Once again we were serenaded by the Black Redstart from just before dawn. The morning though was not as welcoming as the day before, and the forecast looked very much the same, a dry morning and then rain in the afternoon. We were moving on today and were faced with the option of two walks, one shorter than the other. Our guiding notes advised us not to arrive too early at our next hotel as we would not be able to check in until around 16.00, but we had to weigh this up with the threat of rain, and if it was anything like the rain we encountered yesterday we would not want to be caught out in it. There was not a great deal of difference in distance in the two walks, and s a result we opted for the longer walk, in the hope we could enjoy the stated views and finish before the rains came. The route would take us through farms to start with and two small hamlets, to a view point looking back over Beaulieu, before winding down through woods t reach the River Cere, a tributary of the Dordogne, and our hotel in Port de Gaganc.
We set off after breakfast, leaving our bags to be transported onward. Initially the route took us over the river just as we had done the day before. Crossing the weir we were faced with similar reflections in the water as seen yesterday, although today there was very little breeze and if possible the water seemed even calmer and therefore reflective. This view from the centre of the weir.
While this view from the other side of the river.
We followed the same path through the holiday camp and across the side stream where Grey Wagtail flew from the bridge. We then turned onto a road, but unlike the previous day we did not double back on a side path but kept walking alongside the river.
From the road we headed uphill, gently ascending and past houses and open farmland. At one point a Black Kite drifted over carrying what looked like a bone or piece of an unfortunate dead animal.
It was actually pecking or pulling at bits of meat still on the bone.
Eventually the path came out at the top of a hill and passed through open fields. Although not in this picture Swallows swooped low over the top of the crops and over our heads and into barns behind us.
At this part of the walk the sun was with us, and we were afforded with views down into the valley and across to Beaulieu and the point where we had crossed the river at the start of the walk.
We passed through the farm, and along a road with houses on one side and fields ofwild flowers on the other. In the sunshine we came across our first butterflies of the day, and like yesterday It was the Meadow Fritillary that was the most numerous.
The walk was alternating between woodland and fields, when out in the open there were butterflies and insects to see. This is sometimes known as a Minstrel Bug, or more formerly by its Latin name Graphosoma lineatum. It is one of many shield beetles but is conspicuous by the red and black stripes.
Black-veined White butterflies frustrated by flying around and never settling, but there was always something to catch the eye, this Small Heath
And an unidentified cricket or grasshopper within the grass.
The first Meadow Brown of the year.
A rather damaged Small Blue.
And a moth that at first I thought was a type of Grizzled Skipper but is clearly a moth, but of what species I am not sure, possibly a Latticed Heath?
Across the valley another Golden Oriole was singing, and we walked into the woods with it getting closer. Frustratingly though, once again the only glimpse I got was of a shape flying through the trees and away out of sight
We were now descending, and it had passed the time where yesterday we had experienced rain, but while there was not the claps of thunder we heard yesterday, the clouds were gathering. As we passed through a small hamlet we felt a few drops and decided to shelter for a while in a barn. The rain eased and we carried on. We had a choice now follow the main walk notes or take a short cut through woodland that would at least offer some shelter. We opted for the sheltered route, and pretty soon it started to rain hard. the trees once again provided shelter to start with, but as the rain continued the water came off the leaves and onto us.
As we came through a small hamlet called Guilles we put on the wet gear, the walk continued down hill through woodland. In many places the trees were weighed down with water and blocked the path, and in places there were gullies on the path with water running down them. As we reached the bottom of the path the rain started to ease, and we came out into the village of Port de Gagnac, and we saw the River Cere, and finally our hotel for the night.
We knew we were early but we just hoped we could get in while they served lunch, but as we approached the door there was a sign stating that they were closed on Monday! And they were closed the door was locked and there was know one about. We could see our bags inside, but there was no way we could get to them. It was 13:30, they opened at 16:00. Fortunately there was a covered area outside and tables and chairs, so we took off the wet clothes and hung them up, and sat down to wait while the rain continued to pour down.
To say we were now a little down was an understatement, the last two days had been awful, and the forecast for the rest of the week was pretty much the same. All we had to wind away the time was the chance to watch the White and Grey Wagtails catching the may flies out over the river.
As well as the wagtails a Kingfisher flew past heading up the river to the weir. This one particular wagtail sat on the same spot, you can see the raindrops in the photograph.
The rain started to ease into the latter part of the afternoon, and as the sun partially came out, a mist formed above the water of the river.
The hotel staff arrived at 16:00, and we were able to get into our room. This was at the front of the hotel, and overlooked the river. Once the rain finally stopped and the sun put in a more permanent appearance, the view from our room looked a little more inviting, so i decided to take a short walk to explore the area.
