Travel: Delights Of The Dordogne

Go with the Flow, cruising the Dordogne on board a traditional gabare

Expat American writer Henry Miller said of the Dordogne, “…this great peaceful region of France…must have been a paradise for many thousands of years”.

My last visit to France’s Dordogne region was exactly 30 years ago and nothing like paradise. It was, instead, a long, harrowing trek from London in a cramped campervan with two grumpy toddlers at the height of summer’s tourist season. Not keen on being strapped in a hot speeding vehicle for hours at a time, staying in overcrowded campsites and subsisting on cold frites, Toddler A used every opportunity to show off her expertise in potty training and parental manipulation. Every 20 minutes or so she would howl from the back of the van, “Need potty!” My husband would then swerve into the nearest ditch and slam on the brakes. Pots and pans, towels and toddlers flew from front to back of the van, followed by a race to reach the rear chemical toilet in time … at which point Toddler A would declare, “Don’t need it any more”.

This time, my visit to the Dordogne is strictly for grown ups. We’ve come to sample the delights of the Dordogne: its gardens, gastronomy and gabares, the best of its Beaux Villages, the most charming of its chateaux and the loveliest of its liquid pleasures. Paradise had arrived at last!

Gastronomy At Its Best

Is there any better way to start a French holiday than with a long, lazy lunch? After a short flight from Stansted to Brive-la- Gaillarde’s impressive new airport, it’s only a matter of minutes before we’re in our rental car, out of the airport and deep in the heart of rural Dordogne. We head straight to Martel, a once prosperous medieval town famed for its seven towers and elaborate 18th century wood-roofed marketplace. Fame and riches may be long gone but Martel’s charm, ambience and marketplace still flourish, especially on twice weekly market days and every Wednesday evening in summer, when locals gather for live music and dancing. And joy of French joys, dotted round the marketplace are several small but punchabove-their-weight cafés and bistrots, including Le Petit Moulin.

There’s no ‘little mill’ in sight, but Le Petit Moulin’s award winning chef-proprietor Adrien Castagné is clearly pumping big energy into every dish and drink emerging from his kitchen. Lunch is a simple but scrumptious four-course affair served personally by the vivacious young Adrien. Adrien takes pride in a daily-changing artisanal menu using local ingredients, mostly from his family’s farm, walnut orchard and vineyard. This means homeproduced foie gras, bread, meat and creamy Rocamadour cheese, riverfresh fish, just picked vegetables and the freshest walnut oil you will ever taste. It’s best enjoyed with Adrien’s own vintage red wine, La Castagne. Dessert is a fabulous Martel Brest, pure choux pastry bursting with whipped walnut cream. Oh dear. I could easily eat here every day and grow fat but happy!

Saints And Sustenance

It turns out that the best way to work off those stratospheric gourmet lunch calories lies just half an hour’s scenic drive south, to the extraordinary perched town of Rocamadour. We’ve come for a vigorous afternoon workout led by welcoming local guide, Cécile May.

Rocamadour has been a famous Christian pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages. The town and its ancient holy shrines cling spectacularly to surrounding cliffs as if suspended between heaven and earth. For more than nine centuries pilgrims have, like us, trekked the 14 stations of the steep and winding Chemin de Croix or climbed the 216 steps to the top of the site’s rocky plateau, often on their knees in penance, to worship at the statue of the Black Madonna or in the Chapel of our Lady of Rocamadour. More than one million visitors come here each year (… over 900 years? Do the maths for a mindblowing number). Notable past pilgrims include England’s King Henry II, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine and many other penitent royals and celebrities.

Next, we’re off to a very different kind of sanctuary and our stop for the night, the chic Hotel Le Pont de l’Ouysse at Lacave. It’s scenically tucked into the hillside overlooking the banks of the River Ouysse, a tributary of the Dordogne, with emerald waters rushing below and the fairytale Château Belcastel towering above. The hotel has been in the Chambon family for five generations. We’re energetically greeted by Elliott, the family’s setter, and Michelin star chef Stéphane Chambon, who runs the show with father Daniel and brother Matthieu.

After check-in, Stéphane leads us to the vast hotel kitchen where he creates daily changing menus with top seasonal ingredients from nearby farms and fields. Stéphane treats us to a demo on the astonishing art of asparagus, using succulent white and green spears he’s handpicked from the hotel gardens that morning.

