The Auvergne

For some reason quite beyond my understanding, the Auvergne is a part of France that is relatively unknown to we English. It is an area of volcanic mountains, steep-sided valleys filled with woods, high moorlands and villages perched on the edge of or top of mountains. We drove for miles without seeing another car, the only human presence being an occasional farmer on a tractor somewhere across the fields. The villages we passed through seemed deserted: indeed, any shops we saw were usually shut. On the moors the only sound would be the distant ringing of cowbells.



These were being brought in for milking.