59 fountains

I 'm supposed to be hurrying to the base of Mt.Ventoux to meet a friend before he leaves on his holiday, but I couldn't control Louise when there was a left turn into the rocky ochre hills to Reilhac and its 12th century church. The morning had been spent in Sarlat la Caneda, which is no doubt a gracious medieval town, but in the heat, the vast selection of acrid sausages burnt my nostrils and the darling, but generally crying Dutch children, assaulted my ears. (Here I hasten to add that the Dutch parenting style was tolerant and kind.)







Therefore, I reasoned, I had earned  my diversion. However, before I could stop at the church,  I followed a lengthy detour down a deserted tarmac track towards the site of the Martyrs of Gabaudet.  A simple, concrete block marker was placed on the island of a T junction. When the allies had landed at Dunkirk, a group of  resistant fighters gathered at a farm house down this lane to plan their next moves. The Nazis knew there must be something happening in an area this remote so they combed the hills, found their quarry, and brutally opened fire on the 8th of June 1944. The farm buildings were razed, 42 people were killed or missing, and 71, including two women, were sent to Dachau and never returned.








Fifty metres before the lane was a well and water hole. One can only surmise that this is where these Resistance fighters collected their water, washed their clothes, watered any animals.

Back in Reilhac I visited the delightful jewel of a church. I chatted with a couple women who would have been children at the time of the attack but I could not bring myself to ask about it.