BGD Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Right then............the Sparkle and I are going to be chugging up through Top Right bit of Spain and into Bottom Left bit of Frogland for a couple of weeks very shortly. Any Must Sees, or Must Stays, in the Dordogny bit? Bear in mind that we are poor. And tight. And our MH is very venerable. We like Old Towns. Mediaeval stuff. Gothic. Inland is much better than crowded seaside. And we like cheap food. And very very uber-cheap sites or Aire thingies. Over to you chaps......................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Brantome*, Perigueux* esp the cathedral, St Jean de Cole, the vinyards round Bergerac, foie gras and truffles (there are foie gras and truffle museums in Thiviers and Sorges*). Eymet is an old bastide town. Just keep off the N21 and on the bye roads, the scenery is timeless, cows grazing up to their knees in grass, Tarte au Fraise in proper Patisseries, rhum babas, fresh fruit from the roadside, proper juicy peaches.......................* Aires for service and Parking. Wont say any more , you will all be over here and I need to get about during the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 Excellent - many thanks - we'll keep the info to ourselves............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffersonCampervan Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 We have travelogues online from 2008 & 2010 ... and we also "like Old Towns. Mediaeval stuff. Gothic. Inland is much better than crowded seaside. " http://travel.jeffersoncampervan.com/2008Page2.html http://travel.jeffersoncampervan.com/2010FrancePage3.html http://travel.jeffersoncampervan.com/2010_france_page_4.html Not strictly speaking in the Dordogne, but a less- touted destination is La Couvertoirade just south of the Millau viaduct. http://travel.jeffersoncampervan.com/2008Page3.html Unfortunately the great free aire in the central parking along the river in Perigueux is now closed to campers - the new one still is quite close to the centre (maybe 1.5 km), but I haven't stayed there. Throughout the Dordogne,though,you'll find lots of low cost or free aires, as well as informal freecamping spots. Lots of France Passion sites in the area as well. http://www.france-passion.com/gb_formule.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Never quite sure where the Dordogne starts and finishes, but down that way is Rocamadour, great if you have a head for heights :D ..................Sue hasn't!..... she froze halfway up one of the outside staircases with her hands locked onto both handrails so no one could get by (lol) (lol)......... Tarn gorge..........is that down there (?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 BGD - 2011-05-24 8:59 PM Right then............the Sparkle and I are going to be chugging up through Top Right bit of Spain and into Bottom Left bit of Frogland for a couple of weeks very shortly. Any Must Sees, or Must Stays, in the Dordogny bit? Bear in mind that we are poor. And tight. And our MH is very venerable. We like Old Towns. Mediaeval stuff. Gothic. Inland is much better than crowded seaside. And we like cheap food. And very very uber-cheap sites or Aire thingies. Over to you chaps......................... Do not do much of the staying in carparks thing but did stay on an aire at Les Eyzies for one night, ok and handy for the village. Next night moved to a small site called Camping la farm du pelere, not much more expensive and much better. Saint Christophe troglodyte fort worth a visit. Sarlet old town is nice, aire is not but plenty of good cheap ACSI sites around. Villages of Domme and L Roc Gagene well worth a look. Rocamadour a must, good very cheap site within walking distance called Camping Brache Naterelle. Do not do caves much but Gouffre de Padaerac nearby is fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Many thanks for that info. Looks very good. Anyone else got any must-sees or ideal aires/camping spots around that bit of France? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopesy Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Sarlat la Caneda old medieval town fell out of favour sometime in the 16th century ??? and is preserved a bit touristy but we enjoyed it, For scenery a bit away from the crowds go to Tremolat and the back road takes you to some magnificent views (Cingle de Tremolat) over the meandering river. Domme and Castlenaud again touristy but hey you're on holiday. