Most people visiting the Vezere and Dordogne Valley have an interest in history, so why not stay a few nights in an historic B&B in the heart of it all?. B&B Ferme de Tayac, a 12th century former farmhouse / monastery ideally situated in Les Eyzies de Tayac, in the heart of the Vezere Valley, known as the “Prehistoric Capital of the World” In the beginning of the 12th century, the monks of the monastery of Paunat settled in Tayac, and started building the fortified church of Tayac, Saint Martin. At the same time they started buiding “Ferme de Tayac” which became the working farm and monastery for the monks. B&B Ferme de Tayac is a must place to stay if you are visiting the Dordogne, since it officially opened to the public 2 years ago, it has been rated the #1 B&B accommodation both years running. B&B Ferme de Tayac is a 12th Century former Monastery farmhouse, lived in and run by the Monks who owned and worked the land for hundreds of years. Located in the heart of the Vezere Valley in the picturesque small village of Tayac, just 8 minutes walk from the center of Les Eyzies. In 2001 Suzanne & Mike purchased Ferme de Tayac after it had been unoccupied for over 10 years. It was in a sorry state, and was deemed dangerous and a hazzard. It took Suzanne & Mike 7 years to bring Ferme de Tayac back to it’s former glory. With among other things, meter thick walls, rooms built into solid rock, oak beam structures, and bedrooms in former monks quarters make Ferme de Tayac a speacial and very unique place to stay whilst visiting the Dordogne, and it is not hard to see why Ferme de Tayac has been the travellers choice of accommodation for 2 years. For more and updated info on Ferme de Tayac please visit their official web site http://www.fermedetayac.com/

Read travellers reviews about Ferme de Tayac:

Walking Dordogne takes you to all the well kept secrets that are only accessible on foot. To see the “Real Dordogne” you will have to get off the roads, and on the tracks. Let us take you back, to the places our ancestors called “home” more than 260000 years ago.

Walking Dordogne has about 20 excellent walks in their Itinerary, varying from 3 hours to 10 hours, most walks can be combined with other walks to make them longer or shorter. Our walks are guaranteed to show you the REAL Dordogne, and take you to all the main highlights this region is famous for.

Our walks are suitable for all ages, but for most walks a certain level of fitness and stamina is required. Most walks are on tracks & trails, some marked, others not. Certain walks to caves, dwellings, ruins and view points are off the tracks, and up hill walking is often required.
Some of our walks may not be suitable for people with a fear of heights.

The great thing about Walking Dordogne is that our walks are not planned months or weeks ahead, we usually plan the walks together with the customer the day before, depending on the wishes and preferences of the customer, this way we can make sure everyone gets to see what they want to see. If the walks are done in combination, with canoeing or horse riding, then these walks are usually planned ahead, to guarentee the use of the horses or canoes.

Why “Walking Dordogne” you may ask yourself, well we believe there are numerous very good reasons why we are the best choice to see the real Dordogne. A few mayor differences between us and other operators are…

• At Walking Dordogne you are based in one spot, your accommodation is at the nicest B&B in the Dordogne, you will feel at home here, you do not need to pack your belongings every morning to move on again to the next accommodation. After any of the walks or other activities, you can just relax at the pool, or stroll into Les Eyzies for an ice cream.
• We at Walking Dordogne are local, we live here, we know the area, and we know the best places to go at the best time. We know what and where to avoid. We take you to places unknown to tourists and tour operators that are not local, and not mentioned in guide books or maps, places that are known only to locals.
• Walking Dordogne is extremely flexible, the one thing we can not control is the weather, and we all know that getting soaked on a walk is not a nice experience. With Walking Dordogne, the weather is not a problem, if we have a walk planned and it is raining, we just get into a car and visit some scenic attractions, such as the caves of Lascaux, National Prehistoric Museum, Castle of Beynac, etc. There is not a single tour operator that offers such flexibility as we do.
• Small Groups. Our groups are very small, hardly ever ** larger than 5 people ( 4 guests and the guide) this way you can bond with your group, decisions are easy to make,the tours have a more personal touch, and we will be able to call you by your real name. (very difficult to do with groups of 20+)
• Our large choice of walks and tours are suited for all age groups, we will put together a wonderful itinerary depending on each individuals needs.
• Save money: With Walking Dordogne there are plenty of ways to save your money, you only pay for what you want, for example, if you feel you would like to do a few walks or canoe trips without a guide, we will supply you with a detailed map of the walk, arrange for your drop off, and you save money by not using a guide.
  Really the only thing that cannot be changed is the accommodation , otherwise like mentioned before, we are very flexible.
• Your wish is our command: If you would really like to spend some of your time doing something that is not mentioned in our itinerary, just ask us. We are locals and know almost everything that can be done in this region, so if you would like to do a culinary course, or play a few rounds of golf etc. we can arrange this for you

For more info : www.walkingdordogne.com

We are pleased to announce that Walking Dordogne has now joined the “YouTube” generation.
A few of our trips and tours have been posted, and more will be added in the near future.

