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Heartland journey

Deep countryside's great themes

 

Castle ruins, sculptured records of 16th-century life, a farm "déjeuner" and the choice of two châteaux, whose grounds are at the source of France's landscaping...

 

  

  • From these heights, a view little changed since the Middle Ages

 

 

     

     

    • Five miles farther...

     

     

    When we see a Renaissance tower...
    ... we've arrived in hometown France.

     

     

    • It harbors a church where "miséricordes" snuggle into the choir-stalls

     

     

    The ropes separate us from the altar, not from these fascinating records of 16th-century life, which we can examine up close.

    Miséricordes: half-seats on which monks could lean posteriors during hours of chant. Decorating them with sacred subjects was impossible. So, for once, sculptors could carve whatever they pleased.

     

     
    Mesericorde showing executioners and victim

     

     

    •   A crucifix reveals a German P.o.W's experience of war

     

     

     

    He carved it in pieces, which the villagers assembled after he left. 

     

    Its remarkable creator left no personal trace. His work is as anonymous, powerful and tragic as any from the Middle Ages.

       

       

      •  Weekday or weekend?

       

       

      On weekdays we suggest a café in the village, with family cooking. on weekends,

      we drive on for half an hour.

       

      Road scene

       

      Where the farm's equipment is kept...

       

      Eighteenth-century pigeon-house

         

        •  We come to a farm, which is a restaurant on weekends

         

        There's every chance of sharing a room with a baptism or communion party. This is a feast - schedule at least an hour and a half.  

         

         

        Almost everything is produced on the spot.
        Medals

         

         
        This is a working farm. It is not gussied-up for tourists.

        •The farmer saves a calf.

         

         

        • Then a choice of châteaux parks

         

         

        •Renaissance water garden

        •Before Versailles

        After the intense morning and excellent déjeuner, visitors appreciate strolling at their own pace through sublime grounds, at the origin of classic French landscaping. Both estates are on return routes to Paris.

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        View / Robert Adams; church interior /Gilbert Cordier; waterway /château; château / Gilbert Cordier

         

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