| A
valley for all seasons..... |
 In May,
Spring bursts upon the Haut Allier valley with all its force, as
the daytime temperatures warm up rapidly. The lusciously green
hillsides are ablaze with wild flowers, particularly the bright yellow
broom, but also a marvellous mix of buttercups, wild narcissi and
orchids, rare pasque flowers (deep red wild anemones - strictly
protected) and many more.
June
remains a beautiful "green" month, as the early spring flowers give way
to white marguerites, mauve scabius and more. The wild narcissi and
other
Alpine flowers however, are not far — just a few miles by car
or even on
foot up to the 1000 metre hilltops opposite, where spring comes just a
little
more slowly.
July
and August
are warm months: as in most of southern France, the hillsides turn a
pale golden colour, offset by the deep green of the beech, oak and pine
forests opposite. These are the months for kayaking down the river,
hiking on the hilltops, picking wild raspberries and bilberries, or
just lazing on the village beach, and swimming in the river. (The
beach, about 300 yards from the village, offers good swimming in an
area some 200 yards long and 30 yards wide, shallow on the near side
but up to 3 metres deep by the diving rock at the far side). There is
programme of summer
concerts (choral, chamber music, etc) in historic churches
and other locations in Saint
Ilpize and the Haut Allier valley and nearby.
Autumn
Breaks
September in Auvergne is a mellow month:
most of the summer holidaymakers have gone home, leaving the valley
deserted except for those who live there all year round. Days can still
be
warm, even hot, but evenings become much cooler. This is a month for
relaxation,
a time for hikers and wanderers.
By October,
depending on how much summer warmth has been soaked in by the thick
stone
walls, you may need to turn on the radiators; the
trees turn
bright yellow and brown and the fields revert to green. In the early
morning,
the hills opposite often rise from a sea of mist in the valley below.
In 2006, daytime temperatures were regularly in the twenties right up
to the end of October.
Natura
2000:
The Haut
Allier: a designated
area in Europe's environmental heritage.
Chazieux lies at the
heart of
the Haut Allier area, which has recently been designated as one of
France's areas of outstanding environmental value and interest, under
the E.U. "Natura 2000" program. The valley has been selected on account
of its abundant and rich flora and fauna.
Natura
2000 is a European
Union programme designed to select and preserve a complete range of the
best surviving natural environments throughout Europe.
Activities
and
visits
THE
REGION
The "Brivadois" region of the Auvergne is rich in history, art,
and nature. A twenty-minute walk from the cottage brings you
to the ruins
of the mediaeval chateau de Saint
Ilpize,
perched
on a craggy rock
300 feet above the river. The walled keep contains a small romanesque
chapel,
painstakingly restored in 2000-01. Below the castle is the village of
Villeneuve
with its suspension bridge high over the river. Between the gite and
the castle, there is also a historic vineyard, the "vine conservatory",
where the old terraces have been renovated and some thirty
traditional varieties of vine have been replanted with the
aim of
saving them from extinction.
In
addition to being a magnificent wildlife area, the Haut Allier is also
one of only 41 designated rural "Areas of art and history" in France
A
two hour walk (or 20 minute drive) in the other direction
brings the
visitor to the beautiful small town of Lavoute Chilhac,
with its
ornithological centre, its 18th century abbey, its high mediaeval
single-arch
bridge over the river, and its old tall narrow houses, between river
and
hillside.
Brioude
is
a very attractive old market
town, with narrow streets,
small shops and a very fine romanesque basilica,
famous for its unique
early mediaeval mosaic floor..
Indeed, the whole area is rich in romanesque churches (many with
frescoes), cloisters, and castles —
from imposing mediaeval
keeps
to
the château de Lafayette - birthplace of General
Lafayette.
Hiking,
mountain-biking, kayaking
For hiking,
Auvergne is a fabulous region. There are hundreds of walks in easy
striking distance of the gite - even right from the doorstep.
A little more than an hour away are the Plomb du Cantal
or the Puy
de Sancy, the highest points in Auvergne and the Massif
Central culminating
at around 6,000 ft, offering excellent hill walking and mountain
biking.
Both peaks have cable cars.
There are two or three companies offering kayak
and canoe
hire (+ pick up and return) at Langeac, Lavoute Chilhac or Villeneuve
d'Allier.
Other
attractions:
* The
historic lead and antimony mine at La Rodde (about 15 km), with
underground mine tours (weekends May to October, but daily in July
& August).
* The castle at Domeyrat,
(20 km) with
living history
enactments, or the same on a larger scale at the castle of Murol (70
km), or the impressive medieval keep at Polignac, near le Puy.
* The medieval romanesque church and beautiful
cloisters in the village of Lavaudieu (20 km)
* The Haute Loire Maze (Labyrinthe de la
Haute Loire)
at Lavoute Chilhac.
