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ROCAMADOUR. It’s a name that rolls off the tongue – and then lives long in the memory once you’ve visited this magnificent but tiny French town.
A sightseer’s dream, it clings to the side of one of the giant gorges in the Lot valley in the Perigord region and is one of the many breathtaking places to visit in an area full of scenic wonder.
The town is named after Saint Amadour whose body, legend has it, was found perfectly preserved under the cathedral in 1166. That made the town famous and popular with pilgrims – but nowadays it’s a tourist destination.
The landscape is so dramatic you need two lifts to get from the cathedral at the top to the restaurants and shops on the main street at the bottom. Meanwhile birds of prey soar overhead as they stretch their wings from the aviary at Rocher des Aigles (Eagles Rock) on the top.
This is the kind of drama my wife Paula and I had been looking forward to as we embarked on our first holiday without children in 20 years.
We booked an 11-night stay in Perigord with Al Fresco Holidays, took the overnight P&O ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge, then travelled to Le Val D’Ussel, just north of the market town of Sarlat and near the beautiful River Dordogne.
We stayed in a spacious Vivaldi three-bed mobile home with decking. It was airy and comfortable with air conditioning in the living area.
La Val D’Ussel was perfect for our needs, with a restaurant, shop and plenty of recreational facilities including two swimming pools, a spa, table tennis, crazy golf and a play park – should you bring the children. Just a three-mile drive down the hill lies the medieval town of Sarlat, a bustling little place, and the streets are filled with market stalls on Saturdays.
This is your chance to enjoy the produce of the area. There are delicious sausages, wine, cheese, foie gras, truffles, cherries and walnuts – plus straw hats, baskets and leather goods.
We also made it our mission to taste as much patisserie as possible from pear tarts to almond cakes – you name it, we ate it.
To take in the spectacular scenery along the Dordogne, hop on a boat or hire your own canoe. Either way, you’ll get brilliant views of the chateaux standing proudly along the river bank. We embarked on a boat at Beynac and took in the impressive castles of Castelnaud and Fayrac.
Another way the see the valley in all its glory is to drive to Domme, a town perched high over the Dordogne. The panoramic view is stunning, as are the shops and restaurants in this popular coach-party destination. Alternatively, jump in the car and you’ll find beautiful villages which aren’t in the guide books and hidden beauty spots.
Next, we enjoyed a twonight stay with Al Fresco at La Croix du Vieux Pont, north east of Paris.
Our accommodation – a two-bed Rossini Luxe – was tucked into a little enclave with seven other mobile homes. The site is popular with a lot of Brit families because it has so many facilities and is close to the capital and Disneyland Paris. Buses are laid on to both.
We opted for a day trip to Albert, deep in the Somme, to check out its must-see First World War museum and impressive Thiepval monument.
On our last day we headed over the Belgian border to the ferry at Zeebrugge and, of course, there was one final charge on the toll roads, bringing our trip’s total to 70 euros. But you don’t regret a single cent when you know it’s leading you to some magical places.