Tuesday, August 30th – Day Fourteen – Bergerac to Cancon
After the routine run, this morning from the hotel, through the almost deserted town, down to the quay on the river Dordogne and back, followed by our relatively unvaried choice of breakfast, we set off from Bergerac to Cancon – another tiny town that merits a mere stub of a Wiki post, with a population of only 1,287 at the last count in 1999.
However parts of it remind you that it is was a charming medieval village , which occupies a strategic position on the hill from which it gets its name. We are staying in Les Voyageurs -an inn on the crossroads between N21 and D24 (!) that to be kind has seen better days – and to be truthful is just a dump …..but as John says, you win some …and you lose some!
In fairness, the owner, Francis, is a treasure who works tout suel from dawn to dusk to keep his little business afloat. The food, both lunch and dinner, was simple but excellent and he keeps some decent local house wines, what he needs is more passing trade and sadly there is now little else in the village these days to keep guests in the village – they stay at nearby Villeneuve sure Lot or Castillionnes – both Bastides – who have managed to hang onto some tourist trade.
In fact, we had stopped for a coffee break in Castillonnes, a lovely old Bastides town with a central market, which was open today, selling, amongst the standard market tatty things, some rather delicious looking French cheeses, and huge juicy tomatoes that reminded me of our ricotta cheese making sessions with The Art of Writing in Casentino, but sadly we had no time to stop , or so we thought!
Today’s journey was a shorter distance than usual because the majority of the cycling is uphill from the Dordogne basin to the water-shed in the middle and Husband was a little concerned that he might not make it – in fact it turned out to be a doddle for him, and we arrived at 12.30!
Tomorrow we make the decent into the valley of the Garronne.
Unfortunately, this early start and speedy transfer over 39.23 uphill kilometres means we have more time to kill in this unpreposing hotel, and rather worryingly the website recommendation for spending time in Cancon is to make the 30 minutes drive back to Bergerac!
Like San Gimignano ,in Tuscany, Cancon was famous for its hilltop view allowing residents to check out any incoming strangers , i.e. potential enemies, from a strategic distance, and also like San Gimignano, the height of the hill itself wasn’t enough – rich families competed to built ever taller towers so they could spot an enemy at even greater distances!
In the 11th century the town was really just a huge castle with as many as 24 towers built on the top of the hill. The view on a good day provides giving panoramic views of the Roman road stretching towards the tower of the Cathedral of Perigueux.
In 1255, the population of Cancon grew as a small town was built surrounding the castle, but the fortifications were destroyed before the French Revolution and now there are only the ancient ruins of the castle walls to consider the works of the mighty – and despair!
Practically all these buildings and business premises are closed and empty!