Port de Gagnac was once a station on the river Cere, and was where logs felled in the upper forests were floated downstream to pile up and be collected. Today there are piles of logs that have collected near and over the weir. With the coming of the railway this died out and today trucks are used to take away the timber. Today it is a quiet hamlet, linked to the village of Gagnac across the river
I walked along the road, and then past the weir where the river cascaded down into various different streams between small islands. A pair of Kingfishers called and all I saw was a flash of blue as they disappeared into the trees and islands. From the road I turned left, and crossed two bridges, after the second I turned left again and walked alongside the stream, heading back on my self. I reached the point of the weir where I could see the hotel on the other side of the river, the place where we had sat for a couple of hours earlier in the day.
My hope was that I could get some closer views of the wagtails, and maybe even the Kingfishers, but they didn't show. The way back was to retrace the walk I had just taken, and as I reached the bridge I disturbed a damselfly from the grass. It flew up with that lovely dappled flight, and I saw that it was a demoiselle, and blue, so a Beautiful Demoiselle. I watched as it flew around finally settling on a leaf high up into a Sweet Chestnut tree. This was the best view I could get of it.
I spent some time on the bridges, watching, but mostly listening to the bird song. I had brief glimpses of what I supposed was a Chiffchaff after the calls, and Blackbirds and Song Thrushes were along the edge of the water.
I made my way back to the main road and the river, and on a dead tree stuck on the weir were both White and Grey Wagtail. Both must have nests nearby as they were collecting insects by flying out over the water.
I headed back to the hotel, as we prepared for dinner the rain appeared, but this was interspersed with some sunny spells which delivered a rainbow just before we headed down to dinner.
The forecast for the rest of the week was much the same as the last two days, and we were not in the mood to get as wet as we had done over the last two days. The walk tomorrow was one of the longest, and according to the notes, the most challenging, and that without rain. We were going to have to decide exactly what we wanted to do.
Away on our travels once again, this time walking in the Dordogne region of France. Our holiday was booked through Inntravel, who we have used several times in the past. They provide detailed walking routes and always use lovely little hotels and guest houses that invariably provide wonderful food and drink. Getting there involved a flight from Gatwick to Toulouse, followed by a two hour train journey, north to the town of Souillac, where we were picked up by taxi and taken to our first location, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne.
Arriving in Toulouse it was sunny, but with a very fresh southerly breeze. These conditions stayed with us through out the day,a nd allowed us the opportunity to explore the village of Beaulieu, which as you may have gathered from the full name was located on the River Dordogne.
The Dordogne region is a land of fields, forests and valleys, the river itself meanders from its source in the Auvernge region to meet the Gironde at Bordeaux and finally the Atlantic ocean. Near its source it has created deep gorges and has several tributaries that join it, including the Cere, one river we will walk along. These rivers, navigable in parts, formed an important trade route in times past. After the French Revolution, Napoleon I created the 96 modern departments of France, and Dordogne was one of the original departments. The area where we would be walking is the old region of France known as Quercy, possibly derived from the latin name quercus for oak, and due to the wooded nature of the landscape. Quercy is situated on a limestone plateau, and this has been cut through by the many rivers and streams.
Beaulieu is a lovely medieval village, with a very picturesque old part of the village. From the river Dordogne, there is a little maze of 14th and 15th century houses. Our hotel was situated opposite the main church, L'Eglise St-Peter which was built on the foundations of an old Benedictine Abbey. The hotel looked out to the river, and after settling in we set out to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine, and to explore the village streets.
Walking inland from the river we were greeted by tiny lanes and arches that led to even smaller lanes lined with old houses, and looked over by street lamps.
Looking down the tiny lanes you could see the bell towers of the churches.
We walked through the village centre and then took one of the main roads out of town that crossed the River Dordogne. Crag Martins flew from below the bridge where they possibly had nests.
From the bridge we turned back and explored some more of the little streets and alleyways. I am always attracted to the windows, shutters and lamps, I don't know why they just have an aesthetic that I can't resist when I have a camera. In this case i turned the picture into black and white which emphases the bracket holding the lamp.
While with this one it was the richness of the red paint on the shutter that drew me in!
We stopped for a drink in a cafe on the main square, before making our way back to the hotel, where we were told our table was booked for 19:15 which meant a quick change. We ate on the terrace that looked out at the church, and the river. Swifts were plentiful, and their screams could constantly be heard as parties raced around the church facade. For me their screams are as much a part of summer as flowers and insects. With a very early start that morning we were not late into bed, in the morning we would start the first of our walks.
With an open window a necessity due to the warm air this meant we could hear the birds singing well before dawn. It seemed as if we had a Black Redstart sitting on the window sill due to the volume of its song. We finally got up to find that it was a lovely sunny morning, and that the Black Redstart was in fact singing from the house across the narrow street.
After breakfast we walked down to the river. the water was very still, with mirror like reflections.
