I have mentioned the main towns of the Department and now I’ll take you on a short guided tour through the smaller villages and towns North of Guéret. You will discover charming narrow country lanes, their hedgerows full of colourful wild flowers, apple trees with mistletoe intertwined, happy sunflowers waving in the gentle breeze, giant buzzards perched on the top of straw bales waiting for their next prey, and, of course, Limousin cows grazing in the lush green fields.

From Guéret follow the N145 East towards Montlucon but follow the signs for the D11 and you will come to Ajain with its clean streets and 13th century church.

Continue on this road and it will take you through Ladapeyre with a beautiful private fishing lake on your left and on to Chatelus Malvaleix.

Chatelus is one of the larger villages with all amenities and the main Gendarme office for the area. It has a lake for swimming, tennis courts and a market on Friday mornings. It is also a good central point for exploring the north east of the department. From here you can visit St Dizier les Domaines, reputed to have one of the best boulangeries in the area, Betete, Nouzerines, where you might like to stop for lunch at the Bonne Auberge restaurant in the square, Bussiere- St Georges, Tercillat and La Cellette before joining the D940, or take the D14 to Clugnat where you can pony trek at the Centre Équestre des Chabannes, open all year, for all ages who love anything to do with horses. Réjane Drouillon is the lady in charge and the telephone number is 05 55 65 80 72 if you are interested. On to Boussac or return via Toulx Ste Croix, St Silvain s/s Toulx, Domeyrot, Parsac and Gouzon, famous for having three churches of special interest architecturally. Also at Gouzon you can visit the Pierre de Lune, a crystal making factory, and a cheese dairy, Fromagerie de la Voueize.

Tercillat is almost on the border with Indre so we can cross from here over the D940 to Nouziers. Nouziers is my village so I’ll take time to tell you a little about it. Situated twenty kilometres from La Chatre and thirty-five from Guéret its name is derived from “nouzille” the patois for noisette or hazelnut. It is approximately 430 metres above sea level and the commune to whom Nouziers belongs incorporates 23 villages including Bordessoule, Malicorne and Villebasse. Since 1800 the population has declined from 640 to 230. In fact in 1847 when the population of Nouziers was 790, 107 men from the village were stonemasons of the Creuse. The closure of the railway line between La Chatre and Guéret in 1952, in total fourteen stops and 78 kilometres, heralded the end for villages like Nouziers and today it is a quiet hamlet almost stuck in a time warp, except for the two days of the year that it comes alive and visitors arrive from all over the land. The twenty-four hour Solex race, on the 14th and 15th of May 2005 has taken place every year since 1987 when the village is closed to all traffic and riders race around the streets hoping to win the coveted first prize.

The other calendar date is the cider festival dating back to 1980 and still popular today. It takes place on the 20th August this year, 2005, and is combined with dancing and a concert in the evening. We have a bar tabac, post office, mayor’s office and church dating back to the eleventh century, a private chateau and a lake with a second lake now empty but still visible which was mentioned in dispatches before the revolution (Droit de peche a la seigneurerie de Nouziers)

The church at Nouziers

From Nouziers, past the football pitch (every village has one) and down to Moutier Malcard then on to Mortroux with its renowned wine cave where you can take your own bottles to be filled very cheaply with very nice wines. If you prefer head for Bonnat on the D6, taking in Malval and the ruins of Malval Castle by the river. Bonnat is a larger village with a bank, supermarket, chemist, bars, several bakers, English speaking doctor, a new hotel, vet and super ironmongers. Bonnat is also only a short drive to the Three Lakes at Lavaud or Champsanglard.

From Mortroux follow the D46 to Cheniers, a lovely village that comes alive every year on the Sunday nearest to the 18th of August. The streets are lined with stalls selling everything from expensive traditional furniture to cheap jewellery and it’s a lovely day out for all the family. Definitely one for your diary! From Cheniers you can take either the D46 to join the D951 to Dun Le Palestel or the D48a to La Celle Dunoise, pictured below, and St Sulpice le Dunois then onto Anzeme following the river all the way. This is a lovely windy road but with no traffic!

Dun le Palestel is a pretty town, centrally situated for reaching either the N145, or the North and has all amenities. From here, explore the little villages of Naillat, Fleurat and Noth before reaching La Souterraine. The D1 north takes you to Azerables where you can head over to Crozant and Eguzon and spend a day beside the lakes.

Crozant is a small village with around 600 inhabitants that is situated in one of the most beautiful and natural of landscapes. During the thirteenth century the castle at Crozant was an imposing fortress and one of the most important and powerful in central France with an external wall measuring one kilometre flanked by ten towers. The castle guarded the junction of the two rivers, La Grande Creuse and La Sédelle and was famously attacked by Black Prince Edward in 1356 during the Hundred Year’s War. Later, the religious wars at the end of the seventeenth century, an earthquake and surrender of the owners took their toll and the castle was eventually sold as a ruin in 1640. Ignored for many years, the site recently became the property of the commune and efforts are underway to maintain and develop the site for historical interest.

If you would like to visit contact the Mayor 0033(0) 555 89 80 12

Apart from the historical interest the wild and natural beauty of the area around Crozant attracted others for a different reason. A new wave of freedom of expression was building amongst writers, poets and artists and among them the noted writer George Sand who in 1827 visited Crozant for the first time, fell in love with the area and talked to her friends, including Chopin, about her discovery. By 1830 artists were leaving their workshops to experience open-air painting and many arrived in Crozant because of George Sand. In 1864 the term “Ecole de Crozant “ had appeared and in 1883 the poet Maurice Rollinat took refuge in Fresselines inviting his friend Claude Monet to the Creuse. Monet went for one week and stayed for three months mesmerised by the area, the changing weather conditions, the light, the scenery and the landscapes. By the end of his visit he had painted twenty-three canvases. Fresselines, at an altitude of 250m has around 700 inhabitants and is 10 kilometres from Dun le Palestel and 27 kilometres from La Souterraine.

The two rivers, the Petite Creuse and the Grande Creuse join together here, making spectacular scenery and inspiring artists from long ago to the present day. Indeed there are many workshops and artists galleries to visit here, contemporary painters still captivated by the landscapes of the Creuse Valley.

My whistle stop tour of the North ends here and I hope you have enjoyed reading a little about the area. It is impossible to mention every village but if you follow this short guide it will lead you to discover many other tiny communes and fascinating countryside.