In May,, Spring bursts upon this Auvergne mountain valley with all its force, as the daytime temperatures warm up rapidly. The lusciously green hillsides are ablaze with wild flowers, particularly the bright yellow broom, but also a marvellous mix of buttercups, wild narcissi and orchids, rare pasque flowers (deep red wild anemones - strictly protected) and many more.

June remains a beautiful "green" month, as the early spring flowers give way to white marguerites, mauve scabius and more. The wild narcissi and other Alpine flowers however, are not far — just a few miles by car or even on foot up to the 1000 metre hilltops opposite, where spring comes just a little more slowly.

July and August are warm months: as in most of southern France, the hillsides turn a pale golden colour, offset by the deep green of the beech, oak and pine forests opposite. These are the months for kayaking down the river, hiking on the hilltops, picking wild raspberries and bilberries, or just lazing on the village beach, and swimming in the river. (The beach, about 300 yards from the village, offers good swimming in an area some 200 yards long and 30 yards wide, shallow on the near side but up to 3 metres deep by the diving rock at the far side). There is programme of summer concerts (choral, chamber music, etc) in historic churches and other locations in Saint Ilpize and the Haut Allier valley and nearby.

 

Natura 2000:  The Val d'Allier: a designated area in Europe's environmental heritage. Chazieux lies at the heart of the upper Val d'Allier, which has recently been designated as one of France's areas of outstanding environmental value and interest, under the E.U. "Natura 2000" program. The valley has been selected on account of its abundant and rich flora and fauna. Natura 2000 is a European Union programme designed to select and preserve a complete range of the best surviving natural environments throughout Europe.

Activities and visits
THE REGION
The "Brivadois" region of the Auvergne is rich in history, art, and nature. A twenty-minute walk from the cottage brings you to the ruins of the mediaeval chateau de Saint Ilpize, perched on a craggy rock 300 feet above the river. The walled keep contains a small romanesque chapel, painstakingly restored in 2000-01. Below the castle is the village of Villeneuve with its suspension bridge high over the river. Between the gite and the castle, there is also a historic vineyard, the "vine conservatory", where the old terraces have been renovated and some thirty traditional  varieties of vine have been replanted with the aim of saving them from extinction.

A two hour walk (or 20 minute drive) in the other direction brings the visitor to the beautiful small town of Lavoute Chilhac, with its ornithological centre, its 18th century abbey, its high mediaeval single-arch bridge over the river, and its old tall narrow houses, between river and hillside.

Brioude is a very attractive old market town, with narrow streets, small shops and a very fine romanesque basilica, famous for its unique early mediaeval mosaic floor..
   Indeed, the whole area is rich in romanesque churches (many with frescoes), cloisters, and castles — from imposing mediaeval keeps to the château de Lafayette - birthplace of General Lafayette. 

Hiking, mountain-biking, kayaking
For hiking, Auvergne is a fabulous region. There are hundreds of walks in easy striking distance of the gite - even right from the doorstep. A little more than an hour away are the Plomb du Cantal or the Puy de Sancy, the highest points in Auvergne and the Massif Central culminating at around 6,000 ft, offering excellent hill walking and mountain biking. Both peaks have cable cars.
   There are two or three companies offering kayak and canoe hire (+ pick up and return) at Langeac, Lavoute Chilhac or Villeneuve d'Allier.

Other attractions:
    * The historic lead and antimony mine at La Rodde (about 15 km), with underground mine tours (weekends May to October, but daily in July & August).
    * The castle at Domeyrat, (20 km) with living history enactments, or the same on a larger scale at the castle of Murol (70 km), or the impressive medieval keep at Polignac, near le Puy.
    * The medieval romanesque church and beautiful cloisters in the village of  Lavaudieu (20 km)
    * The Haute Loire Maze (Labyrinthe de la Haute Loire) at Lavoute Chilhac.
    * The historic windmills at Ally (12 km), with exhibition on wind power, and the The Ally wind farm until recently France's largest windfarm - 26 turbines - provides clean renewable energy for a third of the "Haute Loire" department. The nearest wind generator is about 5 miles from the gite.... but cannot be seen nor heard).
    * Gustave Eiffel's famous Viaduc du Garabit, with boat trips in the Gorges de la Truyère (40 km).
    * The scenic railway line through the Gorges de l'Allier between Langeac and Langogne or Pradelles (part of one of  the most scenic railway routes in France, linking Clermont Ferrand and Nimes). In summer the SNCF run special tourist day-trip services from Langeac (20 km). At Pradelles, visit the cart horse centre.
    * The Resistance Museum at Mont Mouchet (40 km), one of the hubs of resistance activities during the second world war, where RAF airmen made many drops.
    * The small city of Le Puy en Velay, capital of the Haute Loire (50 km), with its unique 10th century chapel of St Michael, perched dramatically atop a rocky pinnacle, and the medieval cathedral, one of the great starting points on the historic pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostella. The city, famous for its lace, has an attractive old quarter with narrow streets where craftsmen and artists ply their wares.

FACILITIES / PRESTATIONS:

Villeneuve d'Allier (3 km) has a bar-restaurant and a post office. A new bakery/general store opened  in May 1999 to replace the old bakery and general store which both closed in 1996. Hopefully, the Hotel de la Poste, whose owner sadly died in 2005, will open again soon under new management, and provide a second restaurant within 2 miles of the gite. But there are several other restaurants within a few miles. For shopping, there is Brioude, 15 kms away, with a full range of shops including a small hypermarket and a bustling Saturday market; Lavoûte Chilhac has cafés, restaurants, a baker, a good old-fashioned pizzeria, a butcher and general stores.

