Issepts: Chapel, Parish Church and Circular Walk

Issepts can be explored for trip planning through two themes: historic religious buildings and paths through the Limargue landscape. The Chapelle Saint-Médard-Lagarenie, the Saint-Laurent parish church and the walking trail offer specific points of interest; a guided village tour adds another perspective on the area.

Chapel and Parish Church: Heritage Protection and Architectural Features

The Chapelle Saint-Médard-Lagarenie has been protected as a historic monument since a decree dated 22 May 1978. It has two bays and a semicircular choir. A bay is a defined section of the church interior; the semicircular choir describes the shape of the chancel area. The capitals in the choir are decorated with stripes or stylized foliage. The chapel’s interior layout, choir shape and decorative details can thus be distinguished from one another.

The oldest phase of construction at the Saint-Laurent parish church may date from the second half of the 12th century. This dating is explicitly tentative and does not indicate a definite year of construction. The two dates also serve different purposes: 22 May 1978 dates the chapel’s heritage protection, while the possible 12th-century date refers to the oldest phase of construction at the parish church. To explore the buildings’ history, you can therefore look at both the specific features of the chapel and the cautiously worded dating of the parish church.

Guided Tour of Issepts

The programme of guided village tours organised by the Pays d’Art et d’Histoire du Grand Figeac includes a tour of Issepts. The meeting point is in front of the church. Travelling by vehicle is required for the rural section of this guided tour. When planning, keep two practical details in mind: the meeting point in the village and the vehicle journey specified for the rural section.

Walking in the Limargue

Discovery trail in the Limargue is a circular walking trail that starts in Issepts. Issepts lies on the edge of the Limargue and borders the Causse plateaus. The landscape is characterised by bocage hedgerows and streams. The village can therefore be described in terms of both its location on the edge of the Limargue and its distinctive hedgerow landscape and waterways.

Along the trail, an out-and-back route leads to a stone dovecote in a meadow. The route descriptions cover two levels: the circular trail starts in Issepts, while the out-and-back route leads to this particular destination. The dovecote is thus a named point along the route; its location in a meadow is also part of the description.

Compared with the guided village tour, the walking trail is a different way to plan your visit: the tour meets in front of the church and requires a vehicle journey for the rural section. The walking trail is a circular route starting in Issepts and includes the out-and-back route to the dovecote. This makes it possible to distinguish between the guided tour’s focus on the village and the walking route’s landscape features.

Discover more destinations: Loubressac, Mercuès, Creysse, Saint-Matré, Padirac, Valroufié, Limogne-en-Quercy, Baladou.

For the wider travel overview: Lot.