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The Dordogne river flows some 312 miles from source to sea. On
its journey it passes through the départements of
the Correze, Lot and Dordogne, creating as it goes some of the most
spectacular scenery to be found in France.
Rivers being mediaeval highways and with the Dordogne being one
of France's most strategic rivers, it is not surprising that some
of the most formidable castles and fortified houses were built around
here because of the rivers' proximity.
Our legacy is a stunning landscape, liberally dotted with historic
Chateaux, ancient Bastides and mighty manor houses - including
in our area, no less than 6 of the officially designated most beautiful
villages in France (Les Plus Beaux Villages de France).
You can get to know our part of France by selecting a département
name from the scroll down menu below.
To
access photos and information on just Les Plus Beaux Villages de
France - The most beautiful villages in France - in our part of
France, please click this link or the logo to the right.
Getting to our part of France is not difficult, but it will
be a whole lot easier when the much heralded new airport of Brive-Souillac
(Brive - Vallée de la Dordogne) opens in 2010. Once open,
the new airport is expected to have a similar effect on property
prices as elsewhere in France served by no-frills airlines such
as Ryanair, Flybe and easyJet . CityJet has already added the new
Brive airport to its routes and commence operations in the summer,
direct into London City airport. Just outside the village of Cressensac,
Brive Souillac airport will be only 40 minutes from St Céré,
20 min from Beaulieu and 10 minutes from Souillac.Other cheap flights
are available from the UK into Bergerac for the Dordogne, Limoges
for the Correze and Rodez for the Lot. Jet2.com, fly into Touilouse,
just minutes from the A20 motorway.
Having the A20 autoroute on the doorstep of the Dordogne valley,
means the channel ports are about 7 hrs drive from Souillac, with
Paris some 5 hrs away. The new A89 east west motorway intersects
the A20 at Brive, bringing Bordeaux and the Atlantic coast that
much nearer. Have breakfast in St Céré and you could
get in a late ski on the Alpine slopes around Geneva the same day.
Why you would bother, though, as there are perfectly good (and inexpensive!)
ski resorts within 1hr 20 minutes drive of St Céré.
There is an express train service from Paris to Brive and then
on to Souillac. Rumours abound about a TGV service into the new
airport from Paris, but, at the moment, they would seem to be just
that - rumours.
The Dordogne river valley region of France, is extremely
fertile, with crop-laden valleys (until recently, tobacco was a
serious crop), lush green cow and sheep pastures, fruit and nut
(chestnuts and walnuts are major exports) orchards and well wooded
hills. This all means one thing - water and sunshine in fairly even
amounts!
The rain mainly falls in late winter/Spring. We say mainly,
because sometimes we get very spectacular thunderstorms in late
August, which carry enough rain to seriously worry Noah. Fortunately,
they are short-lived and a welcome respite for the lawns. For the
summers here can be seriously hot and dry.
Our favourite time of year is Autumn, not just because of the incredible
colours of the deciduous woods that are such a feature of the Dordogne,
Correze and Lot, but because Autumn tends to be sunny, clear and
warm well into November.
Winter is usually heralded by mornings of Brouillarde ,
right at the end of November/early December. A heavy morning mist
caused by the sharp temperature changes between night and day. It
is a timely warning to ensure that your winter supply of logs is
as it should be. For winter is fast approaching.
This year was a bit more severe than usual, with some deep snow
that saw many searching their cave fior their long neglected
snowchains. Again, the locals are saying this winter was pas
normal which they pretty much say every winter - whatever the
weather! Loads of cheap wood, a good woodburner and Satellite TV...
we survived.
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