Le Puy en Velay

One day, when the weather was indifferent, we rode into Le Puy en Velay. A puy is the remains of the plug at the centre of an old volcano which is left after the rest of the mountain has eroded away. It's the same as the rock Edinburgh Castle is built on. The whole of the Auvergne is an old volcanic area and there are dozens of these puys, at least three are in the town of Le Puy. We climbed throughthe steep streets of the mediaval town centre to the cathedral on the main one and behind the cathedral to the statue of Notre Dame de Velay


The statue is huge and interestingly was made from cannons captured from the Russians at Sebastapol during the Crimean war. Here's LB walking around the base...

...and here's the whole statue. You could climb up inside and there were small windows at various points to enjoy the view.

Here's part of the town with the Cathedral and its cloister in the foreground.

This is a view of the platform it is built on. The small statue is of the architect, praying. A few left over cannons can be seen to the left of the man in the red jacket while LB is standing by the bench at the far end waiting for me!


Elvie