Bilberry and Birch

A friend posted some pictures on Facebook a couple of weeks ago, saying that she often forgets what a beautiful place she lives in until she sees it in photos of the area.

I was reminded of how her words, and how we often don’t really ‘see’ our local area, when we drove over to the village of Lavoûte-Chilhac last week, to go to this concert in the church there. It’s only a half hour drive away, and a very scenic drive at that, up and out of the Senouire valley, over the hills, with stunning views of the chain of Puys, and down into the Allier Valley. The centre of Lavoûte-Chilhac is built within a huge loop of the River Allier, so that it is almost an island – you can get an idea from the photo above.

It’s a pretty little village, with a few shops, a bar & restaurant, a tourist information centre, kayak hire and, of course, the church. We had a wander around before the concert. It was a glorious sunny evening, and the place was bustling with people, including the choir, who were having a pre-concert drink outside the bar! It really struck me how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful part of the world, and how easy it is to forget how just lovely it is.

So, as a reminder to me, and for your delectation and delight, here are some shots of Lavoûte-Chilhac.

Oh, and the concert was pretty good too.