Breteuil and St-André-de-l'Eure

No surprises today! It was a quiet day on the trail with a very different countryside from that we left yesterday in La Perche. Sud Normandie  is very flat and very dry at this time of the year. The brown flat farmland has either just been harvested , top-dressed, or plowed ready for the next crop to be sown, making for an uninteresting drive.

An uninteresting photo!

We visited Breteuil late morning where it was market day. I'm sure we have seen the same stalls everywhere we have been. Some interesting buildings added some intrigue to our visit to the village. The main one being the current Hôtel de Ville, built in the 1860s in the neo-gothic style to remind people of "l'ancienne chapelle" it replaced - one that welcomed the sick, beggars and pilgrims. 

Out the front was the bust of Laffitte the town's benefactor from the late 18th century. 

And, it wouldn't be complete without having seen a chateau! We spotted this one in Breteuil just near where we parked. This Chateau de Pillon du Buhorel was built in a very classical French manner on the site of an old fortress. The old fortress was built by William the Conqueror in 1055 to protect his realm from the French! The chateau has had many uses not the least being that of a hospice for many years.

A little further around the village is a pleasant Norman house, built in the 17th century, made from local wood and tiles. 

Just as the market was coming to an end we decided to leave for our next and final stop for the day, St-André-de-l'Eure. On the French classification this was a two-flower village making it a pleasant place to stop, so much so we decided to spend the night here with other motorhomers by a lake that was being fished by the locals. 

Verneuil-sur-Avre

Today Verneuil-sur-Avre is described as the northern gateway to Le Perche region. Nine-hundred years ago it was seen as the frontier town by the English, and thus the need for a strong fortification to keep the French kingdom at bay.

I couldn't help myself! The Sainte Madeleine Tower in the centre of Verneuil-sur-Avre - dominating the Place de la Madeleine! 

Sorry!

We arrived here late morning, did some shopping and located the aire for our stopover. This done we settled back to enjoy this old medieval gateway and English border with France. The town is fortunate that it has been sparred destruction during WWII, leaving many parts of the old Norman village still intact.

We took our compulsory walk around the village oooing and aaaing at the cluster of medieval buildings reflecting upon how well preserved this town is compared to others that have been devastated over the years because of conflicts etc. As the gateway to La Perche it is a great place to start the visit. 

The ruins of 12th century St Jean Church - bombed in 1944, but still showing the magnificent workmanship on the facade. 


"The House with the Turrets"  - 15th century with rich sculptured decorations. 
The turret. 


The Ancient Tribunal with its neo-gothic checker work facade - built in 1830 - just a youngster!

Superbly renovated medieval half-timbered houses add to the visual splendour of the town. 

Parlier in the day we left Bretoncelles heading to the small village of La Madeleine  Bouvet, popular for fishing and camping. 

We quicky moved further through the La Perche to the larger village of La Ferte-Vidame - and another surprise! 

 La Ferte-Vidame is an historical village with an elegant ruin of a once magestic 18th century chateau. Destroyed during the revolution the materials of the chateau were  later sold off  before the state took it over to preserve what was remaining. What remains is intriguing - the mind does it's own reconstructing whilst reflecting on what was once here. 

The village of  La Ferte-Vidame is also a delightful place to visit with the baroque village being maintained to a very high degree.  Well worth a visit if you are traveling in La Perche.