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 We like the municipal at bergerac, on banks of river, bit basic but very convenant for the town, right price, right place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 trooper - 2011-05-25 9:35 PM We like the municipal at bergerac, on banks of river, bit basic but very convenant for the town, right price, right place The old Aire beside the river and just off the roundabout closed in 2009 but M/Hs are welcomed at the municipal instead. There are still some parking places for M/Hs for daytime there but all services have been removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 we have been to the Dordogne area about 4 times now and need to go again as it has not been for a while...A river trip is a must. It is a very green area and can have a fair amount of rain, but beautiful and brimming with wonderful towns and historic sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertandjean Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Aires in Dordogne (dept 24) we have stayed on and would return to: Periguex. New aire is pupose built with 41 places. Nice riverside walk to town or local bus (1.25€). mkt on Thursday, free wi-fi at La Cassa or Irish Corner bars. Not well signed. P+S=5€ Sarlat-La-Caneda Yes setting is not worlds best but it is great to be able to walk into old town in evening, see it lit by gas light and enjoy a meal in the ambience; this is not possible from sites which are too far out. P=5€/24 hours; S=2€. St-Cyprien Lovely view upto village from aire, which is marked spaces, with hook-ups (16A), on part of a car park. 5€/24 hours. La Roque-Gageac. A really pretty village with boat trips etc on river. Aire is on riverside. Charges a couple of years ago came to 7€/24 hours but may be a little more now, but well worth it for being so close to village. Domme Another nice village but this time high above river. Approach roads are narrow however, and spaces for vans on short side. 5€/24hours Brantome Two aires in this village sometimes called the little Venice of the Dordogne. The large one, close to village centre is on grass and was very muddy when we visited so stayed on second one "Font Vendome" This is a private aire, belongs to a small motorhome construction company, and is a long walk back to town. Aire is set out well however with hook-ups. (Total charge 5€/night in honesty box). There is also a service point (free) ai the Shoppi in town. Sourzac Nice setting by river in v.small village P=F, El=F, S=2€. Bistro opp aire serves v. nice meals but is not cheap. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Echo all of the above, but the OP describes France as "frogland" ? ? is that why the French seem to ignore us British, however we are currently in the area and would add maybe for others planning a visit to the area.......... Lovingly kept aire with spotless toilets can be found at Montfort, just a couple of kilometres from Vitrac, nothing much there but a great spot to just rest up in peace and quite for a day or two, green countryside, lovely view of an old châteaux, and completely free of charge, except of course for the use of the service point. Road looks a bit of a challenge from Vitrac but the narrow bit only lasts a few hundred yards so don't be put off. And a handy spot for making short trips around that immediate area too. We loved it. ( Presumably a "Frog" keeping it clean and tidy for all of us to enjoy.) On a more general note we much prefer this part of France to the Loire area, which we thought rather flat and boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 "Echo all of the above, but the OP describes France as "frogland" ? ? is that why the French seem to ignore us British............" No. That isn't the reason. Really. Doh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Collonges La Rouge, St Emilion, Cirque Le Poppie are others Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 BGD - 2011-05-26 9:20 AM "Echo all of the above, but the OP describes France as "frogland" ? ? is that why the French seem to ignore us British............" No. That isn't the reason. Really. Doh. The French call us "Les Rosbifs" and we call them "Frogs" :D ....................I doubt there is a country on this planet that doesn't have a derogatory term for their neighbours or former adversaries ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 pelmetman - 2011-05-26 10:19 AM BGD - 2011-05-26 9:20 AM "Echo all of the above, but the OP describes France as "frogland" ? ? is that why the French seem to ignore us British............" No. That isn't the reason. Really. Doh. The French call us "Les Rosbifs" and we call them "Frogs" :D ....................I doubt there is a country on this planet that doesn't have a derogatory term for their neighbours or former adversaries ;-) No I think what you mean is ignorant and offensive French call us “Rosbifs”, just as ignorant and offensive Brits call the French “frogs” you really should have moved on by now from the Bernard Manning era ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 1footinthegrave - 2011-05-26 11:55 AM No I think what you mean is ignorant and offensive French call us “Rosbifs”, just as ignorant and offensive Brits call the French “frogs” you really should have moved on by now from the Bernard Manning era ! Fortunatly us ignorant and offensive types :D ...............dont find it offensive (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Your a Dinosaur mate, hope that's not offensive to you either. Leave it at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 pelmetman - 2011-05-25 9:05 AM Never quite sure where the Dordogne starts and finishes, The Michelin Green guide includes Perigord-Limousin in their guide titled 'Dordogne'.From Montauban on the Lot in the south to Bourges in the north. I'm still working my way through it after 5 years here, theres just so much to see.I've already posted some of my favourites but I missed the chateau at Hautefort, Bourdeilles, Chateau