May 18th – 25th, 2007

FRANCE: The Dordogne

Price: £905 excl. flights*

Leader: Nigel Spring

The Dordogne region is one of the loveliest parts of France. Unspoilt flowery limestone grasslands are set amidst a matrix of old woodland, in a land cut into beautiful gorges.This is a relaxed week, staying in a lovely old farmhouse surrounded by flowers and birds, with the added bonus of superb cooking.

Sainfoin and meadow clary

Our base for this week is the beautiful Castaing, near Sarlat-la-Canéda, in the hills just a couple of miles from the Dordogne river. The area around the house is superbly unspoilt, with masses of green-winged orchids on the lawn (and many other orchids nearby), hoopoes, wrynecks and red-backed shrikes breeding locally, and a wealth of butterflies. The food and general ambience is quite superb, with all meals provided, including picnic or buffet lunch, and a 5-course dinner with wine, in a friendly and congenial environment. Our hosts, Cathy and Keith Parker are wonderfully welcoming. Cathy is from the area, and is a marvellous cook. There is a swimming pool near the house which may be ready for use, depending on the weather.

Military orchid

We aim to see as wide a range of flowers, birds, butterflies and other natural life as we can in the week, without travelling too far or rushing too much. The week will be a pleasant mixture of local walks, and short trips further afield to gorges, woods, limestone pastures, fens and other local habitats. We may visit a local market, or take a boat trip along the Dordogne below the cliffs.

The flora is very rich, and we will soon become blasé about UK rarities such as lizard orchids, which occur in some abundance, and the rest of the flora is a delightful mixture of the familiar and unfamiliar. On one week here, we recorded 35 species of orchids, amongst hundreds of other flowers such as meadow clary, swallow-wort, globularias and fumana. It is a fine area for birds, and we should see or hear various birds of prey including short-toed eagle, hobby and honey buzzard, a range of warblers, nocturnal birds such as nightjar, scops and barn owls, cliff-dwellers such as crag martin and alpine swift, and an abundance of nightingales, amongst many others. There’s a regular peregrine’s nest nearby, which we can usually watch.

scarce swallowtail

Although we are a little early for the peak of butterfly numbers, we can still expect to see 30 or more species, including several fritillaries, adonis blue, pale clouded yellows, and purple-edged, sooty and large coppers. Bats can be seen around the buildings on any warm evening, and midwife toads and mole crickets can be heard, while the glow-worms may have started glowing.

The tour price includes all transport during the week, full board and lodging including wine, and services of leader throughout, including pre-tour information and post-tour lists. Please note that single accommodation is very limited here, and the total group size is also limited. * There are regular flights to nearby Bergerac from Bristol, Southampton, Stansted, Liverpool and East Midlands, though we don’t know the schedules at present. A pick-up can be arranged from here if the timing is right. Anyone doing both tours can come down and back in the minibus at a cost of £100 inc. ferry but excl. hotels, cabins, meals.

Tour code: NHT/07/06

Price: £945

Single room supplement: There is no single supplement in a single room, but there are only 2 of these. Supplement for single in double room: £100.

Deposit: £150 plus insurance

Option to Extend: You can combine this tour with the previous one, to the Brenne at reduced cost - see Brenne

A quote from a previous year: “Each day had so many highlights, it was hard to believe the following day could be as good, but it was.”