Before long it’s time for aperitifs and predinner chat on the hotel’s flower decked terrace and a stunning dinner in the stylish, nature-themed restaurant. Four courses, plus choice bottles from the wine cellar, include a delightful, truffle-topped amuse bouche, dressed asparagus and roast saddle of farmhouse lamb surrounded by fresh herbs and baby vegetables, followed by Stéphane’s signature cheese dish, Cocotte de Rocamadour, and an angelic lemon tart with limoncello and basil sorbet. Then, satiated and nicely inebriated, we’re ready for a good night’s sleep in the hotel’s comfy beds, lulled by the gentle sounds of the River Ouysse and sweet dreams of truffles, asparagus and velvety red Pécharmant.

Food With A View

If you’re on a Foodie trip to the Dordogne, or just an ordinary mortal who likes a good meal, you won’t want to miss market day at the first stop of our new day, Sarlatla-Canéda. Nicknamed “the Black Pearl of Périgord”, “the Medieval Jewel” and “Sleeping Beauty”, Sarlat is an attractive, historic town in its own right. But above all, Sarlat is Dordogne’s gastronomic capital, renowned for its food.

As well as vibrant weekly farmers markets, Sarlat has a cornucopia of food events all year round. January’s Truffle Festival is packed with tastings, Michelin-starred chefs, truffle hunting demos with trained dogs, and a chance to compete in the famed Foie Gras and Truffle Culinary Academy. March brings the Fest’Oie (Goose Fair), when Sarlat hosts gaggles of geese marching noisily through town and gastronomic goose meals where you may sample their less fortunate relatives. There are also organic food nights, Gourmet Celebration Days and Christmas markets.

We hit town during les Journées du Terroir, a wondrous seasonal showcase of local game and produce. Sarlat’s medieval centre is packed with stalls, tents and tables full of plump strawberries, asparagus the size of baseball bats and mushrooms the size of footballs, tender Quercy lamb, sweet and fruity Vin Paillé (straw wine) and ubiquitous foie gras. The region’s walnuts are so superb they have their own appellation: AOC Noix du Périgord. And Sarlat’s market boasts walnuts galore: in cakes, tartes and crumbly biscuits; caramelised, creamed, chocolate covered or whipped into cheese ‘sucettes’. There are endless varieties of walnut oil, walnut wine, fat cracked-open nuts offered up for tasting and bulging sacks of crushed shells, ready for use as cat litter.

Naturally, stopping for lunch is a must. We wolf down an astonishing value for money three-course menu at Le Bistrot, a typical tiny mid-market café serving up the best of today’s fresh goodies. Particularly memorable is my steaming plate of naughtily nice Confit de Canard et Pommes Sarladaises (that’s roast duck with potatoes seared in generous amounts of duck fat, garlic and parsley to you and me). And when the market quietens down late afternoon, there’s plenty more to explore in Sarlat’s cobbled streets, courtyards and alleyways. The town is reputed to have the highest density of historic buildings in Europe, many now converted into one-room art galleries, antique shops and pretty boutiques. I snap up a handbag bargain at L’instant de Cuir, a leather goods store the size of a walk-in cupboard. And a final must do for any visitor to Sarlat: we ride on the curious glass elevator in the former church of Sainte Marie. It rises up through the centre of the church’s bell tower to give glorious 360 degree views of the ancient town below.

The Most Beautiful Villages In France

The Dordogne region is not only rich in natural beauty, wildlife, history and cuisine, it’s home to no less than 16 of the coveted Le Plus Beaux Villages en France – the most beautiful villages in France. We’re introduced to this uniquely French accolade on our next morning’s visit to one of these jewels, La Roque Gageac. The village is spectacularly set between steep honey-coloured cliffs and the Dordogne River; its stone houses with their distinctive Périgord roofs line the riverside and spread up the hill behind.

We toast all this beautifulness with a glass of walnut wine on board a gabare, a traditional flat-bottomed barge docked on the pier below the village. A gabare cruise is an unmissable, affordable treat, taking you on a relaxed ride down the most stunning stretch of river, surrounded by gorges, perched castles, vibrant wildlife and lush greenery. By the way, if you’re looking for more of the watery outdoors, the Dordogne has it in bucketfuls: opportunities for fishing, wild swimming, river horse-trekking, canyoning, canoeing, cave diving etc. are everywhere.

