Certainly the Lot Valley figures large in the English history of the Middle Ages as a major trade route (especially for wine, shipped to England partly to pay for wool). And as we British all know, the whole of Aquitaine - not to mention large parts of the rest of France - was English by right because of the marriage between Eleanor d’Aquitaine and Henry II of England (French schoolchildren learn a different version of history, strangely enough).

However, the Kings of France were never particularly happy with this arrangement. The Hundred Years War which began in 1328 and finished in 1453 was fought over precisely this question, and the middle and lower part of the Valley were very much the scene for the battles of this war. It was a key front-line.

The towns and villages of the lower Lot Valley, not just the bastides, were the scenes of fierce fighting and changed hands repeatedly according to the fortunes of war. Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Penne and Aiguillon each changed hands three or four times, although Cahors had only one brief period as an English town (given the amount of Cahors wine that was being sold to England, this seems a little counter-productive, but it could be that no one asked the merchants for their opinion). In 1453, matters were settled at the battle of Castillon and the Lot Valley, along with most of the other estates of Eleanor of Aquitaine, finally become subject to the authority of the King of France.

The Hundred Years War was the longest war in recorded history and it took the economy of the Lot Valley very many decades to recover even after the peace was declared. The evidence for the conflict lives on throughout the middle and lower reaches of the Lot Valley. The castles overhanging the Valley at strategic points, the ‘bastide’ towns and the many fortified towns and villages can still be visited today, many in excellent condition. In the 21st century, however, you will find the draw bridge lowered to receive you and you’re more likely to be greeted with a glass of wine or an espresso than with arrows and boiling lead or oil.

History Trails: The Pilgrims' Way to Compostela | The Lords of Rouergue

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