The Chateaux

The first stop on your tour, this village established near the Diège had a mill. You will cross this stretch of river which is still fragile but already teeming with plants and animals. The Diège, with its source a few kilometres higher up, travels the Haute-Corrèze for 50 km before finally flowing into the Dordogne gorges.

On the way back from the circuit, there is a beautiful view of the Plateau de Millevaches and, below, the château of Saint-Germain which dominates the Diège valley. Domination or protection, the peaceful river indeed meanders through magnificent meadows at the foot of the château before taking flight again through wild gorges. Rising a few kilometres upstream towards St-Setiers, it flows into the Dordogne at the Marèges dam reservoir.

This château is mentioned as early as the 15th century, and the building has had a tumultuous history. The building grew over the centuries, but the misfortune of the owners led to the fragmentation of the agricultural estate; the château later became a public house and then the school canteen. Threatened with ruin, it was not until 1990 that a new owner started restoration work. This private château can only be visited virtually: http://mapage.noos.fr/lavolps

The origin of the name "Bellechassagne" would simply be "Beautiful oak". In an ancient writing it is referred to as "the Garden of the Mountain", a sweet oasis amid the cold heathers that so uniformly cover the Plateau de Millevaches. ». The 89 inhabitants of Bellechassagne counted in the 2017 census have adopted a gentle way of life.