The Château of La Chapelle Faucher sits on a cliff above the valley of the Côle river in the Périgord Vert region of northern Dordogne. Nestled in behind it is the village square with its 12th century church, Notre Dame de l'Assomption, the Town Hall, the Kindergarten and the old stone houses of its residents.

But the town wasn't always as peaceful as it is today. It suffered greatly at the hands of the Huguenot forces of Amiral de Coligny in 1569 during the Wars of Religion and earlier, in 1356, during the Hundred Years War, the Black Prince had ordered its destruction.

Now the sounds you hear are the roosters crowing, the church bells, the morning bread van, the occasional car or tractor, or the casual chatter of the walkers on the randonnée

There are no shops in the village now. But there is a Post Office behind the church and there is a bread van that comes every morning around 9am selling bread, croissants, brioches and a few grocery items. But the nearest supermarket, baker and cafe restaurant is 3km away in St Pierre de Côle or 6km away in Champagnac de Belair.

At Brantôme, 9km away, you'll find two big and two small supermakets, along with a bank, real estate agents, newsagent, clothes and specialty food and tourist shops, cafes, restaurants, hotels, schools, gendarmerie and two service stations. Thiviers, in the other direction is bigger again and is the closest train station on the main line from Périgueux to Limoges and Paris.

But for anything else you need it's only 25km to Périgueux.