11th – 25th June France

We have just returned from two really good weeks camping in the Limousin region of France. We stayed in the Department of Corrèze near the small village of Condat sur Ganaveix. We had great weather for most of the time and enjoyed many walks in the countryside.

Our campsite “Moulin de la Geneste” suited us very well (especially as there were few other campers).
There were only 25 emplacements but acres of grounds with a lake, a mini farm (including some rather tame goats) and plenty of stuff for children. Above all it was quiet – except for the sound of the birds, owls and bull frogs.

The nearest town, Uzerche, was about 4.5 miles away. A blend of medieval and modern, the old part sat on a hill above the valley had typically narrow streets and some impressive buildings and was conducive to just meandering.

The newer part of the town was less interesting but did contain some nice restaurants!

The find of our trip was the town of Segur Le Chateau hidden deep in a valley.
The river Auvézère meanders through the town and the streets are lined with an array of medieval houses. The ruins of the Chateau itself dominate the town. There were 4 well signposted walks ranging from 3 to 14km. We did 2 of the walks and also enjoyed a lovely lunch on a restaurant terrace overlooking the river. Of the other villages we visited, some had lots of character but none was a patch on Segur Le Chateau.

The only big place we visited was Brive-La-Galliarde and then only to go to the very large market where we bought some local cheese and ‘the chef’s’ fresh sea food dish to which Annie added some cream and wine to make a fantastic fish stew/soup. Generally we self catered with lots of fresh bread and local cheeses but there were also some delightful restaurant meals.

We had originally intended to spend only a week at the campsite before moving about 60 km north to an area near the town of Borganeuf. However, we were so enjoying ourselves that we decided to stay for the whole holiday. Walking was interesting as the French do not mark their footpaths and so a map or walking instructions were essential. The owner of the campsite kindly prepared some local walks for us but further afield we found that the Tourist Offices generally had leaflets or booklets of walks that could be purchased cheaply or even hand the leaflet back at the end of the walk and get your money back! During our walks we met lots of Limousin Cows, saw many colourful meadows, a 12th century stone bridge and walked around the horse racing track at Pompadour where they were also shortly to host the National Dressage Championship.

Not having changed campsites, we decided to drive through the area near Borganeuf on our return journey. Walking down the main shopping street of Borganeuf, we came across a charming old hotel with a lovely restaurant. Relaxing over a very large portion of Moules a la Crème followed by Tiramisu aux fraises and coffee, we were not looking forward to getting back into the car. We were right to be apprehensive. It was a long drive to an overnight stop just south of Rouen – the rain started and got heavier, the motorway became very crowded with what seemed like thousands of frustrated racing drivers and it was so dark and murky that I had my headlights on most of the time. The journey from Rouen to Calais the next morning was, in stark contrast, dry and free of traffic! – The ferry was on time and the journey back from Dover was perfect! Now thinking whether we will be able to get away for another camping trip before the schools break-up for summer but the diary seems rather busy.