As for us, we’re on way to perhaps the most beautiful of all the Beaux Villages, Collonges-la-Rouge. Collonges was the first to receive the prized title and certainly stands out from the crowd. It’s been called “a doll’s house village, dressed in red from head to toe”, probably because the entire village is built from rich, red sandstone. Hard to imagine this tiny place, now home to 80 permanent residents, was once a politically important town whose wealthy citizens built the remarkable houses, towers and monuments that ring the village. At the height of summer, Collonges’ narrow streets are packed with tourists, who come for its open air festival, comic fair, candlelight tours, fine little cafes and restaurants, or just to wander and wonder.

Among the village’s most prominent citizens are Jacques and Camille Breuil, whose families have been here for generations. They run Le Cantou, where we’ve come for lunch. It’s a well loved, always full, country bistrot, serving hearty traditional fare from noon til night on red check-clothed tables, shaded from the fierce heat by vine covered trellis.

We meet Monsieur and Madame Breuil as they zip from table to table, greeting, chatting, laughing and ensuring every diner eats well and stays as long as they like (four hours in our case), certainly not leaving until they’ve tried, say, the omelette with wild mushrooms and potatoes à la Collongeoise, or the Salade Terroir (fresh vegetables, smoked trout, duck confit, chestnuts and hot Cabécou goat’s cheese), and savoured a fat slice of Le Cantou’s walnut gateau with some lovely, sweet Monbazillac. Other nearby Beaux Villages worth a detour are Turenne, Curemonte, Monpazier, Beynac and Carennac.

Dreams, Gardens And Imagination

Our next day begins early, in Terrasson- LaVilledieu. The moment we arrive, crossing the Pont Vieux (literally, ancient bridge) footbridge, it’s clear this is no ordinary town but the French village of my dreams and imagination. I’m secretly pleased to hear that most visitors drive straight past this hidden gem. A breathtaking hike up the flower-covered Malpas cliff path brings us to the old town, perched high above the Vézère River, and the medieval church of Saint-Sour. Built in the 14th century and recently renovated, its gorgeous stained glass windows filled with legends of local saints and heroes, Saint-Sour is splendid by day but even more so on summer evenings when it’s the centrepiece of Terrasson’s nightly Son et Lumière, illuminating the church and surrounding buildings with 3D video projection mapping.

We’re treated to a walking tour of Terrasson’s network of mysterious underground tunnels, “the Cluzeax”, its circuit of 10 historic water fountains and its maze of narrow streets filled with fragrant flower boxes and mini gardens. Even the village public toilets are covered in wisteria and climbing roses. Terrasson has also been converting crumbling old spaces into art studios, encouraging artists to come and stay. It was great to meet glassblowers, potters, jewellers and photographers and watch them work.

The town’s unique passion for artists, gardens and imaginative projects has been led from the front by Terrasson’s infatigable mayor, Pierre Delmon. His team is working on its latest project, a Cluedo style village treasure hunt for children.

Simply unmissable for grownups is the extraordinary Les Jardins de l’Imaginaire (Gardens of the Imagination). Designed by French-American landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson after a prestigious international competition, Les Jardins is an enchanting garden for all the senses, re-telling history, myths and legends through 6 hectares and 13 garden ‘rooms’ including water gardens, a theatre of greenery, a sacred wood and a Rainbow Bowl.

Back To Brive

All too soon, we’re back in Brive-la-Gaillarde for a final, jampacked dose of Dordognaise eats and treats. An en route stop at the Bovetti Chocolate Museum. A picnic feast from Brive’s brilliant market. Walnut liqueur tasting at Distillery Denoix. Dinner under the stars at regional hotspot En Cuisine and an overnight stay at swish new boutique Hôtel Le Miel des Muses, which serves possibly the most generous breakfast in all of France. Brive is a wonderful, surprising, relaxing small town, full of heart. Like everywhere else in the Dordogne, it just wants us to stay a bit longer.

Judith travelled to Dordogne as a guest of Dordogne Valley Travel and Brive Dordogne Valley Airport. You can visit their excellent English website at visitdordogne-valley.co.uk.

Further information: Le Petit Moulin, Martel, www.visit-dordogne-valley.co.uk

Hôtel Restaurant Le Pont de l’Ouysse, Lacave, www.lepontdelouysse.com

Le Bistrot, Sarlat-la-Canéda, www.le-bistrot-sarlat.com

Le Cantou, Collonges-la-Rouge, www.lecantou.fr

Les Jardins de l’Imaginaire, www.jardins-imaginaire.com

Restaurant En Cuisine, Brive-la-Gaillarde, www.encuisine.net

Hôtel Le Miel des Muses, Brive-la-Gaillarde, www.lemieldesmuses.fr

Cheese selection at En Cuisine, Brive-la-Gaillarde