The morning walk had been quite modest, it was a beautiful day, and so we set off to explore the Plateau de Millevaches. I expected to see lots of cows – well, my French is pretty basic – but other translations suggest an empty area, or an area of many springs. After a week I can testify that any or all of those possibilities are true!
After the short walk around Corrèze there was time for a drive. On a lonely road near Vitrac sur Montane, we found a memorial from those who remain in memory of their comrades in the secret army, shot in August 1944. This monument, at the junction of the D135 and D143, was the first of many which we saw in the following days.
Vitrac sur Montane is a tiny hamlet of c.260 people, with a Church dedicated to Saint Martin which dates to the 12C. There is a beautiful door inside the porch, and inside a memorial to those who died in WWI. The loss of so many young men must have permanently damaged the village – it was a dispiriting thought on such a beautiful day.
Opposite the church was an oven – had Le Corbusier been to the Corrèze, I wondered?
Sarran is home to the Museum of President Jacques Chirac, housing items given to him as gifts during his term of office (more than 5,000), a library, and an exhibition space. I photographed one of the pieces visible from the outside before being chased away by an official! The long building, part of the museum, would make a beautiful home…
On top of Puy de Sarran are crosses representing Calvary, placed there in 1883. The views from the top of the hill are far-reaching, but I struggled with my small camera.
Chaumeil was on the route back at the gite but so crowded because of a myrtille festival that we couldn’t find parking and headed back to the gîte. The brimstone butterflies were having a great time in the dahlias!
A good dinner, an evening walk and then the Mozart clarinet concerto – a satisfying day.
You may be interested in
Images of Sarran in the past
A description of a visit to the area
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