Lusignan--town of the mermaid!

 Readers of my recent blogs will have found that one of our favourite occupations on a Sunday afternoon is to explore some of the local and not so local sights. Last Sunday I suggested trying Lusignan a town briefly visited by me some time ago but to which Kim had never been.
  We found it to be a very pleasant town. The centte is very picturesque, a medieval town of narrow alleys clustered round a very interesting ancient church. The is also a covered market with fine timber roof. Signs to the `vestiges` of a castle led us to explore further and we found substancial ruins of a very large castle constructed on the edge of a cliff. I was particularly struck by the rear entrance from the base of the cliff. If you entered a low doorway into a creepy passage you found a guardroom on the right and then the well of a spiral staircase leading to the top of the wall.
  A leaflet found in the church gave us some fascinating details of the town`s history. The lords of Lusignan dating from the Ninth Century built the enormous castle and later added the great church nearby. They later became even more rich and famous, and were Kings of Jerusalem and Cyprus during the Crusades. But what struck me most of their history was that they claim to be descended from the fairy mermaid Melusine, of King Arthur fame! the town name of Lussignan is derived from Melusignan, and the town and church have several statues and references to a rather scaly mermaid, not very attractive as a mate to my eyes!
 After a pleasant walk by the castle ruins we descended to the lower level at the base of the cliff and walked along the River Vonne which borders the town and which has a nice camp site on the river banks. On the way back to the car we met a pretty and friendly cat and had a job to dissaude her from coming with us. Altogether a most successful visit. We will be back!

     Bye for now