Swifts and House Martins were whirling around swooping low over the water to drink and bathe.
With Swifts flying around and close over our heads it was difficult o track them, but every so often one would provide the better opportunity as it glided overhead.
We then experienced the first indication of what the day was likely to be like as a few drops of rain forced to change our clothes. All set, we left the hotel and crossed the river over a small bridge by the weir. Looking back the houses alongside the river were reflected in the still calm water.
On the far side we walked along the bank upstream to get a better view of where we had come from.
The walk took us back down stream and through a holiday camp, then out onto a road and from there a footpath that took us through Walnut groves and then through a farm. Here House Martins were collecting mud or something else for nest building.
The first part of the walk was through open country, with more walnut groves and farmland, and by the side of the path Helen found a lizard hiding between some deadwood.
This is a Viviparous Lizard, or Common Lizard, and is so called because it can give birth to live young, rather than lay eggs. live birth has allowed this lizard to expand into more northern territories, those found in more southerly locations may though lay eggs.
The appearance of these lizards varies, the females being found with three different colourations ranging from pale yellow to bright orange and a mixture of the two. this though is a male lizard.
As we passed through open meadow we began to see butterflies, the first an orange fritillary that was a fast flyer, bit once settled identified as a Meadow Fritillary.
This species was to become quite common, finding them in many meadows and open pasture on our walks.
We began to climb steadily through mixed woodland. In one clearing though a Honey Buzzard flew over.
In the clearings the fields were full of grass and lots of wild flowers such as this field of lovely pink Scabious.
The walk now was going through woodland, and there was only a little bit of dappled sunlight. In these clearings Speckled Wood could be found taking in the sunshine.
Hornets were also seen regularly, single insects exploring and searching anything that resembled a hole in either the ground or dead wood.
In the woodland there was very little bird song, but as you came into clearings there was a little bit more. It was in one of these clearings that I heard a flutey song that belonged to a Golden Oriole. I managed to get closer to the song, but as I did so the bird flew off, leaving me with just a dark silhouette shape of the bird as it headed away, and no sign of the yellow and black plumage.
In another open area I found another Fritillary, this time very different from the Meadows that we had seen in the fields. It sat on the ground in a bright patch, my first Glanville Fritillary.
It was just after this find that things started to go wrong. there had been rumbles of thunder around us, but now the rumbles were preceded by the sight of a lightning flash some of which could be seen jagging across the sky. Then much worse came the rain. Walkking through the woodland afforded some shelter, but very soon the trees became overload and water began to fall heavily. To make matters worse we lost the tack for a short time and had to back track only to find out that the suggested path ran almost across the road we had been walking on.
Fortunately the path was descending, and finally we reached the river. Here we had to walk along the bank, but the path was overgrown with grass that was at least waist high, and extremely wet. It did not take long before we were thoroughly soaked, even into the boots, there were though others worse off than us as we watched a couple capsize their canoe and end up in the river. As we approached the hotel by crossing the river bridge we had taken earlier that morning, the rain eased, and we were able to take some of the wet clothes off before entering the hotel.
It didn't take long for the sun to come out, and this helped to dry out our boots and clothes. It also meant that I could pop out, and explore a little more on my own, but first I stooped by the river to photograph the Swifts once again.
They were still whizzing past the church and out over the water, I concentrated on the birds against the white sky, over exposing to try and get the detail.
From this you get a sense of the speed with which they were flying around.
The swift spends all it life outside breeding and raising young on the wing. This means that they have to perform the normal duties other birds do on land, like preening, on the wing. Here, while not being a sharp picture you can see this bird preening its tail feather.
Here you get a sense of the size of the eyes, something I have never seen before.
I found it easier to catch the birds as they glided overhead with their wings spread.
And finally one flying past me
I dragged myself away from the Swifts and walked alongside the river, as side stream had plenty of boulders and small rapids that looked ideal Dipper habitat, but there was little about. The path took me back into the village where Black Redstarts were singing, and difficult to photograph as they are always on a TV aerial.
I made my way back to the river bridge we had been on yesterday, and continued to follow the side stream. I stopped for a while to watch the water and a White Wagtail was catching insects for a brood somewhere.
I turned around to head back, and heard a Serin singing. In trying to find the Serin I came across a smart male Redstart. As I watched it it started to sing, and I was in the situation where I was watching a Common Redstart singing, while a Black Redstart was also singing behind me.
The Redstart flew to a house roof nearby and continued to sing.
I made my way back to the hotel, and just as I reached the car park another Viviparous Lizard scuttled across in front of me.
We had another walk around the village in the sunshine, and stopped once again for a drink in the village square before dinner. The forecast for tomorrow was similar to the weather we had experienced today. We could but hope the rain would not be so heavy if it came at all!
