Between the great Dordogne and the glamorous Mediterranean, this unjustly forgotten corner of France, bursting with tradition, is full of glinting rivers and dramatic gorges, writes LAURENCE MACKIN
DECADES AGO, Jean Desprat would come to the Lot Valley, in southern France, to hunt in the summer. He roamed the glossy green hills around the town of Salers with his gun over his shoulder, together with a bag of food and a bottle of wine for sustenance.
On one such trip he buried a bottle in the ground, unable to drink it, perhaps, but worried about snuffling scavengers with a thirst for the finer stuff. A year later he came back to the spot, dug up his stash and slipped the cork from the bottle. What he unearthed was a revelation. During its accidental sojourn in the hills of the Lot Valley it had turned from a rough-edged table wine into something far more complex and elegant – and so a legend was born. La Légendaire, to be precise.
Jean’s grandson, Pierre Desprat, now produces La Légendaire wine, and every year 14,000 bottles are racked high in these hills to improve their contents’ taste and texture.
This meaty red is one of the many good reasons for coming to the Lot Valley. Sandwiched between the tourist draws of the great Dordogne and the glamorous Mediterranean coastline, this is something of a forgotten corner of France. The Lot and Truyère rivers cut glinting ribbons through the land. Green cliff faces wreathed in forest open into dramatic gorges. In winter the mountains are given over to skiing and other snow sports, but in summer they boast some of the most dramatic and accessible walking in the Alps.
Small towns and villages bustle on market days, voices and arguments over the price of produce echoing down their winding streets; in the evenings, church bells chime dully off their old, indifferent walls.
Rolling hills studded with gleaming white narcissus form ideal summer pastures for Aubrac cattle, effortlessly elegant in their tawny coats. Farming is still a cornerstone of life here, with the biggest festival of the year reserved for the transhumance: the time when cows and their minders make their way high up into the hills to take advantage of the lush grass, thick with wild herbs and orchids. There, in splendid isolation, shepherds wait out the heat-drenched days in low wooden cabins, or burons, passing the time tending to herds of cattle and making cheese in a manner that doesn’t seem to have changed for centuries.
This is raw, rural France, where food is probably the most important issue of the day, not only the growing, making and manufacturing of it, but also the glorious, sumptuous eating of it.
Salers, in all its medieval magnificence, is perhaps the most famous town in these parts: it has held its commanding position, with clusters of valleys stretching out in all directions, for more than 1,000 years. In the evenings, as cattle make their way nonchalantly through the fields, their chunky bells lend a pleasant and tuneless sort of music to the lofty air, echoing up the town’s stone streets and along its walls of black volcanic rock.
A short and spectacular drive away is the peak of Puy Mary. Despite its summit of 1,787m, most will manage the hike to the top in summer. The route is steep but paved, with a starting point already at about 1,100m. The view from the top is so spectacular it makes the effort to get there seem meagre.
If you are more inclined to the water, the rivers that have carved the region’s valleys are enticing. The sources of the Lot and Truyère are a mere 15km apart, but before the two rivers draw towards each other, at Entraygues, the Truyère heads north to throw a rushing border around the Aubrac and Viadène plateaux before descending through astounding gorges to connect with its sister river.
Shortly afterwards, things get a good deal calmer, and close to the village of Vieillevie is a water-sports centre, where you can rent kayaks and rafts for frantic trips down a 10km section of the river. From the banks the rapids look tame, but when these ungainly yellow boats crash into the heart of a wave that rips up and over the bow, soaking all within, the river suddenly starts to feel much more lively, and much more fun.
All of this seems designed purely for working up an appetite, and it would be a crying shame to come to the Lot Valley with eyes smaller than your stomach. The ancient burons produce the most fabulous cheese, from pelardon goat’s cheese to the varieties named after Salers and Cantal. The sleek cattle produce terrific beef, soft as butter and beautifully marbled. In Cantal, where long winters require resilience, the pig is the main food source, from piquant ham and dry sausages to mouthwatering pâtés. In Aveyron, aligot is the pièce de résistance, a buttery mashed potato blended with cheese to form great rolling ribbons with the delicacy of truffle on the tongue.
