First off there had always been one aim for the day, predetermined before the holiday started. A visit for 5 p.m. to the village of Le Fournial, near Bussière-Galant. My parents had stayed a number of time with a friend there who passed away almost a year ago. My mother wanted to visit the house and see if a number of neighbours were around, as it was a small and close community and they might remember her and my late father.

The original plan had been to head north to Oradour-sur-Glane for the morning, but then we would have to find something to do near by for the afternoon (and to be honest Limoge did not appeal to me). Second option was to head south to Périgueux for the morning, Oradour in the afternoon, then on to Le Fournial. The final plan was just to go to Périgueux, then Le Fournial.

So we set off and started down the back roads, through interesting villages when in the distance I saw what appeared to be a ruined medieval keep or tower. We got closer and it vanished before reappearing as a châteaux with a mix of medieval and 16th century components. Reaching the town, Excideuil, we found there was also a busy market on. Excellent. We parked up and went for a wander. The market was large with a mixture of food stuffs for the locals and trinkets for the tourists. Net result nothing bought, but it passed time in an enjoyable way. We wandered around the outside of the châteaux and on the reverse there were signs the original one had been under siege, and maybe even had fallen. I would have to look it up to find out more (post note – it was both captured and lost by Richard the Lion Heart). By now it was coming up to lunch time.

We set off once more for Périgueux to see signs for a new hypermarket about a half hour later. Heading over we found it was sited on a large and brand new commercial and leisure park. Lunch was taken in the Shop-U version of Flunch, followed by a shop. It was at this point our plans changed once more. It was no longer worth heading down to Périgueux as we would not have enough time there, so instead we would head up to Oradour-sur-Glane.

For those of you who have not heard of Oradour-sur-Glane, it is the ruined village in France left as a memorial to the horrors of the German occupation and the massacre that occurred there. For those still not in the know, while the Second SS Division, Das Reich, were heading up north to counter the Allied invasion in June 1944 they killed all the captured inhabitants of the village (as a few escaped to survive and tell the tale) supposedly in revenge for the kidnapping of one of their officers. Over 640 people were massacred. All the women and children were marched up to the church and locked inside while the men were lined up and shot. Grenades were then thrown in to the church, after which machine guns were fired at any potential survivors before the church was set on fire.

Due to the time we did not look round the exhibition hall (which has an entrance cost) and just went round the village (which is free, but entered from the former). It is an odd place and not quite what I imagined. I am not quite sure why, but it did not quite have the impact on me I expected. I do not think it was all the tourists wandering around, as people were being solemn and respectful, nor the attempt to maintain the ruins, though some of these I would consider ham fisted. Maybe one day I will work it out. Still it was worth the visit and I would recommend it if you are in the area, especially if you have kids as it is a reminder of the evils that can happen during war.

Next was the long planned trip to Le Fournial to see the house of the late Bruce Warne and to see if either of his neighbouring friends were around. Alas it turned out one of them, who had help care for Bruce in his latter days, had also died not long after, but the other, Aka, soon returned from work and he and his wife remembered my mother, so we spent an entertaining hour and a half there while memories were shared and photos shown.

Back to the hotel and we decided we would eat in for a second night and thus ended day 3.