Troglodyte Life

Troglodyte textures

Ever fancied living in a cave? The route between Cravant and Saumur is littered with Troglodyte caves. How about 'the cavist's highway to the des-res of their dreams'. Ooh - yuk! Moving on. . .
 
A Swedish couple we know have been coming to Cravant once or twice a year for forty years, and live in a cave. It's spartan and equipped with the absolute essentials. They drive each time to Cravant and the journey takes about five days from Sweden. The last time we saw them, their son was getting married and they'd bought all the wine from the village for the celebrations. Their cave is well hidden and isn't easily found.  In summer it's quite beautiful. Wild flowers everywhere, a stunning view over the plain of vines and poplar trees, and of course in the heat, the inside temperature is a steady cool. Must be blissful at that time of the year. They've rigged up an outdoor shower, with a slightly precarious gang-plank to cross to get to it, but it looks heavenly. They obviously must enjoy the life. It's a long way and a long time to be doing it, if not.


Chinon has had a troglodyte community in the past - high up and over-looking the town. The story is a sad one involving 'the excluded' in terms of social acceptability. At ground level the caves can still be clearly seen. We've walked along there to visit the deconsecrated church, Sainte Radegonde which is pretty much a ruin, but historically interesting with plenty of artefacts and from time to time hosts small exhibitions. It's an excellent walk. En route we passed the now empty and delapidated caves.  Didn't know much of the story until some photos were temporarily installed - six photos of six families, outside the cave where each had lived.

Windmill at Turquant

Heading west out of Chinon towards Saumur you'll come eventually to a village called Turquant - a Unesco heritage site, and a seemingly thriving troglodyte village that we visit quite often. Turquant is a lovely place with fab views and walks. There's an excellent restaurant l'Hélianthe, installed inside a cave and which we've been to a few times. Turquant is also home to a large group of artisans, all of whom have their workshops/shop in a cave. As you can imagine the village attracts visitors and in the summer can be very busy. I've linked up to the Turquant website. It's in French, but well laid out and easy to navigate. Gives a clear idea of the place and under Métiers d'art, lists all the artisans who are based there, which includes the wonderful Carole Noby.

Carole Noby designs

How do you define a successful visit? Is it when you've gone somewhere, fallen in love with everything you've seen and managed to leave without buying something? Or as in my case - when I've fallen in love with everything I've seen and a wonderful husband has indulged me, so that I've left with at least a couple of things. Carole Noby is a Maroquinière - working with fine leather. Having trained at Hermes, it couldn't be anything else but fine. Her designs are the simplest, so heavily dependent on the quality of the material with which she works. The leather is gorgeous and the colours are stunning. Each bag is cut and stitched to perfection. We took some South African friends David and Jane, when they visited us last year. Depending on your point of view, it was successful for David because Carole Noby was shut and a total failure for Jane whose birthday was coming up! Managed a more successful visit with friends Dave and Sue, who now has a black leather version of the green bag in the photo. So elegant.