This post is rendered in the Trebuchet MS typeface for a reason.
Today our plans were to visit Château de Castelnaud in the morning, eat a picnic lunch at the Canoe Butterfly take out point, get driven upstream to the put in point, and canoe the Dordogne.
Historically Château de Castelnaud is paired with Château de Beynac (see day 6 post on Beynac) — during the Hundred Years War, the crowns of France and England had taken the Dordogne as their border. Castelnaud is south of the Dordogne and nearby Beynac is on the north side. Both castles changed hands or allegiance a number of times. Castlenaud was eventually taken by the French for good. During the Wars of Religion, the castle was in French Protestant hands. After 1789, the castle was taken as a national asset and fell into disrepair. The Rossillon family, originally from Beynac, bought the castle in 1965 and began its restoration. The fortress was classified as a Historical Monument the following year. It's now a fine museum showcasing weapons, furniture, etc.
Lots of spiral stone stairs.
All manner of weapons: 16th century orgue, long canon-like gun — a culverin, crossbows. (Incidently, our hotel, La Couleuvrine, is named after this weapon which was used from the ramparts to repel invaders.)
A full suit of armour from the 16th century. Can you imagine the combined weight?
One of 3 wall paintings created in 2016 — the "Nine Worthies." Each one is a triad of heroes know for their military exploits. This triad is Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabaeus. The decor charactistic of the 15th century was prized by nobility who wanted to identify themselves with these knightly ideals.
The trebuchet — catapult — medieval "artillery" fired by a counterweight. Oh, right — the reason we are using Trebuchet font for the day's post!
View of the Dordogne, with Beynac castle in the distance (north and downstream)..
View looking southeast into the Céou Valley.
After Castlenaud, it was time for an afternoon canoe ride on the Dordogne. We headed to the take-out point for Canoe Butterfly at Le Pont du Pech, west of Beynac, on the south side of the Dordogne. We had a picnic lunch and were driven to our put-in point in Cénac. The day was sunny and had warmed up, so we had a wonderful canoe ride downstream to our take-out point. We were still early in the season and we almost had the river to ourselves.
La Roque-Gageac — we had visited it the day before — from the water. You can make out the metal staircase to the trogolyte fort.
The captain of our canoe.
Castelnaud from the water.
Beynac — we had visited it the day before — from the water. Our last view of castles and forts before we returned to Canoe Butterfly. Our trip was about 12km and took about 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Dinner was at another Asian restaurant, Hà Tiên, this one right around the corner from our hotel.
