Marche nocturne season

July 1st sees the beginning of the ‘Marche Nocturne’ evenings which are not markets in the traditional sense of the word but evenings where caterers and wine merchants set up their stall and locals and visitors arrive with plates and glasses to buy their evening meal. Long tables are set up by the commune committee and musicians arrive to provide entertainment. People sit with old  friends and make new ones as these evenings are very convivial. They occur one evening each week during the summer season with local villages taking a different evening so that you could dine at one every night of the week!

Morning arrives.

There really is nothing nicer than partaking of a leisurely breakfast on the terrace as the sun climbs higher in the sky. The only problem is one of then motivating oneself and not getting stuck with the newspaper!

Chateau Commarque

We spent a wonderful day with friends visitng Chateau Commarque. Hubert de Commarque is slowly reclaiming his chateau from the forest which over-ran it when it was abandoned in the 16th century. Definitely still ‘work-in progress’ it is non-the-less magical being set in a truly  peaceful valley ….. even the carpark is a good 15 minute walk away through the woods.

We then had another fabulous lunch at Chez Julien where the owner regailed us with stories of how he and his family used to camp there before it was opened to the public and slept in the tower which could only be reached at that time by rope!

Antique fair find

We have been lucky enough to find this wonderful cross at an antique fair or ‘broconte’ as  they call them here.

We had uncovered the stone plinth base when weeding and were told originally a stone cross had stood upon it. The cross we found is metal but as ‘Les Faures’ is said to derive from the Occitane language and means ‘forge’ and this cross has forge tools worked into one side with grapes and wine accessories into the other we thought it absolutely perfect. The estate used to provide iron for the locality as iron ore abounds and of course also had vines as part of their self-sufficiency.

Chateau Biron

Chateau Biron is visible from our top field. As we understand it Domaine des Faures was  owned by the estate manager for the Chateau. The Chateau has only fairly recently begun to be maintained by the state and so is open all year and makes for a very interesting visit.

Meadow flowers

With the showers and sunshine have come exceptional meadows. The one in front of Chateau Puymatin is really lovely.

Fabulous windows

If you’re interested in architecture the Dordogne is definitely the place to visit. Everywhere you look you can find wonderful ideas. Some fabulous windows.

Ancient doors

Wandering around our beautiful villages you will come across fabulous ancient doors, so many they would fill a book.

Baby Barn Owl

Our barn owls have produced another clutch in their home in the ‘pigonniere’.  One fell out but has now been safely re-installed. Needless to say the parents are busy flying in and out after dusk feeding them all.

Nightjar

Supper on the terrace, watching a beautiful sunset was accompanied by a cacophony of frogs and then we heard our first nightjar. Magic!