Lot: Travels Through a Limestone Landscape in SouthWest France [Paperback]

Tremendously readable and informative --Harpers & Queen

This plea for the Lot, written by a real specialist, will become a classic --Quercy Recherche

This plea for the Lot, written by a real specialist, will become a classic --Quercy Recherche

This plea for the Lot, written by a real specialist, will become a classic.

Impeccably researched fact and delicious personal preference... Puts meat on the bones of other guidebooks.

Reading this book makes you feel as though you're there!

This is a useful guide to anyone living in or visiting the area of the Lot.

[This book ventures] into the heart and soul of the area and its people through its architecture, history and culture.

An authoritative and accessible guide.

This is a guidebook to savour...It is a book of prose, of opinions, of wonderful insights.

[This book] is full of deeply textured prose that beautifully evokes a sense of the landscapes of the Lot region.

A staggering achievement: almost 500 extravagantly researched pages about one French department...A splendid overview - erudite, wry and impassioned.

In this updated and expanded edition of her well-loved classic, Helen Martin takes you on a journey through the Lot department of southwest France. Writing with insight and affection about an area she has known for more than forty years, the author introduces you to a glorious land of thyme-scented limestone uplands and orchid-filled meadows, of meandering rivers and ancient farmsteads, golden and drowsing in the afternoon sun. Here, too, you’ll discover the dramatic, cliff-hanging villages of St-Cirq-Lapopie and Rocamadour, the fortified mediaeval bridge of Cahors and the awe-inspiring cave art of Pech Merle. Lot: Travels through a limestone landscape in southwest France tells of the people, the history and the legends that shaped the region, of the tragic events of World War II, when these wild uplands provided refuge for the Resistance, of the little round-apsed, round-arched Romanesque churches, of feast days and long-lasting friendships. It examines the Cahors wine industry and gives a taster of the countless culinary delights on offer, from truffles and cabécou cheese in little round discs to succulent confit. Lot: Travels through a limestone landscape in southwest France is not just a fascinating guide to the region. It is also a celebration of a fast-disappearing way of life and a record of the changes taking place in this quiet corner of rural France.

Please note, this book is paperback, not hardback. I have tried several times to get Amazon to alter the details but no luck so far.

Helen Martin has known the Lot for over forty years. She writes about the region with insight and affection and gently observes the changes taking place in this quite corner of France. Helen previously worked for the Guardian and has written extensively for the Guardian, France Magazine and other publications.