It will now be possible to subscribe to our channel, and get notified as soon as we add new content.

We would like to thank the “Duke of Dordogne” for putting in so much time and effort in adding Walking Dordogne to among other sites, YouTube.

Just click on the YouTube below and take a YouTube tour of Walking Dordogne.

1. Lascaux II- Lascaux is considered to be the number one prehistoric site in all of Europe. The paintings on the site date from 17,000 to 15,000 years ago. Shortly after that the cave entrances were closed by mudslides or other natural means, and thus the paintings were perfectly preserved until the modern era. The cave was rediscovered in 1940 by two local boys who were chasing their dog, and several years later it was opened to the public. However, in 1963 it was closed again, as it was discovered that too many people in the cave were causing the paintings to deteriorate. Since then only a few scientists, scholars or art historians per day were allowed in for several hours maximum. For the past few years even those limited visits have been stopped, as new signs of further deterioration have been observed. The French government, however, took up a 10 year project to make an exact duplicate of the cave. This effort, which opened in 1983, uses exactly the same pigments that were used by the Cro-Magnon artists thousands of years ago, and is dimensionally accurate to less than one inch of error. It is called Lascaux II, and is located only about 400 yards from the original cave.

The quality of the artwork is the main reason that Lascaux is considered the finest example of prehistoric cave paintings. Done with only oil lamps for light and using high scaffolding, the prehistoric artists who created this site were highly accomplished artists. Most of the guided visits to Lascaux II are conducted in French, but there are tours in English on most days. One needs to call the Lascaux ticket office in Montignac or the Montignac Office of Tourism to find out if and when there is an English tour on any given day. If you have a group they will probably set up an English tour for you and other English speakers, but this needs to be arranged in advance through the ticket office. Even though Lascaux II is a replica and not the original, it is very well done, very informative, and not to be missed.

2. St. Leon sur Vezere- This is another of the “Most Beautiful Villages of France”. Built in a picturesque loop of the Vezere river, this charming village possesses two castles and one of the finest Romanesque churches of the Perigord. The church was part of a Benedictine priory which was founded in the 12th century. It was built on the ruins of a Gallo-Roman villa. The remains of one of the villa’s walls can be seen on the river side. There is a picnic area next to the church on the banks of the river, and a café is nearby as well. This is an excellent spot to have a pleasant lunch or a refreshing drink.

3. La Roque St. Christophe (St. Christopher’s Rock) is a huge Troglodyte cave complex. For about a half mile in length this majestic cliff rises vertically above the Vezere valley to a height of over 250ft. It is like a huge hive with about 100 caves hollowed out of the rock on five tiers. Excavations have proved that the cliff dwellings were inhabited from the Upper Paleolithic Age onwards. In the 10th century the cliff terraces served as the foundation for a fortress which was used against the Vikings, and again later during the Hundred Years War. It was subsequently destroyed during the Wars of Religion at the end of the 16th century. The self-guided tour explains the evolution of human life at La Roque St. Christophe, which took place over many centuries . In fact even Neanderthal fossils have been found at this site and at other locations nearby.

4. Chateau de Losse- This renaissance chateau sits on the right bank of the Vezere river, and it has a large terrace that overlooks the river and offers picturesque views. The chateau is well known for its excellent furniture and tapestries, which can be seen on the guided tours. The tours are in French, but foreign language guides are available, and these are easy to follow so one does not miss anything. The tours are quite good, and one can also visit the well kept gardens and stroll around the outside of the chateau in the former moat area.

As stated earlier, these four venues in the Vezere Valley between Les Eyzies de Tayac and Montignac can easily be visited in one day, since they are relatively close and do not take too long to visit any of them. If one is staying nearby, in Les Eyzies de Tayac, for example, only about 25 kilometers away, a visit to these sites is well worth the effort.

