Game of cricket in... the Dordogne!In the Dordogne, English people feel at home (there are many expatriate Brits there).
During the 100 Years War, the Dordogne was where English and French soldiers fought to know which king would rule France. Many French barons were supporters of the English king!
I spent four days there and I visited 3 of the many castles: BEYNAC, CASTELNAUD, and PUYMARTIN.
Why doesn’t the Auvergne have so many castles? Because it is itself a fortress!In Dordogne, barons and knights had to control every valley, bridge and town, so they had to build towers and castles.
On either side of the Dordogne river, Beynac castle, which was French, and Castelnaud castle, which was English, were enemies for almost 200 years (the 100 Years War lasted longer than is thought).
There are also many castles because of the rise of industry and trade in this part of France.In the 19th century, wealthy men built castles just as the nobility had done.
The aristocracy, when it returned after the Revolution, restored the damaged castles as they had been in the 16th century in order to show they were back in power (just like in the novel “Jacquou le Croquant”).
http://www.castelnaud.com/uk/
http://www.beynac-en-perigord.com/
http://www.chateau-de-puymartin.com/
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