DORDOGNE - La Madeleine, troglodyte village

My first real site was to be La Madeleine, one of the many troglodyte dwellings in the area. As I arrived, the forested parking area gave me the impression of something out of Lord of the Rings.



I could see the remains of the château from here and I was glad that this came towards the end of the visit as I felt sure it would be one of the highlights, but in fact it was the chapel that captured my imagination.



Most of the site is now in ruins except for the church whish seems to somehow have survived intact, including the stained glass window!



The view of the river from here was also gorgeous, and I was lucky that for the time being the cloud had shifted. I suspect that the rock must be particularly porous/soft as the whole valley is dotted with 22 similar sites which mainly take advantage of the ‘abri’ or huge natural ledges in the rock face.