Bruniquel

Approaching the Bruniquel, it looks much the same as any or many other hilltop villages in France.  By the time we had spent a couple of days in the Tarn, in the south west of France, I felt I knew hilltop villages.  I had hilltop village fatigue.

To some extent then, it was possibly fortunate that this was the first one I saw.  Later in the day I was less inclined to take pictures, so at least my visit to Bruniquel was recorded.  And it was well worth the visit.

The original church was destroyed during the religious wars of the 16th century but rebuilt during the 17th using the stones from the former Protestant church.  It has a simple "clocher-mur" or bell wall typical of the south west of France.  When the bells ring, they are incredibly loud, deafening, if you are nearby.

Up the hill to the clock tower, also with a bell, at an entrance through one of the fortified walls.  It has two, and two castles, the old and the new.  "Old" and "new" are relative terms because the new one dates from the 15th century.

Porte Méjane, through the old walls with a view of a medieval house, the tribunal house.

An arch and a doorway.  Plenty of photo opportunities for me.

Place de l'Horloge, recently restored.

The new entrance, la Porte Neuve, with the only remaining vestiges of the "new" walls.

 The "young" castle, currently undergoing extensive restoration.

A plaque on the wall with a quotation from Fréderi Mistral who wrote in Occitan.  The plaque reads, "The route of St Jacques leads us to Paradise".  It is a reference to the fact that Bruniquel is one of the stopping points on the Way of St Jacques (St James), also known as the Route of Santiago de Compostela.

Leaving the village, you get a better idea of just how dominant the castles must have been and a view of their positions - the old castle on the right and the new on the left. 

They have recently found  caves below the castles which have paintings and carvings dating from the Mesolithic era.  The caves are unfortunately, but probably understandably, not open to the public.

I probably spent no longer than two hours there, maximum, maybe not even as much as that, and with hindsight it really wasn't long enough.  I'd happily go back, this time armed with a good map.

A walk to the post office....

....and the things that you see if you take the trouble to look.

It was such a lovely morning today I decided to walk the long way around to post a letter.  I took my camera and was surprised by how much there was asking to be pictured.

A tree, one that had managed to hold on to its leaves through the last storms, glowing brightly in the sunlight.

Underneath it, a crop of I-don't-know-what-sort of fungi, encouraged no doubt by the recent downpours and mild weather, pushing through the cover of leaves and twigs.  I wouldn't dream of trying them, but they did look as though they were asking to be picked.   In France you can take them to the pharmacist to be identified.

Then, incongruously in the field opposite the church, I come across a different sort of memorial, to a hydraulic ram - a water pump that used only the power of the water itself.  It was invented in 1774 and manufactured nearby between 1883 and 1982.  Some of the pumps manufactured over 200 years ago are still functioning.  Although the foundry and engineering works closed down, the pump is still made in Somerset. I'm sure that memorial wasn't there last time I passed this way.  For further information, you can visit The Worthys website to read a pdf file about The Ram on the Green

Having seen the church in the background, I went in through the lychgate to the church, for a quick detour.

Until I looked around the churchyard and examined a few of the gravestones, I hadn't realised how old the church is.

In

memory of

the two infant sons

of Samuel and Sarah

Parrar

Thomas aged 16 months

Samuel aged one year

and eight months

died 16th April 1787

What tragedy can have happened that the two died on the same day?  There are so many stories hidden in graveyards.  Someone has been researching their family around here, I think, because a series of graves had the names scratched clear of lichen.

And then, finally, to the object of my walk, the letter box, a Royal mail lamp box designed (in 1896) to be mounted on a lamp post or other similar pole. They are the smallest of the letter boxes and have hardly changed over the years.

I didn't take the photo crookedly, it really does lean to one side even though it's a relatively "young" box!

A walk around an English village

A quiet walk in the country at the end of the summer took me to this very typical village in the south of England.

Going up the lane heading into the village.

The village primary school hidden behind trees. The old tree stumps seem to be used to keep cars off the grass.

Thatched cottages. The traditional thatch would be long straw, but this is the shortest lived of the thatching materials. Wheat reed is next most durable at 40 years and longest lived of all is water reed. These cottages and the following ones all appear to be wheat reed because they have a protective covering to keep birds out (not, I think, visible in these smaller photos). Long straw gives a looser, shaggier, "tea-cosy" effect. Water reed doesn't need protection from birds because it's more tightly packed. It looks more angular.

A footpath, one of many criss-crossing the whole area, leading into nearby woods.

Houses along the "main" road.

Another thatch.

Pond, with fish!

The village church.

The school keeps the village alive, but the local shop and post office closed, and had to be re-opened staffed by volunteers. The local pub has also shut down, a combination of drink-driving laws and no smoking. I'm not sure that's the full reason - I think they could have adapted to stay with the times rather better than they did.

A very rural place, quiet and peaceful I wonder how much longer it can continue without becoming just a dormitory for a local town.