“Can’t we go on an organised holiday this year?” asked Jane, as she showed me the website of Great Rail Journeys. For proud, independent Me this was a challenge, although after the Great Turin to Rome Debacle of 2024 (next post!) I had to admit it could prove more relaxing. And so, at 6 a.m one Wednesday morning in May, we arrived, bleary-eyed, at St Pancras and presented ourselves at the Great Rail’s travel office. Expertly shepherded by Sean, our tour guide, forty holidaymakers set off to ‘The Charming Dordogne’. Eurostar to Paris, then TGV to Angouleme (near the tip of the arrow) from where a coach took us to the area in pink on the map. L’Hotel des Roches, where we were accommodated very comfortably, was in Les Ezyies on the river Vézère, a tributary of the Dordogne.
- Les Ezyies is an attractive village that sits below an overhanging cliff, into which was once built a chateau. Its two museums house replicas of prehistoric mammals, and tools found amongst the burial sites of ancient humans. Replicas of cave paintings are shown. Above the main museum, a statue of the ‘Cro Magnon man’, the first Homo Sapiens in Europe to be unearthed from around 32,000 BC, looks out across the valley. His grave was discovered in 1868 when the railway was being constructed.
- Le Roc Gageac, on the Dordogne river, also nestles under cliffs which once housed a fortified chateau. We reached the site by climbing a rather challenging flight of steps, to be rewarded by a screening in a mini-cinema within the cave where the history of the chateau was explained. We enjoyed a river cruise on a replica of a ‘gabarre’, an ancient flat-bottomed craft that carried wine, wood and salt down the navigable length of the Dordogne before being broken up and its timbers used to make barrels.
- A Walk from Les Ezyies to Le Bugue ; Jane had downloaded a booklet of local trails from which we chose an 8-mile footpath walk leading to Le Bugue, the next town downriver. It proved quite easy to follow, meandering up and down through ancient hamlets. We caught the train back.
- Sarlat features a bustling medieval city centre which we visited on market day (which, though fascinating, made the town hard to negotiate). We bought a town trail; the city’s ancient cathedral, its narrow winding streets and its unique buildings steeped in history, would have been reason enough to visit and enjoy.
- Rocamadour looks like a village from Lord of the Rings. It’s a town on three levels; atop the cliff lies a chateau. Halfway down the cliff is the beautiful abbey (how could medieval builders ever have hoisted all that stone into position in such an impossible location?). Several Sunday services were in progress, including inside the chapel which housed a black Madonna! Needless to add, the townspeople lived at the bottom of the cliff, albeit in enchanting surroundings.
- The Truffle Train, which we boarded in the village of Martel, is pulled by a steam engine along a spectacular 8-mile route and back again, through tunnels and across viaducts like that in the picture below.
- The Chateau de Milandes would have been worth a visit even without its association with Josephine Baker, the black American singer, dancer and actress who lived there for almost 30 years. In 1940 when she arrived, she was working as a French spy; after the war, she adopted 12 children from different nationalities whom she named her ‘rainbow tribe’! We enjoyed the beautiful gardens, the mysteries of the chapel, and an impressive display of falconry.
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A special feature of our holiday was, of course, the delicious French cuisine. In particular, we were very happy with La Syana restaurant in Les Ezyies who welcomed our large group four times.
And what did I think about taking part in an organised group? We’ve no doubt that Great Rail Journeys took away much of the stress of managing our holiday, maximising the varieties of experience that we tasted during our 6 days in the region. We enjoyed sharing our holiday with others, comparing notes and making friends.
Would I now go with an organised group every time? No, I’d hate to lose the ability to plan a holiday ahead, to pour over maps and railway timetables, to fend for myself. But…for our next continental holiday, we’ll probably go with Great Rail once again!
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