Our recommended accommodation to visit these 4 venues:
B&B Ferme de Tayac. Lovely B&B in a 12th Century former farmhouse / monastery situated ideally in Les Eyzies de Tayac, the hart of the Vezere Valley and within 20 minutes from all of these attractions.
http://www.fermedetayac.com/

In the early 12th century 6 Monks from the Monastery of Paunat were travelling between Monasteries when one of the Monks became very ill, they set up camp in Tayac near a water source. The monk was dieing, but miraculously healed after drinking the water from the “Tayac Source”. To the Monks of Paunat this was a “Sign” and round about 1123 they started building the magnificent and fortified church of Tayac, they called it “St Martin“.
At the same time, the Monks of Paunat started working the land in this lush Vezere valley, they built the farmhouse / monastery, which is now “Ferme de Tayac” that has been completely renovated, and is now a lovely B&B opposite the church.
For hundreds of years the Monks lived here and worked the lands, bit by bit houses were built against the rock.
The water from the “Tayac Source” was taken to other surrounding Monasteries, for it’s healing powers, Tayac was thriving.
Two centuries later, things took a turn, wars were breaking out, armies were constantly attacking areas and strongholds. Religion and all that went with it lost it’s power, and very slowly the life in and around Tayac became what it is today. St. Martin still stands proud, and is without doubt the nicest Fortified Church in the Perigord, the “Tayac Source” is still there, although no longer in use.

During construction for a railroad in 1868, a rock shelter in a limestone cliff was uncovered. Near the back of the shelter, an occupation floor was recognized, and when excavated, it revealed the remains of four adult skeletons, one infant, and some fragmentary bones. The Link between Prehistoric Man and Modern Man had been found, here in Tayac.

Recommended accommodation in Les Eyzies de Tayac:

B&B Ferme de Tayac : www.fermedetayac.com Lovely B&B in a 12th Century former farmhouse / monastery opposite the fortified church of St. Martin

Perched with hillside on left bank of the Dordogne, Castelnaud dominates the small borough coiled with its feet. Its former owners, vassal of kings of England, opposed a long time to their neighbors, the lords de Beynac, faithful to kings de France. If the protagonists of these remote quarrels have all disappeared, the two fortresses always continue their immutable face to face, like a mineral challenge with the lapse of memory and the ravages of time.

History

English Castelnaud After the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1259 by Saint Louis and Henry III, which put an end to the dispute between the Capetians and the Plantagenets, the Perigord was restored to the English. Castelnaud thus fell under English rule. In 1273 the castle reverted back to the legitimate feudal line, that of the Castelnauds, who gave tribute to the Count of Perigord, vassal of the king of France.The power of a FortressFor Castelnaud, the end of the 13th century heralded in a period of prosperity and relative calm. The castle established itself as one of the principle powers of the Perigord. The barons of Beynac during this epoch were semi-permanently in conflict with the lords of Castelnaud. Continuously the two rival houses contested control of the region, trailing after them a section of the Perigord nobility divided by the two camps. The two castles watched and spied on each other. Never, however, did an open battle occur. In 1317 the Pope himself intervened to prevent the worst from happening; Jean XXII authorized a marriage between the two families to try and put an end to the endemic conflict. This context of private feud, so common in the Middle Ages, was soon relegated to a position of secondary importance: in 1337 the Hundred Years’ War broke out.

 The Hundred Years’ War

The first few decades of the war were favorable to the English. In 1346 at Crecy, the cream of French nobility was decimated by English archers. In 1356, King John the Good was taken prisoner at Poitiers. The Treaty of Bretigny-Calais freed the king but ceded Aquitaine to the English, which was from then on ruled by the formidable Black Prince.In 1368, Magne de Castelnaud, sole heiress of Castelnaud, married Nompar de Caumont. This was a major event for Castelnaud, as the Caumonts would subsequently continue to be proprietors of the castle until the Revolution. During the War, the Caumonts were often in the English camp. Henry IV, King of England, named Nompar de Caumont his seneschal for Agen.

State of SiegeIn 1442, tired of the English hold on Castelnaud, the King of France ordered the town put under siege. The siege lasted three weeks. The English commander ended it by giving the keys to the castle and 400 crowns for his life. Thus the English were finally driven from Castelnaud. They left French soil after the battle of Castillon (1452) which marked the end of the Hundred Year’s War.

