The “Weaving Couple” would spend their days weaving baskets. I personally never met this couple, but what I do know, is that they were very happy, and their cave was their castle.

This cave and many more can be explored on Walking Dordogne’s ” In the Footsteps of the Mammoth” trip

www.walkingdordogne.com

Chapelle Saint Martin

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:45:01 +0000

Just outside the walls of Limuil is the Chapelle St. Martin, built by King Richard 1 (the Lionheart) as an earthly recompense for the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1194.

Lascaux Painting

admin — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 23:33:23 +0000

For more than 17 000 years, the bestiary of the Lascaux cave in southwestern France has survived the ravages of human history. Anyone entering this time capsule is confronted by four metre long bulls that appear to float across the massive vaults like religious apparitions. An enigmatic spotted beast with a round snout and straight, forward-pointing horns, plump horses in brilliant yellow and deer with treelike antlers-all seem in equal part intimates of the present and missives from some distant world. Which they are. Though the draftsmanship is strikingly Modernist – on exiting the cave in 1940, Pablo Picasso said, “We have invented nothing” – these creatures were painted and inscribed on the limestone walls during the Upper Paleolithic age, when everyone was a hunter-gatherer, and Homo sapiens coexisted with Neanderthal man.

Madeleine

admin — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:16:54 +0000

Why did men settle on the banks of the Vezere for over 400, 000 years?
First of all for the quality of life. But also because nature always provided food and shelter.
Under the effect of erosion, the limestone cliffs hollowed out. These shelters were used by all the men who followed one another through the Aquitaine. Prehistoric man found there an easy natural dwelling place and in medieval times, fortresses and villages were built there.
At the bottom of the well-positioned cliff along the Vezere River(South, Southwest) groups of hunters settled under a rock shelter. The community grew and was continnously inhabited until the end of the ice era, 10,000 years ago.

The Madeleine and lots more can be seen on Walking Dordogne’s ” Canoe & Hike the Vezere” trip and

www.walkingdordogne.com

Canoeing the Vezere

admin — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:25:07 +0000

Some of the nicest prehistoric sites, caves and troglodytes can be found directly along the Vezere River, tucked away among the sheer cliffs that dominate certain parts of the Vezere River.
Canoeing combined with hiking is often the only way to reach these sites.

These sites can be seen on Walking Dordogne’s ” Canoe & Hike the Vezere” trip and

www.walkingdordogne.com

Les Eyzies 2

admin — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:52:16 +0000

Les Eyzies de Tayac, situated in the heart of the Vezere Valley, an unspoilt area of great natural beauty with rolling hills, tranquil rivers and fascinating cliff and rock formations It is home to the world’s most beautiful caves, troglodytes and other prehistoric artifacts.
Les Eyzies is the home to the National Prehistoric Museum which houses one of the world’s most complete collections of prehistoric artefacts. It is also home to famous attractions such as Font de Gaume, Grand Roc, Abri de Cromagnon, Combarelles, St. Martin of Tayac and lots more. It is here in Les Eyzies ( Abri de Cro Magnon) that the link was discovered between Prehistoric Man and Modern Man

Vezere River Dwellings

admin — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 04:58:20 +0000

This cluster of troglodytes are about 15 – 20 meters high in the middle of a sheer rock face, that overlooks the Vezere River. These dwellings would have been used to hide from invaders coming up the river or the valley.
These troglodytes would have housed numerous large families.

These dwellings can be seen on Walking Dordogne’s ” Canoe & Hike the Vezere” trip and