Chateaux Bonaguil and Gavaudun

Our last full day in France and we had some sights that we hadn't yet fit in. This morning we headed off to Chateau de Bonaguil, not too far away. It was built as a small fort in the 1200's on top of a chunk of rock. It was added to extensively in the 1400'S and became a real fortress. In the 1700's it was modified again to be a home for Marguerite de Fumel. The French Revolution occurred and a law required that the towers of castles must be levelled to the height of the main buildings. The place was sacked and that is what the condition is today. Even with all that it is very impressive, perched high on a cliff overlooking the valley. We spent some time there and then had lunch below in the village. Their speciality was a meat and potato dish flamed at your table. Another night to have a chacouterie tray for dinner after a heavy lunch.
Our second stop was in the village of Gavaudun, just down the road. We visited a church there built in the 1100's and in good repair. People were working in the graveyard on upkeep. The tombs had a family name but no dates or individual names. We visited an old fort at the village, again on top of a huge chunk of rock. No attacker was getting up those walls. Very little is still there except the keep, but you can see where the different parts were. I was dizzy just looking down from the first level, even before going up in the keep.Read more