Castelnaud and Roque-Gageac all of which are worth a detour and if you can head a bit eastward the Chateau at Pompadour has a hippodrome with races every other Sunday, one way to watch the locals enjoying themselves and a good day out, on other days there is the French National Stud for you horsey types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Another vote for Gouffre De Padirac http://www.gouffre-de-padirac.com/ I dont normally do the caves thing but this is something else. 2KM of caves and caverns to explore and a lot of it in an underground boat. We went in May and it was quiet. The guide went out of his way to take us aside and explain stuff in English. I have heard this may not be the case when its busy and the queues can be bad in July August. We stayed at a little campsite at L Hospital (something like that) which is the little village above Rocamadour which you must do. Bit touristy but worth a look. Campsite was about a tenner with EHU and wifi last spring. Cant remember the name but its the nearest one to the village. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 1footinthegrave - 2011-05-26 1:00 PM Your a Dinosaur mate, hope that's not offensive to you either. Leave it at that. Dinosaur 8-) ............steady on One Foot..........thats probably offensive to dinosaurs :D ......................................a Troglodyte maybe ;-) Which would make my French counterpart a?........................................wait for it :D ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................a Froglodyte (lol) (lol) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 pelmetman - 2011-05-26 4:12 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-05-26 1:00 PM Your a Dinosaur mate, hope that's not offensive to you either. Leave it at that. Dinosaur 8-) ............steady on One Foot..........thats probably offensive to dinosaurs :D ......................................a Troglodyte maybe ;-) Which would make my French counterpart a?........................................wait for it :D ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................a Froglodyte (lol) (lol) (lol) So as a vrai Froglodite your vote goes for Les Eyzies-de-tayac, semi detached caves, some with e-suite lakes!Much prefer the historical nom de guerre...'les Crapaudes' much more fun for school boy humourists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted May 27, 2011 Author Share Posted May 27, 2011 Thanks all for your excellent suggestions - they really are much appreciated! We are due to begin our Chug northwards in 3 sleeps time.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 Just got back today from our latest Chug; and wanted to say thank you once again to all the people who replied to this thread with suggestions/recommendations. Quick thoughts which might be helpful to others................ Dordogne region of France: absolutely superb scenery throughout; particularly if you can get off the A roads onto the little windy country/villagy local roads. Utterly lovely. Immensely MH-friendly throughout the whole region......almost every single village has an aire/free overnight parking facility specifically for MH's Great places (in our personal view): La Roque Martel Figerac Saint Cirq la Popie Autoire Cavenac Rocamadour Beynac Padirac (a visit to the caves is an utter MUST, but do get there by about 9.15am, as the queues are ridiculous from about 10am onwards. You can wildcamp for free in one of the cluster of hard-standing car-parks just next to the caves site the night before if you want to, although we stayed at an ACSI site about 10 kms away and nipped to the cave site on our scooter). North Spain coast just before entry into France: San Sebastian. Very good aire there. Also quite impressed with the new-for-2011 ACSI site on the outskirts of Madrid (the first and so far only Madrid-area ACSI site) for Madrid visiting. An old, well established site, mainly permanent mobile homes/chalets; a bit tatty in parts, but perfectly acceptable as a base.....although it's NOT actually in the city; it's about maybe 15kms from the centre of the city, and about 5kms from its outskirts, just off the motorway ring-road, so you need to use the bus stop outside the site to get in to the city, or have your own scooter/other transport. Also there are not many MH/touring caravan pitches there (maybe 50?), so during any busy times of year it'd be a good precaution to ring ahead to check there are pitches free. Not impressed with: Cahors. Grubby. Unattractive. Only 3 MH pitches on the single aire there. Nor with the prices of cafe/bar/restaurant food and drinks anywhere that we visited in France. We found them, as in our previous visit to France last year, very very expensive compared to locally here in Spain....so we ate-in every evening during the French part of our Chug........drank the much-cheaper booze that we took with us from Spain, and took packed lunches/drinks with us when scooting around away from the MH. Our venerable 1992 Arial Autostar performed flawlessly yet again (if somewhat sedately....100kph cruising is about our limit!) and a jolly good time was had. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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