KEY
POINTS OF THE WEEK
This is a week of walking through landscape of great beauty
and drama. You will cross three river valleys of renown: the
Aveyron, the Lot and the Célé and you stay three
nights at St Cirq Lapopie, well known for being one of the
most dramatically pretty villages of France.
St
Cirq Lapopie in the mist
It
is also a week for sampling delicious wines, cheeses and other
delicacies that are the bones to the fame of French gastronomy.
Accommodation
is centred round auberges of 'charme' and great character.
Your first two nights will be at Chateau Couanac. This is
a private château belonging to the Count and Countess
d'Armagnac de Castanet who are absolutely charming hosts.
It has huge majesty sitting in the heart of rural France amidst
mighty oaks and maples.
Chateau Couanac
The
Pelissaria, your hotel at St Cirq Lapopie, has no restaurant
which is an added bonus as it allows us to walk through one
of the prettiest villages of France with its floodlit fourteenth
century church and narrow floodlit alleys.
Slow cooking is a great part of the traditional cooking of
the South West. Here we will be sampling meltingly tender
meats from grandmothers' recipes passed down through the generations.
Throughout the week you will have a well balanced idea of
all the wonderful cooking the South West has to offer. (For
the 'finer' side of French cooking see Quercy Périgord).
On
a bridge over the Cele
The
longer walks are accompanied by pack animals. The bags on
the donkeys will carry chilled Pineau and water and Diana's
home-made biscuits and lemon juice. Also the donkeys will
be carrying any bags etc. you should wish to take with you.
We do not forget that you are on holiday!
Pack
donkeys on the heights above the river Cele
You
will be covering not more than eighteen kilometres in the
day but generally speaking you will average about twelve kilometres
daily. If you ever feel tired there will be an opportunity
to take an afternoon off after lunch and relax at your hotel
to read or paint or shop … or just sleep.
C17th
stone built pigeonnier
The
outbuildings of Château Couanac, where you stay the
first two nights (the miller's house, the baker's house etc.),
have been restored with great taste, care and character, though
the beds are simple and you may find yourselves wandering
down the corridor wondering where the shower is. It has great
character and has always been a winner for the past three
years we have stayed there.
Click
here for the full itinerary