Eight days since our last blog, so apologies to our regular followers, but the last campsite did not have access to the internet, “no wee-fee”, as they put it! It is a relief to discover that our latest place – Creuse Nature, has free wee-fee which is accessible at the van! Again, we have so much to report. We were not too sorry to leave Les Grandes Chenes on 26th July. The weather had not been good and the bugs from the forest were biting big time. Over the following forty-eight hours we had two amazing night stops, and discovered some of the most beautiful little towns that the Dordogne has to offer. All this and Victor made friends with a Harris hawk....
Monday 26th July found us having an unexpectedly superb lunch in a little town called Gourdon, followed by a drive around the spectacular scenery of the Dordogne, taking in the hillside bastide town of Domme, with its distant views over the Dordogne river; and discovering the stunning beauty of La Roque-Gageac, a small town literally cut from the rock at the edge of the river. The tourist boats looked great fun, but we had an appointment with a farmer’s market that evening at our France Passion nightstop, so we had to be content with just taking photos.
The little farm was at Veyrines de Domme, where every Monday evening they host a party. Local producers of l’escargot, beef, duck, wine and pastries all gather to sell their wares to the visitors, who sit at the long trestle tables under the shade of a vine, enjoying the food and the ambience as the sun goes down. And how! We watched amused, as the French families enjoyed their evening out in the countryside with the children behaving like kids do the world over, squabbling and fighting, laughing and chasing, with the girls organising a game similar to our “What’s the time, Mr Wolf?”. The sunset was quite stunning with the clouds melting into candy-floss above us.
The following day we left the van parked at the farm, and walked for twenty minutes, down an idyllic country lane, through apple orchards with chickens pecking the ground beneath the trees, to reach Chateau Milandes, once owned by the famous singer and entertainer, Josephine Baker, who once described it as her ‘Sleeping-Beauty Castle’. Here we marvelled at a Birds of Prey display, where Victor, always the first to pick up the gauntlet, was actually given one and a Harris Hawk landed on his arm. The group of birds included a beautiful Snowy Owl, an enormous American Fish Eagle and a delicately featured falcon. The Chateau itself dated from the 1400s, and had clearly been renovated many times, but it was full of charm with the rooms still as Josephine Baker had designed them, including a 1950s bathroom with a ceiling painted in gold leaf, and a suite that reminded me of my grandmother’s house when I was a little girl. We had a lovely hot sunny visit to the Chateau and probably spent far too much in the well-stocked gift shop!
We picked up the van from the farm after treating ourselves to lunch at the Chateau cafe, and drove on towards the town of Souillac, again on the Dordogne, for a refill of wine en vrac (5 litre plastic containers filled up at the wine Caves). At £.100 a litre, this is clearly a much more economical way of buying wine, especially considering the quantities we are getting through! We were also both badly in need of haircuts, so after a couple of rejections, we found a fascinating little salon called “Harmonie Coiffure”, run by a husband and wife team, who not only had an appointment free at 5pm, but also sold jewellery and little bags. Victor bought me a glitzy silver evening bag thing which was an unexpected bonus. It is always nerve-wracking having your hair cut by a new stylist, especially in a foreign country when neither of you can speak the other’s language, but it was absolutely fine, and we were very happy with the results. My head, especially, felt much cooler after my chop!
Our night stop was to be another farm, this time with dairy cows. When we choose these places to stay it is simply because of their entry in the France Passion Directory. It does not tell you much, just the address, the number of pitches, whether they are a farm, a vineyard, an Auberge or whatever. They do not give you an idea of the setting or the people running it. Once again we had struck gold with Ferme de Cantegrel in the farming hamlet of Archignac. The farm was right on top of a hill and we set up our evening picnic table overlooking a breathtaking rural view, with the dairy herd grazing contentedly directly opposite, following their afternoon milking. There were four other motor homes there at night, not surprising when we discovered how very accommodating this particular farmer is with his facilities and goodies for sale in his farm shop.
It was time for a three night stay at another campsite and this one took us further into France, near the ancient city of Uzerche. Again, it was Dutch run and called Le Moulin de Gany, after the windmill that once stood on the site near the tiny hamlet of Gany. It was a challenge getting the van into the very hillside camp, but we had a good convenient pitch and enjoyed some relaxing sun, and a most enjoyable communal meal with forty Dutch people. Once again we were the only non-Dutch on the whole site which made us something of celebrities. We probably needed more than three days to fully appreciate the excellent facilities they offered, but time was pressing and on Saturday morning, 31st July, we set off once again in search of adventure.
First stop was Uzerche. We knew nothing about the town, but it turned out to be a fascinating place with the old town perched high above two Roman viaducts with a lovely meandering Vézère river surrounding the town. We trekked up the hill and through the ancient stone gate up to the church and the view of the city below, before enjoying a quick coffee. We were going to drive on, but the Yogi Bear tables by the river looked so welcoming in the sun that we drove down to the parking place for campers, and ate some pate, tomatoes and cucumber salad on the riverbank, while gazing up at the variety of buildings on the other side.
We set off again towards our next France Passion night stop, only one night this time before our next campsite. On the way I fancied the look of Mount Gargan, an apparent beauty spot en route, with the sign on the map indicating good views. This would have been great, but for the fact that the acute left turn to get onto the road leading up the mountain, meant the van’s tow bar (which we never use) had a fight with the tarmac, and for one moment we could not move forwards, and we could not move backwards! As you might imagine, my head began to go into panic mode, but Victor, as ever, kept his cool, changed the angle of the wheel and reversed out of danger. The road came off worse, but we abandoned that plan, turned back and carried on to Saint Bonnet Briance, a tiny spot, not at all far from Lous Suais, the earlier campsite on the lake.
Here was yet another farm, this one ‘with rooms’, and a large patio table set for twelve outside in the evening sun. There were two more couples staying the night, both with young boys. We had booked for an evening meal but did not realise we would be eating ‘en famille’. Although a little daunting at first, as none of them could, or wanted to, speak any English, Victor warmed to his task and engaged them in conversation. His French is coming on famously! Even I joined in a little after a couple of glasses of wine, and it was a lovely simple French meal in a very pretty setting. They had a lovely shaggy dog too who took rather a liking to Victor!
And so finally to Sunday, when we drove to our new campsite of Creuse Nature, near Montluçon in the Creuse area of Limousin. All the way, it could not have been more different than the previous day’s sunny bright drive through idyllic hamlets. This time was busy dual carriageways through blackening skies, increasing winds and the sound of thunder in the south. We were heading for another campsite, in less than perfect conditions, and this time for eight nights. What would this one hold in store?
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