Pleasure Residence After a century black with wars, epidemics and hardships, a great period of prosperity unfolded for Castelnaud.
The castle’s reconstruction was begun by Brandelis de Caumont and followed by his son François and his grandson Charles. The old 13th century fortress took on a look that conformed more to the style of the times. François de Caumont, besides enlarging Castelnaud, built a pleasant Renaissance-style manor not far from Castelnaud: Milandes Castle.
Castelnaud, which no longer had a strategic purpose, became a pleasure residence. It was fortified because of its prestigious function as the center of power of the domain.
The imposing artillery tower, built around 1520, had no function other than that of a symbol of power.

The Huguenot Captain

A new chapter in the history of Castelnaud opened with the Huguenot Captain Geoffroy de Vivans. Soldier, companion of the future Henry IV, his life was punctuated by audacious actions which earned him a great reputation in the country. Geoffroy the warrior was feared throughout the Perigord, a reputation which assured that Castelnaud was never disturbed during the Wars of Religion.

Ruins and renaissanceBetween the exploits of Captain Vivans and the 20th century, the castle did not live through any other remarkable events. The Caumont lords preferred Milandes first, then their castle of the Force near Bergerac. The condition of Castelnaud continued to deteriorate until it was completely abandoned. After the Revolution the deterioration accelerated. Soon the castle served as no more than a stone quarry.1969 / 1998 : The Renaissance of CastelnaudIn 1966, Castelnaud Castle was classed as an Historic Monument. Since then, it has undergone two periods of extensive restoration: between 1974-1980 and from 1996-1998. Certain parts of the castle which had collapsed were reconstructed, other parts were only consolidated due to the lack of information regarding their original state. 

Our recommended accommodation to visit Castelnaud:
B&B Ferme de Tayac. Lovely B&B in a 12th Century former farmhouse / monastery situated ideally in the hart of the Vezere Valley and just 15 minutes from Castelnaud
http://www.fermedetayac.com/

Caves decorated with art from the late Paleolithic period, approximately 10,000 to 30,000 years ago, have been found only in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Russia and Mongolia. The largest cluster of Paleolithic art caves dot the Dordogne department of southwestern France the Vezere Valley, which is honeycombed ,with limestone caves and towering cliff shelters eaten out by glaciers and underground rivers as long as 140 million years ago. In this underground network, with constant temperature and humidity and isolation from light, the art has been very well preserved.

The most exciting sites open to visitors in the Dordogne include Lascaux, Font-de-Gaume, with drawings of bison, horses and deer; Combarelles, where Stone Age people left more than 300 engravings, and Cap Blanc, offering 14 animals gracefully sculptured in deep relief.

Cave art had been seen by villagers as least as far back as the 16th century, according to graffiti in the vast cavern at Rouffignac. But it was assumed to be modern until an explorer announced in 1880 that the paintings in the Altamira cave were prehistoric.

The notion of art as ancient as 30,000 years before the birth of Christ was met with skepticism on the ground that it conflicted with Christian belief. Only in the 20th century did scientists agree that humans indeed discovered how to artfully draw, sculpture and carve engravings during the Stone Age.

The Louvre of all the caverns is Lascaux. The cave entrance, less than a mile south of Montignac on the Vezere River, was sealed from harmful air for centuries by landslides. After trees covering the entrance were uprooted by a storm, four teen-agers seeking buried treasure discovered the cave in 1940.

Opened to tourists in 1948, Lascaux had to be closed in 1963 after green algae and white calcium deposits attacked the paintings. An exact copy built in cement nearby was inaugurated in November 1984. The cement cannot be harmed by bacteria and outside air and the paintings are covered with a transparent film.

Contrary to widespread belief, the original Lascaux, guarded by a wire fence and two German shepherds, can be seen by qualified people. Applicants connected with science, journalism, teaching, art, museums, even politics, have received invitations after waiting for months.

On an authorized visit one recent day, a guide, Jacques Marsal, led the way past the dogs and wooden towers with instruments that record humidity, temperature and air pressure in the cave, monitored by the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Visitors must wet the soles of their shoes in antiseptic and descend to the dark, cold cave through three anterooms that keep out air. Then the electric lights go on, and the stereotype of the Stone Age brute is crushed. The cave gleams with delicate drawings in ocher and brick red, outlined in deepest black by artists who were obviously sensitive people. Deer with graceful horns, drawn with sensual lines, recall works of Picasso. The guide’s flashlight plays on a splendid herd of deer, apparently clambering out of water, each with a different expression, each in a different position.

On the cold stone walls, a calf stumbles before a three-sided square that could depict a trap. A horse falls over a cliff, its face showing fright, possibly depicting organized stampedes to slaughter animals.

”The artists painted the outline of each animal all in one movement without hesitation, quite a feat,” says the guide.