But to eat you first have to work, and no Frenchman works without the right tools – in these parts, that means a Laguiole knife. The town has become famous for its steely produce, with three main factories laying claim to producing the finest knives in the world. A visit to any of the trio will let you see how these beautiful implements are manufactured by hand, the trademark bee on the hilt indicating the authenticity of the piece.
Stainless steel might be the weapon of choice for the blade, but the handles are where the real craft comes into play, with everything from entry-level wood to fossilised mammoth tusk available.
Unveil one of these beauties at any French country table and you’ll get a knowing look of approval from the locals; pull out one of the cheap imitations and you might well find yourself banished to the kitchen, to wash the dishes. And, given the quality of the cows and pigs in these places, there will be a lot of dishes, and a lot of glasses, rimmed red by the same stuff Jean Desprat carried into the hills all those years ago.
** Laurence Mackin was a guest of the French Government Tourist Office. See www.auvergne-tourisme.info
Go there
Ryanair (wwww.ryanair.com) flies to Rodez from Dublin. Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.com) flies to Bordeaux from Dublin.
Where to stay, where to eat and where to go
Where to stay and eat
Hôtel Saluces. Rue de la Martille, Salers, 00-33-4-71407082, www.hotel-salers.fr. This small hotel was the residence of the governor of Salers in the 16th century. Now its beautiful rooms, all crisp linen and chunky wood, offer charm and warmth.
La Bailliage. Salers, 00-33-4-71407195, www.salers-hotel-bailliage.com. What appears to be a traditional French hotel offers a small spa in its basement and an astounding variety of rooms, from minimalist Japanese zen calm to hot pink and plastic Marilyn Monroe-inspired opulence. The restaurant plays it straight, though, to outstanding effect.
Hôtel Restaurant Remise. Le Bourg, Saint-Urcize, 00-33-4-71232002. This is a rustic hotel with a fabulous restaurant and a warm welcome. If you like your environs authentic, and the thought of five-star indifference makes you shudder, you’ll feel as if you’ve discovered a small piece of authentic rural France here.
Hôtel de la Terrasse. Vieillevie, 00-33-4-71499400, www.hotel- terrasse.com. An outstanding restaurant with a beautiful terrace overlooking the Lot. Elegance and simplicity make for a terrific dining experience. The hotel’s accommodation is clean if dated.
For thick slices of cheese that melt in the mouth, washed down with a glass of decent wine, call into any of the hundreds of burons that dot the region. To get a flavour of life as a farmer in these hills, take a guided tour with Gonzalo Diaz (see below) and stop off in a buron high in the hills for lunch. Another outstanding buron-style restaurant is Buron de Born (00-33-4-66325220). Miss this restaurant at your peril, and be sure to try the aligot. This restaurant is in the middle of nowhere near the lake of Born, so here are directions: from Nasbinals, head towards Marvejols; after two kilometres, at the village of Montgrousset, take a right towards St Germain du Teil. After Pont des Nègres, take the first road on your left. After two kilometres, sit down for one of the best meals you are likely to have.
Alta Terra. Le Pradel, Lavigerie, 00-33-33-4-71208303, www.altaterra-cantal.com. This beautiful restaurant serves heaving plates of salad, chunky with cured meat, and other delicious meals in a friendly family setting near the peak of Puy Mary. It is open all day – a bonus in this region – and has charming accommodation.
Where to go
In the south of Auvergne, near the town of Vieillevie, is the Asv’olt water-sports centre (00-33-4-71499581, www.asvolt.com). Depending on the water level and weather, you can kayak or canoe down a 10km stretch of the Lot, guided or unguided, in a group or individually. This a beautiful stretch of the river, and immense fun.
Hike Puy Mary: simply make your way to the car park and head for the top. It is well worth the relatively small effort in summer. For driving directions, see www.puymary.fr.
Gonzalo Diaz offers guided tours of the hills in Aubrac, which could well be the highlight of any trip. Diaz, who lives and breathes this countryside, frequently breaks off conversation to point out an orchid, pluck a frog from the ground or pick some wild herbs. When you are on the point of ravenous, he stops off for a rough and ready lunch in a working buron. See www.aubrac-randonnees.com, Diaz’s French-language website, for more information.