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It was raining this morning so, as today's stage was a short one, I waited for a pause in showers before striking camp. Breakfasted on bread and cherries, and cashew nuts
12 km down the road at Agouac I found a busy little town: an épicerie to stock up on picnic goods, a bakery for a second breakfast and a café / tabac where I got an excellent second cup of tea. Indoors there there 3 burly men at the counter enjoying their breakfast of charcuterie and red wine.
On to Songes where I spent an hour in their extraordinary Musée de la Truffe. This is well worth a diversion. They have wonderful diagrams and models and illustrations and video presentations, as well as a garden of saplings of varieties of tress under which truffles may grow. If the many necessary factors are in alignment.
An awful lot of the botany and science of truffles seems to be understood, though I was told that much remains a mystery. There's a huge effort underway to revive the production of truffles through deliberate cultivation. No photography was allowed so do visit this first class museum yourself, when in the Périgord Noir.
On to Coulaures where this iron gate caught my eye, before the big climb of the day, which was followed by an even longer descent down to Touroiac, where I had a long lunch break by the river and dried the tent.
Then not far to the theoretical finish of Hautefort, where I stopped to take in the Museum of Medicine. Based in a magnificent hospital finished in 1717 it presents a survey of médecine, surgery, pharmacy and dentistry through the ages.
Also numerous fascinating photos on display.
Then a short push on to the campsite, which turned out not to be the campsite after all, as it was full up. The manager pointed me towards another site, 20 mins back in the direction I'd come. Stroke of fortune as Camping Le Clapeau at Cubas, right on the Auvézère river is a beautiful small "natural" site. And I identified a good restaurant just up the road, in which to eat more confit duck.
A lot of densely wooded land today some of it being cultivated. In between Saint Mathieu and Champniers-et-Reilac there was a long line of these round bundles by the side of the road.
Nontron is a good sized town , very attractive and lively, known for 500 years for its knife making.
I had a plan to visit the Atelier Nontronaise to look at the famous knives and cutlery being made.
Unfortunately you aren't allowed to take pictures, but I was able to view workers in the two main areas. First a small group of 3 or 4 woodworkers turn large pieces of timber into handles of various types. Then a larger workshop with about a dozen stations on each of which a worker assembles and decorate complete pieces; i.e. rather than being a probuction line, each worker carries out the full set of tasks. These days, since 1992, the steel blades are made by Laguiole in Aveyron.
Whilst waiting for the atelier to open after lunch I spent an hour in a friendly brasserie opposite the Hôtel de Ville and had a refreshing cucumber salad. This was the entrée in the menu du jour and was just what I needed, given my earlier boulangerie activity. So I passed on the day's "plat" of tripe in Caen style.
My campsite is out of town, quite a climb uphill. Hopefully the confit of duck for dinner will get me up there.
Followed the Vienne closely on its south east course most of the day.
Around Lessac I joined a cycle route aptly named "Bonne Route".
This hugged the river most of the way to Saint-Germain-de-Confolens.
Some gravel around Exideuil.
A late lunch at the picnic area at the Parc Archéologique at Cassinomagus -- the Roman name for the settlement at Chassenou.
They've done an excellent job of presenting the remains of the baths and the aqueduct.
It's astonishing how big the baths were and how well-preserved the decorative brick work is today.
I imagine being a Roman traveller stopping here for rest and refreshment, and of course the hot and cold baths, massage etc. Just what the long distance cyclist of antiquity needs.
All that's left of the 2.5km acqueduct are the footings, but the way it's been displayed shows the scale and grandeur clearly.
Now, at Rochechouart, I'm in the Périgord-Limousin regional park, which I will cross north-south to Brantôme tomorrow.
I think there will be fewer but bigger hills tomorrow, which may be easier than today's high frequency up and down.
Camping down by the Vonne at the foot of the hill town of Lusignac, the temperature dropped sharply overnight and I got up to a tent soaked in dew.
Climbing back up through the town and up towards Vivonne, I found these fields of golden wheat and of poppies.
A short pause at Vivonne for croissants and then on to Château Larcher, which is known less for its ruined medieval castle, which dominates the small town, than for its 6 m high 13th century "lanterne des morts" in the cemetery.
On through Gençay, past the handsome hotel.
On the way to Usson-du-Poitou there were several fields of blue flowers.
This is perhaps flax (linseed) being grown as a "green manure" to be ploughed back into the soil.
A long lunch break and tent drying opportunity at the large peaceful Jardins de la Clouère.
Then a straight 15 km on to L'Isle-Jourdain.
My first visit to an unmanned "Camping-Car-Park" site. You pay a machine which issues a card (supposedly) granting access to the site facilities. It wasn't only me who found himself unable to get into the washhouse using his electronic card. A French cycle tourist, even more weathered and haggard than me, was in the same boat. After a while we spotted a well dressed woman with a folder making a tour of the site. She turned out to be the major of the town, with duties including checking on the campsite. She wasn't surprised by our problem and commented that the technology wasn't exactly cutting edge. After disappearing off to phone the operating company she returned our cards with the reassurance that all would now work. We shall see. As my French counterpart noted " everything is being done by machines these days, but they don't do a very good job of it".
Had a friendly chat with an English couple in a motor home who are en route to the Périgord / Dordogne (like me). They are dawdling as the weather is apparently currently much better up here...
Rolling countryside up to Vasseroux. This afternoon felt very familiar : small irregular fields lined with oaks and messy hedgerows, unusually (for France) broken or bumpy surfaces. This could have been south west England much of the time .
On the approach to Lusignan there were many fields growing a different crop. What is it? Haricot?
Made in the Cotswolds. Published by Éditions Système D Ltd.
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