Having a full day to make the 3-4 hour drive from Prayssac to Ispaynac, I made a last miute decision to detour south and visit the medieval fortress town of Najac on the River Aveyron.
Najac is atypical in that most castles were built on hilltops with a village/town developing in the flat areas below the castle walls -- in Najac, the village stretches almost a mile along a ridgeline with the castle at pretty much one end of the ridge. The current village dates from the 1200's with many of the houses being of timber-framed construction instead of stone blocks (apparently fairly unusual in France) -- over a thousand years earlier it had been used as a resting place for Roman legions in their conquest and occupation of Gall (France).
A lovely ancient town with cobble-stoned streets, the major attraction here is the Fortress Royale de Najac which, even in it's "semi-ruins" state, conveys the image and romance of a time long ago. Surrounded on three sides by sheer cliffs and sitting on a rise, it is approached by a (you guessed it!) narrow, steep path, they really should start calling these places "cardiac arrest central"! The path curved around and led right under the castle walls ensuring that it woiuld be follyto try and "rush" the place in war time. Adding to the defences is a unique feature in the walls -- twenty foot long (vertically) archers' slots allowing multiple archers to shot their arrows through a single opening (they claim this castle is the only one in Europe with this defensive feature). Alo incorporated into the wall are numerous grated opening through which boiling oil, water or whatever could be poured down on attackers -- they calim the castle was never taken in battle and it'd understandable why.
Currently, the exterior castle walls exist (for the most part) but much of the interior has crumbled or fallen down. You can still climb two of the original towers (best accomplished by those with size 4 feet -- a tight spiral staircase with steps 7-8" wide at one edge and 1" wide at the center edge) although one is missing a roof and they repeatedly remind you to be careful where you step.
The ruins project a very romantic image along with quite a bit of history -- Richard the Lionhearted signed a treaty there in 1185 and some of the Knights Templier were imprisoned there in a pit-like dungeon (reached by climbing up and down a wooden ladder) so they weren't going anywhere. There is also a "secret" passage connecting the two towers -- didn't seem terribly secret though, but maybe back then when it was in better condition.
Beautiful views off the tower walls of the valleys below, great atmosphere and not on the major "tourist-mill" radar!
NOTE: In case anyone if paying close attention, yes, this story is out of order -- came before the Gorges Du Tarn -- didn't realize the webite wouldn't let me rearrange stories.
