Home of the Greatest Liar and Gurning Championships. Enough to attract any tourist to West Cumbria. But we were in South West France leafing through tourist information. Searching the map we found the village of Moncrabeau just west of the main road between Agen and Condom. It had to be worth a visit on a warm late afternoon in September.

But what do you expect in such a place? Certainly not a sign pointing to to the Post Office, the Liars’ Chair and the Liars’ Circuit.

Unfortunately the Tourist Office and the Liars’ Academy were closed, so we were unable to obtain any details. Our interpretations will have to be trusted. The Circuit however gave us a fun couple of hours while in no way threatening Santon Bridge’s pre-eminence in the English-speaking world. Moncrabeau’s championship takes places in the open-air on the first weekend in August and attracts competitors from all over the French-speaking world. The Chair of Truth, site of the contest, is carved into a pillar of the village church. Where else would you put it?

The Liars’ Circuit takes visitors round the old part of the village. On every corner is a small display case containing the text of a winning story. Key props are displayed in a convenient niche or in other appropriate ways.

We particularly enjoyed the blue plaque marking the house where seventeenth century king Louis XIV’s IT advisor was born!

The open cell in the prison holds two skulls, the first of Henri IV (child), the second of historic assassin, Ravaillac as well as the weapon used by his real killer, Gnac. The distinctive flask-shaped bottle is better known nowadays as a cause of headaches.

Another favourite was the sign forbidding casting from a square 100 metres above the canal. Fishermen are instructed instead to whistle and then their fish will come up on the lift.

While digesting this information we heard some distinctive Oz accents. Four of them – an part-time orthopedic surgeon, his wife, and two friends. With no shops open we had to help them buy a litre of milk and a bag of ice. The fridge on their canal-boat wasn’t keeping the white wine cool enough. Already planning to do the Coast to Coast walk on their next visit to Europe, they are now hoping to time it to coincide with the English Greatest Liar competition.

Unfortunately gurning has fallen out of favour in France, with no competitors in the last five years. However we could form some idea of the standard from the display board we saw. You don’t really want to enter the third competition!

The two elderly ladies who gave us some information were fascinated by the idea of another area sharing their traditions. But with the Tourist Office, the Town Hall and the Liars’ Academy all closed we were unable to find out more about the history of their customs.

But there’s always next year.