* The historic windmills at Ally (12
km), with exhibition
on wind power, and the The Ally wind farm
until recently France's largest windfarm - 26 turbines - provides clean
renewable
energy for a third of the "Haute Loire" department. The nearest wind
generator is about 5 miles from the gite.... but cannot be seen nor
heard).
* Gustave Eiffel's famous Viaduc du Garabit, with boat trips in the
Gorges de la Truyère (40 km).
* The scenic railway line through the
Gorges de
l'Allier between Langeac and Langogne or Pradelles (part of one
of the most scenic railway routes in France, linking Clermont
Ferrand and Nimes). In summer the SNCF run special tourist day-trip
services from Langeac (20 km). At Pradelles,
visit the cart horse centre.
* The Resistance Museum at Mont Mouchet
(40 km),
one of the
hubs of resistance activities during the second world war, where RAF
airmen made many drops.
* The small city of Le Puy en Velay,
capital of the Haute Loire (50 km), with its unique 10th century chapel
of St Michael, perched dramatically atop a rocky pinnacle, and the
medieval cathedral, one of the great starting points on the historic
pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostella. The city, famous for its
lace, has an attractive old quarter with narrow streets where craftsmen
and artists ply their wares.
FACILITIES
The village has nothing.....
except
its colourful inhabitants; Noël Clevenot, a friendly market
gardener, produces organic vegetables
and delivers them to the doorstep. (You may even prefer to choose them
from the ground!). Robert Servant, the local carpenter, and Daniel
Tivayrat have recently revived a local activity, and produce a very
drinkable dry rosé Gamay,
which is due to receive a "Vin de Pays" label in the near future; their
white
Chardonnay is excellent. Finally, if her hens are laying, octogenarian
Lili Brun may have some very free-range eggs for sale...
Villeneuve d'Allier (3 km) has a
bar-restaurant and a post office. A new
bakery/general
store opened in May 1999 to replace the old bakery
and general store which both closed in 1996. Hopefully,
the Hotel
de la Poste, whose owner sadly died in 2005, will open again soon under
new management, and provide a second restaurant within 2 miles of the
gite. But there are several other restaurants within a few miles. For
shopping, there is
Brioude, 15 kms away, with a full range of shops including a small
hypermarket and a bustling Saturday market; Lavoûte Chilhac
has
cafés, restaurants, a baker, a good old-fashioned pizzeria,
a butcher and general stores.
ACCESS
About 8 hours' drive from Calais, via the A71 / A 75 motorways, about 7
hours from Le Havre. The gite is about 20
miles from the A 75 motorway exit 20. Brioude has a train station with
direct services to Paris and Marseilles. Nearest airports: Clermont
Ferrand 1 hr
(direct flights from Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam , etc,
and maybe London
again in 2007.) or Rodez 2h 30 (Ryanair from Stansted)
Guestbook
Update January 2012 :
Lou Coucaye - a gite visitors want to return to. All but one of
the weeks so far booked for 2012 have been booked by returning guests.
"Wie alle
Besucher vor uns haben wir uns in Chazieux sehr wohl
gefühlt! Besonders haben wir die Ruhe genossen. Es war unser
erstes Urlaub in der Auvergne, aber bestimmt nicht unser letztes.
Vielen Dank für Eure Gastfreundschaft ! (Like
all your visitors, we really enjoued our time. We particularly
appreciated the peace and quiet. It was our first trip to Auvergne, but
surely not our last one. Thanks for your friendly welcome ! )"
Sandra
& Jochen, Darmstadt, Germany 2011
"We marvelled at the vallée, the villages and the
volcanoes,
did the butterfly walk, saw chateaux, abbayes, puys, églises, and still
found time to play tennis. And above all we met
wonderful
people wherever we went, or if we just stayed put. Thanks Andrew
&
Ginny for your warm hospitality and advice. Lots to do when we come
back."
Bruce & Jenny, Sydney, Australia
"Two black kites showed us the way from Saint Ilpize, a
fitting beginning for two weeks full of birds, butterflies, plants, and
above all sunshine. We all love it very much here. Chazieux is an ideal
place if you want to spend some time in a quiet place with incredible
wildlife"
Sandra, Rinke and family, Newcastle, England
"Pour la
troisième année consecutive, nous voici en
vacances à
Chazieux. C'est avec un très grand plaisir que nous avons retrouvé le
gîte, sa terrasse, et son paysage splendide, la baignade et la pêche
dans l'Allier. Nous reviendrons ...
(For the third year in a row, here we are again on holiday in
Chazieux. We're delighted to be back in the gite, with its terrace and
splendid countryside, the swimming and the fishing in the river.
We'll be back again..... ) ."
