Richard the Lionheart Tour

Just as we share the legendary King Arthur with France we also share that most iconic of English kings, Richard the Lionheart or Richard Coeur de Lion. As monarch he spent just 6 months in England preferring to be "on tour" , either crusading in the Holy Lands or fighting off his father and various French factions in his mother`s territory of Aquitaine. His mother was the famous and magnificent Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. He died on April 6th 1199 aged only 41 during his siege of the virtually unarmed castle of Châlus-Chabrol. The castle (just 20 minutes away by car) has been recently purchased and is now open to the public with reinactments and events and is well worth a visit. Whilst his entrails are buried at Châlus, his heart was entombed in Rouen Cathedral and a statue stands outside the British Houses of Parliament, without irony, to remind us what a great Englishman he was! There is a well-signed, 180km historical Coeur de Lions trail which takes you to 19 historical sites ,open to the public, which tell the story of Richard in France.

As we walk or ride around the many miles of ancient track and trails here in Haute Vienne we like to imagine he once used the same paths.