Thiers

A town with an extraordinary industrial past, the old medieval part now a conservation area. It is still the capital of the cutlery industry and is famous for the regional knives it produces. We had a wander through the narrow faded streets all the way to the Vallee des Usines, where empty factories that once produced cutlery and paper line the Durolle River. It was a scorcher of a day and we were exhausted when we returned home. The girls were straight into their bikini tops and sarongs and I wasn't far behind them...