Part 1.  A selection of comments from 2009

"We marvelled at the vallée, the villages and the volcanoes, did the butterfly walk, saw chateaux, abbayes, puys, églises, and still found time to play tennis.   And above all we met wonderful people wherever we went, or if we just stayed put. Thanks Andrew & Ginny for your warm hospitality and advice. Lots to do when we come back."
     Bruce & Jenny, Sydney, Australia

"Two black kites showed us the way from Saint Ilpize, a fitting beginning for two weeks full of birds, butterflies, plants, and above all sunshine. We all love it very much here. Chazieux is an ideal place if you want to spend some time in a quiet place with incredible wildlife"
    Sandra, Rinke and family,  Newcastle, England

"Pour la troisième année consecutive, nous voici en vacances à Chazieux. C'est avec un très grand plaisir que nous avons retrouvé le gîte, sa terrasse, et son paysage splendide, la baignade et la pêche dans l'Allier.  Nous reviendrons ...."
    Famille George, Lyon, France

"Wonderful week at Lou Coucaye – think we only scratched the surface of things to see and do, but we did manage Puy Mary as well as the train trip down the Allier gorge, well worth it!   Going back very relaxed !
    Alan & Mary, Worcestershire, England

"What luck for us to discover this unspoilt corner of France. Coming in Spring, we must have witnessed one of the most beautiful times in the valley; magical greens of the beeches and birches on the hillsides, the wonderful meadows of grasses, cowslips, orchids, even narcissi, flowers of the wayside, broom in bloom, and the sound of birdsong... We heard hoopoes, nightingales, bonelli's warbler, and saw kites, short-toed eagle, harriers and  honey-buzzard. The gîte has been a delight, and the weather always dry...."
     Jeffrey & Mary, Surrey, England

Part  2: Comments from previous years

"A very special holiday has been enjoyed by us all. Children loved the beach and searching for wildlife along the river. We have seen eagles, deer, kites, hoopoes, lizards, red squirrels, and much more. A nature-lover's paradise. Fantastic walking and breathtaking views. The gite is comfortable and clean... and we hope to return."
     Sally & Martin, Surrey, England - June 2007

 "We have seen enough and enjoyed the special beauty of this part of France to know that we want to come back; and we have appreciatd the warm hospitality, the cosy comfort and so many other aspects of this gite and hamlet."
      Mary & Norm, Kalamazoo, Michigan USA - May 2007

 "May 2006 - "Had a wonderful relaxing two weeks. Everything we needed was here, and the location is fantastic. One of our best holidays....... We will definitely be back".
     J & C , Northants,  England 2006

"Spent a very pleasant relaxing week enjoying the views and the surrounding area. The gite was comfortable and well equipped, with a spectacular view. Thankyou very much"
     Anne & Dave, Yorkshire,  England 2006

"Lovely relaxing week; we especially enjoyed walks around the gite, down by the river and around the hills. the gite was very comfortable and ha everything we neded; the barbeque was well used."
      The Dales family, Essex England 2006

"We've had a lovely stay in Chazieux. What a beautiful part of the world this is! We've seen beautiful sights, and we feel rested! We walked to St. Ilpize every day, and we loved the river route back. Thanks so much for your generous hospitality and your wonerful gite."
      Sheila & Jeremy, Vancouver, Canada 2006

"We enjoyed our two weeks' stay at wonderful Lou Coucaye. The view from the gite was breathtaking, and every day was a joy to behold. We will always remember the friendly people, the region, the gorgeous food and of course the excellent wine. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Thank you!"
     G & S . Staffordshire ,  England 2004

"We really had a lovely time at Lou Coucaye.   It was a really regenerative holiday. We also much appreciated the fact that the house was so clean and also well equipped. We have stayed at many cottages both in France and England and some have been neither clean nor well equipped!  It was a delight!"
    Dr. S.W.  Yorkshire, England. 2003

" Just to say how much we enjoyed our week in your gite from 13 to 20 September. We were lucky because the weather was perfect with hardly a cloud in the sky all day every day, and starlit nights. Apart from a day visit to Puy Dome, and necessary shopping, we hardly used the car at all enjoying the peaceful and beauutiful surroundings."
    Adrian, Southampton England 2002

"We are now back in Sweden, after a very good time in your Gite. We felt very well, all the time. Oh yes, at day after arrival, the skies  opened and we got some centimeter of rain, but only that day, the rest was very fine. We saw Le Puy, Thiers, Clermont Ferrand, Cantal and of course the nearest surroundings. Thank you very much for a nice time."
  Kjell, Vänersborg, Sweden 2001
 
"We are back from our glorious honeymoon in Chazieux and we wanted to thank you so very much for an absolutely delightful location to spend our first days of marriage.  We took great care of your place and I hope that you have found it in great shape after our use.
We found the information on the bookshelf very helpful and we were able to travel around quite a bit..  The kind  lady and gentleman that live in the grey house at the centre of Chazieux recommended some great day excursions so we were able to see Brioude, Lavoute Chilliac, Ally, Ruynes de Margeride, Viaduct du Garabit, Murat, We drove as far as we could get to Puy Mary but the road was shut because of (May) snow  but we made it pretty high. We visited Le Puy en Velay.  We did spend a lot of time, however, just enjoying the gite and the surroundings of Chazieux..  The wild flowers were beautiful and the weather was great.  It is a little piece of heaven and we really hope to return some day - sooner rather than later!!"
    Kathy, Toronto 2000.