May 18th - 26th, 2012

FRANCE: The Dordogne and The Cevennes

Price: £1495 inc. flights £ 1345 ex. flights

Leaders: Bob Gibbons

The Dordogne region is one of the loveliest parts of France, where unspoilt flowery limestone grasslands are set amidst a matrix of old woodland, in a land cut into beautiful gorges. After 4 nights here, we move eastwards to the higher, wilder Cevennes and Causses with wonderful flowers and wildlife in spectacular scenery.

"Mass of Ox-eye Daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare) in a hay meadow at Castang in the Dordogne.

Our base for the first few days is the beautiful Castang - a lovely converted old farm - near Sarlat-la-Canéda, in the hills just a couple of miles from the Dordogne river. The area around the house is delightfully 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.

Pyramidal Orchid ( Anacamptis pyramidalis) in flowery meadow, Dordogne, France.

During our stay here, the tour will consist of a pleasant mixture of local walks, and short trips farther afield to gorges, woods, limestone pastures, fens and other local habitats. We may visit a local market, one of the internationally-famous caves, 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 Lady 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. 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.

An Ascalaphid (Libelloides coccajus) settled in grassland, Dordogne, France.

On day 5, we transfer a few hours to the east, stopping at some interesting places on the way, into the lovely Cévennes. Our hotel is beautifully placed in a small village where two major gorges meet; from here, we can walk straight out into the surrounding gorges and hills, and travel further afield onto the high causses (limestone plateaux) and mountain areas in the Cévennes National Park, visiting places with evocative names like the Causse Noir and the Chaos de Montpellier-le-vieux. We are only a mile from a large griffon vulture breeding colony, and we should get good views of the birds on most days. The Cévennes has a wonderful flora and fauna, thanks to its diverse geology and unspoilt nature, bathed by the warm sun of southern France.

Meadow Clary (Salvia pratensis) in flowery meadow, Dordogne, France.

There are orchids in abundance, including endemic specialities like the lovely Ophrys aveyronensis. We should also see at least two species of daffodils, several wintergreens including the delightful little one-flowered wintergreen, alpine asters, cornflowers, globularias, venus’ looking-glass, pasque flowers, may-lilies and many others too numerous to mention. The bird-life is rich and varied, from vultures and short-toed eagles, to nightingales, red-backed and woodchat shrikes, and ortolan buntings. The butterflies are also outstanding, and there are some interesting dragonflies along the river valleys. It’s the sort of place where there is always something of interest to see. On day 9, we return directly to Toulouse for our flight home .

The tour price includes all transport during the tour, full board and lodging including some wine for the first four nights, bed and breakfast for the remaining four, and services of leaders throughout, including pre-tour information and post-tour lists.

Tour code: NHT/12/04

Price: £ 1495 (£ 1345 ex. Flights).

Single room supplement: £120 (Single rooms limited at Castang)

Deposit: £300 plus insurance

Bookings to Sunvil

If anyone would like to combine this tour with the following, please get in touch with Bob direct; it’s complicated because of the 3-day gap, but still possible to work something out.