Famille George, Lyon, France
"Wonderful week at Lou Coucaye – think we only scratched
the
surface of things to see and do, but we did manage Puy Mary as well as
the train trip down the Allier gorge, well worth
it! Going
back very relaxed !
Alan
& Mary, Worcestershire, England
"What luck for us to discover this unspoilt corner of
France.
Coming in Spring, we must have witnessed one of the most beautiful
times in the valley; magical greens of the beeches and birches on the
hillsides, the wonderful meadows of grasses, cowslips, orchids, even
narcissi, flowers of the wayside, broom in bloom, and the sound of
birdsong... We heard hoopoes, nightingales, bonelli's warbler, and saw
kites, short-toed eagle, harriers and honey-buzzard. The gîte
has
been a delight, and the weather always dry...."
Jeffrey & Mary, Surrey, England
"A very special holiday has been enjoyed by us
all.
Children loved the beach and searching for wildlife along the river. We
have seen eagles, deer, kites, hoopoes, lizards, red squirrels, and
much more. A nature-lover's paradise. Fantastic walking and
breathtaking views. The gite is comfortable and clean... and we hope to
return."
Sally & Martin,
Surrey, England - June 2007
"We have
seen enough and enjoyed
the special beauty of this part of France to know that we want to come
back; and we have appreciatd the warm hospitality, the cosy comfort and
so many other aspects of this gite and hamlet."
Mary & Norm,
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA - May 2007
"May 2006 -
"Had
a wonderful relaxing
two weeks. Everything we needed was here, and the location is
fantastic. One of our best holidays....... We will definitely be back".
J & C ,
Northants,
England 2006
"Spent a very
pleasant relaxing week
enjoying
the views and the surrounding area. The gite was comfortable and well
equipped, with a spectacular view. Thankyou very much"
Anne & Dave, Yorkshire,
England 2006
"Lovely
relaxing week; we especially enjoyed walks around the gite, down by the
river and around the hills. the gite was very comfortable and ha
everything we neded; the barbeque was well used."
The Dales family, Essex England 2006
"We've had a lovely
stay in
Chazieux. What a beautiful part of the world this is! We've seen
beautiful sights, and
we feel rested! We walked to St. Ilpize every day, and we loved the
river route back. Thanks so much for your generous hospitality and your
wonerful gite."
Sheila & Jeremy, Vancouver,
Canada 2006
"We enjoyed our two
weeks' stay at wonderful Lou Coucaye. The view from the gite was
breathtaking, and every day was a joy to behold. We will always
remember the friendly people, the region, the gorgeous food and of
course the excellent wine. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Thank you!"
G
& S . Staffordshire , England 2004
"We
really had a lovely time at Lou Coucaye. It was a
really regenerative holiday. We
also much appreciated the fact that the house was so clean and also
well
equipped. We have stayed at many cottages both in France and England
and
some have been neither clean nor well equipped! It was a
delight!"
Dr.
S.W. Yorkshire, England. 2003
" Just
to say how much we enjoyed
our week in your gite from
13 to 20 September. We were lucky because the weather was perfect with
hardly
a cloud in the sky all day every day, and starlit nights. Apart from a
day
visit to Puy Dome, and necessary shopping, we hardly used the car at
all
enjoying the peaceful and beauutiful surroundings."
Adrian,
Southampton England 2002
"We
are now back in Sweden, after a very good
time in your Gite. We felt very well, all the time. Oh yes, at day
after
arrival, the skies opened and we got some centimeter of rain,
but
only that day, the rest was very fine. We saw Le Puy, Thiers, Clermont
Ferrand,
Cantal and of course the nearest surroundings. Thank you very much for
a nice time."
Kjell,
Vänersborg, Sweden 2001
"We are back from our glorious
honeymoon in Chazieux
and we wanted to thank you so very much for an absolutely delightful
location
to spend our first days of marriage. We took great care of
your
place and I hope that you have found it in great shape after our use.
We
found the information on the bookshelf very helpful and we were able to
travel around quite a bit.. The kind lady and
gentleman
that
live in the grey house at the centre of Chazieux recommended some great
day excursions so we were able to see Brioude, Lavoute Chilliac, Ally,
Ruynes
de Margeride, Viaduct du Garabit, Murat, We drove as far as we could
get
to Puy Mary but the road was shut because of (May) snow but
we
made it pretty
high. We visited Le Puy en Velay. We did spend a lot of time,
however,
just enjoying the gite and the surroundings of Chazieux.. The
wild
flowers were beautiful and the weather was great. It is a
little
piece
of heaven and we really hope to return some day - sooner rather than
later!!"
Kathy,
Toronto 2000.
|
Im
bildschönen Alliertal,
im Massif Central Gebirge
