Wild Hawkes
24hrs in Saint-Flour, Auvergne, France
What do you do when your car dies in the Rhone-Alpes...?
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Why, turn a potentially stressful situation into an Auvergne Adventure, of course!
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Complete with delicious meals, a glorious 15th century cathedral, and various patisseries with cheese of the Cantal.
Full disclosure...we didn't have the presence of mind to take a photo at the time, but I had to return the following month to get the keys to the lovely transporter drivers, so we got the photo then.
Usually, around Easter time, we make the trip from North of England to South of France. We make a bit of a road trip of it, sometimes visiting places in the UK before heading for Portsmouth, sometimes stopping off in places as we make our way through France, sometimes sailing to Spain and making our way up from there.
This year, due a family bereavement, we didn't make our usual Easter trip. In fact, it was the start of June before we managed to pack the car and head down south - so we decided it was going to be a quick dash down via Le Shuttle, Paris, and Millau. 15-16 hours door to door.
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Our trusty 13yr old car had other ideas!
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Somewhere in the Central Massif...the clutch failed. Completely failed. As in, pure sponge when the pedal was pressed...just as we were heading up a high ascent with a crawler lane. 80mph quickly slowed to 70...60...50...40...there was nothing in the accelerator. We thought we were going to be stranded on the side of a road on a steep incline.
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Miraculously, just as we managed to crest the hill - hazards on - there was an exit just slightly over the rise. We took it. She slid slowly around the curve, to the roundabout which was mercifully clear, and over to the other side and a rural road...where she finally same to a complete standstill.
100m from a hotel car park...and no chance of getting her there (she's almost a 2-ton kerb weight - and this trip, she was fully laden!).
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So, two pm on a blazing-hot Friday afternoon, we were stuck at the side of the road, clad in our gillets jaunes, and red triangle out, on our phones to RAC and home, waiting for the breakdown truck.
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People were lovely!
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It has to be said that, at least eight people stopped in the time that we were there, checking we were okay, and throwing bottles of water our way to ensure that the boys didn't dehydrate in the heat. They were truly lovely. Even the Gendarmes drove past three times but - clearly deciding everything was in hand - they didn't bother to stop.
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Ultimately, the breakdown truck arrived and took us back to a local garage about five minutes away where the wonderful Myriam had a hotel lined up us should we need it - we did - and a taxi driver five minutes out (who, it turned out, loved The Hu - the same Mongolian Rock Band we love!)
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And so we ended up in Hotel du Nord in St-Flour, in a good-sized family room (two double beds and a single), with a decent ensuite at <90euros for the night, including breakfast. A quick freshen up and we headed out for an evening meal, settling on Pizzeria - La Toscane
Bart ordered the pepperoni pizza - which was absolutely enormous yet he somehow managed to devour it!
Monty had the beef burger with speciality local cheese - St Nectaire - which he inhaled!
Derek had the pulled pork burger whilst Charlotte had the Goat's Cheese and Serrano Ham salad - both of which can be highly recommended (along with the bottle of red, of course!).
The following morning gave us chance to explore St Flour a little more.
We discovered it was built on a spur of volcanic rock, which lends it fantastic - and formidable - natural ramparts. The defended town wholly dominates the surrounding area, including the lower town - as seen clearly in the picture to the left, as well as in our less artistic photos below! :)Â
Ham and Bees at the Whistle-stop Cathedral
The Cathedral - whose two spires are visible from a long way away - is a fifteenth century construction of gothic deisgn, dedicated to Saint Pierre and Saint Flour., and we were told that back in 2024, there was a fierce debate as to whether the cathdral should be allowed to keep curing their hams in the 135m-high tower. At almost 890 m above sea level, the winds from the surrounding plateaus create ideal conditions for curing the local ham (following a blessing ceremony that puts them under the protection of the patron saint of charcutiers, Saint Antoine. There are also several beehives installed on the cathedral roof - though we didn't get to see them.
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The Places D'Armes - where the cathedral is located - showcases incredible medieval and Renaissance architecture.
The towers of St Pierre et St Flour Cathedral are around 135m tall
The text in the cathedral is said to describe the original medieval Pentecost.
Whilst the feast can trace its roots back to 1317, Pentecost wasn't merely about the religious worship, but about the community coming together to celebrate. to reset, and to help the poor.
