Aubigny-sur-Nere, Loire Valley

I’ve timed my arrival in Aubigny-sur-Nère perfectly. Today is the first Saturday of July, which, in this eccentric little town, means it’s the first day of the annual Fêtes Franco-Écossaises, the Franco-Scottish festival. I look up at the statue that greets visitors as they enter the town - a stereotypically huge Scotsman, bare-chested in a kilt playing the bagpipes - and quicken my pace, eager to join the festivities.

Aubigney has had a connection to Scotland since the end of the Hundred Years’ War. Charles VII gave the town to a Scotsman named Sir John Stuart as thanks for helping him defeat the English. In the following years, many Scots moved here and built the lovely half-timbered houses that still line the streets. Today, the town retains a connection with Bonnie Scotland, and is still a popular tourist destination for Scots. 

This connection is never better felt than on this day of festivities. As I wander through the main square, bagpipes, played by Aubigney’s very own Auld Alliance Pipeband (Auld Alliance being the term for ancient friendship of the French and Scottish, in opposition to their shared English enemy), bleat out the rousing melody of March of the Cameron Men. The pipe band is of international renown, winning awards at Celtic music festivals in Brittany, Scotland and Wales. But this isn’t the only Celtic honour Aubigny can boast. The town actually has its own tartan, in green, yellow and blue, and even has its own kilt-making business.

I stop and sit at one of the outside tables in the main square, where Scotch whisky is being served. I feel the smoky, buttery liquid burn my throat as I watch the afternoon parade. Men march by in kilts, the saltire flutters in the air.  The Auld Alliance Pipeband strikes up another tune, and suddenly the warm summer Loire air smells just a little like the heather and gorse of the Highlands.