We spend three days descending the Lot River, rowing through an ancient landscape of limestone cliffs, perched villages, walnut farms and vineyards. The Lot used to be used for transportation, and as with so many rivers, was supplanted by railways and roads. In the last few decades, navigation has returned to the rivers, with locks re-opened allowing us to explore one of the most beautiful rivers in France. We begin in the Parc Naturel Régional des Causses du Quercy. At times we row through remote sections with just the green hills for company. Cave entrances can be glimpsed and you can imagine pre-historic hunters and gathers who populated this region and left mysterious painting of mammoths, antelopes and their hands, hidden deep in the rocks. We row past castles and villages perched high on dramatic cliffs. The most famous is Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, a stunning site best appreciated from the water. Walnut groves fill the few flat stretches before we reach the vineyards named for the city of Cahors. The spectacular Pont Valentré is over 700 years old and classified as a UNESCO world heritage site, just another of the many features packed into this weekend.