The final shock is emerging from the Stone Age cave to see white trails from jet fighters crisscrossing the blue sky. A two-minute walk downhill stands Lascaux II, the cement reproduction built by the owner of the land and the state, now the proprietor.

Molded above ground by 12 Brazilian, Greek and French sculptors over nine years, the cave is a feat in itself as the cement truly resembles rock. A French artist worked seven years with prehistoric tools and pigments to copy the paintings from photographs. The copiers even repeated holes where the prehistoric artists had inserted logs to stand on so they could reach a high ceiling to paint a circle of horses reminiscent of Chinese art.

The reproduction is impressive. But the ancient Lascaux, like any original artwork, is worth the wait. Lascaux II lacks the impact of antiquity, and the drawings appear flat because the real Lascaux walls glisten with crystals.

Some 200 paintings and 1,500 engravings decorate Lascaux I, which is 819 feet long. Lascaux II, 131 feet long, displays 100 or so paintings and no engravings.

Those startling handprints are a frequent motif in art of the late Paleolithic period. Handprints fringe paintings in the Pech Merle grotto, including one of a black polka-dotted horse. Two hundred fifteen handprints, usually of the left hand, decorate the Gargas cave in the Hautes-Pyrenees department near Spain.

Experts say 11 footprints at Pech Merle were those of a woman and child. They believe women and children often visited the caves to see the art, or to worship. The caves are believed to have been sanctuaries, devoted to the worship of animals, magic or the hunt, but scientists do not know for sure. The guides emphasize that prehistoric people were not ”cave men.” Because of the dampness of grottos and the need to build fires, Cro-Magnon people lived only at cave entrances, in minuscule caves or under overhangs of giant cliffs.

Patterns emerge in their art. Most of the subjects are grass-eaters such as horses, bison, deer, reindeer and ibex. Less numerous are meat-eating mammoths and rhinoceroses, which once roamed France, boars, wolves and fox, plus fish, birds and reptiles. A fish was engraved on the ceiling of a riverside shelter north of Les Eyzies, a Dordogne town dotted with prehistoric sites that calls itself the Prehistoric Capital of the World.

Drawings of humans are rare and not realistic. Men appear more often than women (although many prehistoric statuettes of women have been dug from sites throughout the world). In Lascaux, a man falls dead before a bull pierced with a spear, its entrails dangling. Arrows were thrust into men drawn at Lascaux, Pech Merle and Cougnac, north of Cahors. Evidence of war? Experts say flints have not been found in Paleolithic skeletons, but they have in later Neolithic graves after agriculture was discovered and people became property owners, and thus could have been defenders and aggressors.

The Cro-Magnons painted under the light of small stone lamps, which have been found in cave digs. They applied charcoal, ocher or red and yellow pigments of oxidized iron with brushes or their fingers or dabbed on colors with fur or blew them through tubes. Engravings were made with bone, horn or stone.

The art is seldom seen near cave entrances, perhaps for religious reasons – or because paintings near airy entrances did not last. The gigantic grotto at Rouffignac offers a mile and a half ride on a small train to view paintings of mammoths, some overdrawn with graffiti of modern explorers.

At Cap Blanc, near Les Eyzies, a 14,000-year-old frieze of five horses, carved in relief, rivaling those of ancient Greece, was even more ruined by the pickaxes of overenthusiastic diggers in the 20′s.

A visitor can see the major Paleolithic caves in the Dordogne within a week.

Most tours are in French, although descriptive pamphlets in English, Spanish and German are sold in most grottos. Large luxury chain hotels are absent, in favor of small, comfortable hotels.

Perigord and Quercy restaurants serve local specialties such as foie gras, truffles, walnuts and wild mushrooms. Canoeing and swimming in rivers and visiting more chateaus than are found in the Loire valley are other temptations.

But the passion for prehistory is catching. At La Madeleine, a site near Les Eyzies, prehistoric families lived in a riverside cliff shelter to be near fish. In the ninth century, about 80 people lived higher up, apparently so they could hurl stones on invading Vikings. The visitor turns away from the cliffside village, disappointed. Ninth century? That’s modern.

Our recommended accommodation near Lascaux and all the other Vezere Valley Caves:

B&B Ferme de Tayac. Lovely B&B in a 12th Century former farmhouse / monastery situated ideally in the hart of the Vezere Valley and within 20 minutes from Lascaux, and walking distance from Font de Gaume and Les Eyzies http://www.fermedetayac.com/