Najac, France - 16 January, 2022

 Najac, France

Recently we have been ensconced in a thick cold fog for seeming days on end. We gather this has been an unusually cold winter for the area and that normally a fog is an occasional day or two at the most. What amazes me is that if we descend the 300 meters from the hill Auty sits upon, there might be sunshine as little as 7 km away. Today we decided to drive out of the fog to hike and we ended up near to Najac (about an hour drive). As we parked SAM along the Aveyron River, the Fortresse Royale (12-13th century) of Najac loomed overhead. There was ice on the road heading up to the long skinny ridge the city is perched upon. We parked below (mostly because I was afraid of driving SAM up the steep and slippery incline).


We took a beautiful, but cold, hike following the Aveyron River in the valley below Najac.  After hiking for a couple of hours we followed a steep path up to visit the amazing village. Najac is considered one of the "Plus Beaux Villages de France" and is situated at the start of the Aveyron gorges which continue past Saint Antonin and on to Penne and Bruniquel. The medieval village is home to 750 residents and is built on a ridge high above the Aveyron River. On one end is the massive defensive Fortresse Royale and on the other is an open market square flanked by characteristic medieval houses. The entire village has been beautifully maintained and is a pleasure to walk through. The fortress is always in view as a reminder of the Hundred Years war during a time when the Counts of Toulouse were as powerful as the king of France. Below the Fortresse Royale on the westernmost tip is a 13th century gothic Church of Saint John the Evangelist. 

 













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