Le Puy en Velay

 We started to make our way North this morning, in preparation for our return to God's Own Country.

Our route took us up and down the densely forested slopes of the mountains of the Cevennes, a region designated UNESCO in 2011. Of course it was.

In fairness, it is a stunning part of the country.

Strung out along the way are an assortment of hamlets and villages, some seeming to be thriving while others have been abandoned.

We stopped briefly at one of these less fortunate places, Portes, to give its castle a look. (Also abandoned)

It seems that the local miners undermined the castle (quite literally) and due to the resultant subsidence, it became uninhabitable. The rest of the town, soon followed suit, surrendering (no surprises there) to their fate, and so the village was emptied.

We spent the night in Le Puy en Velay, a town famous largely for its hyper-production of green lentils. (We've seen no sign of them on any menu so far....)

At the risk of boring you further (as if that's possible at this stage,) it's been UNESCO listed since 1987.

There is,however, another reason that we're here........

I very much doubt that you can recall the missing miraculous Madonna from a few days back, in Orgon.

No matter, (no one seriously expects you to pay attention to this drivel) the point is that Le Puy en Velay has most definitely found its Madonna......

I mean, she's hard to miss, measuring 22.70 m high and weighing 835 tons, and standing  proudly at 757m above sea level.

JB bravely accepted the challenge to climb up inside the statuesque Madonna and declared that the view from the top was " expansive"

But she's not the only Madonna in town.......