A dramatic change in scenery now, bends and hills were the order of the
day again. We leave Confolens by a minor D road recommended by our hosts. Richard was much happier with this, each hill was an achievable
target rather than a straight road disappearing into infinity.
We were entering the Limousin area of the Perigord. Forests a plenty, we
saw wild deer, buzzards and the ever present eclectic mix of a French
farmyard. Today we did a lot of climbing but not so much going down. The
temperatures were good for cycling. Not too hot.
The timeless and pretty scenery of the river Vienne.
Leaving the vines and sunflowers of the Loire behind, we are
in lush green pastures and fields which could be somewhere in Britain.
Mushroom omelette anyone? I don't think so.
60 miles done today, less than previous days, but quite tough riding. The
gradients are still relatively gentle.
As we approached Brantome, we were rewarded with a long downhill run into
the town that describes itself as the Venice of the north. Now where have
I heard that before?
To be fair, it is a very pretty place and we enjoyed a beer or two by the
riverside in a Stratford on Avon like ambience before seeking out our accommodation.
Tourists on boat tours and fish in very clean water. This is
the river Dronne.
and this is Pere Boulanger in all his finery.
Our Chambre D'Hote was a
mile upstream, the option of walking to a restaurant (described as
'nearby') was not one we found attractive. Into town we went on delightfully
pannier free bikes. Much later, we returned from our meal in almost
complete darkness down roads that we hardly knew. Quite exciting as we had
no lights and had to negotiate a large churchyard in moonlight with its Gothic
gravestones. All we needed was for Michael Jackson to appear...
Tomorrow we must cross three major rivers. But so far we are on target and
on schedule. Bon nuit.
