A walk around the lake at Bellebouche - and two sides to the story.

Yesterday we headed over to La Brenne to take the walk around the lake at Bellebouche. We have visited the lake a few times before but never completed the 7km+ walk around it.

The first part of the walk down the east side of the lake was lovely with a walk along a path through the woods with occational views onto the lake itself.

The return, back along the west side was not so interesting with little or any views of the lake. It was however made more interesting when we arrived at this point below. 

We had to give way to a French family coming out this little lane from one of the 'hides' who then proceeded to walk past the blue cross. We explained to them that  the cross meant that this was not the way to go. Now, the alternative route,at 90 degrees to it, did seem wrong in that it was heading away from the lake but we tried to assure them that we were familiar with route markings and this was not the way to go.

The son of the family was not having it and produced a map on his 'smart' phone that implied it was in fact the correct route and they walked off by the blue cross. After visiting the hide  I looked at the alternative that was a long straight road in what seemed like the wrong direction and made the decision to follow them, what was the worst that could happen? (Haven't a great track record here)

We met and passed the family who had stopped to take photographs and as we looked back we noticed they seemed hesitant to continue along the path - they perhaps had Googled 'comprendre le balisage des sentiers'. Anyway I decided as there seemed to be a path and it was,in my opinion, in the right direction we should continue. Pauline on the other hand was not convinced. Had I ever let her down before? (well that's another few stories).

My decision and sense of direction proved correct and we eventually picked up the track that took us back to our starting point - not sure how long our French family would take to catch up but we decided that after taking a refreshment at the lakeside cafe that we wouldn't wait to find out!

I feel it in my fingers...

Norman and Margaret, friends and neighbours here in Barrou introduced us to friends of theirs over dinner last summer. Mike and Judith have a  property in a hamlet outside of La Roche Posay and it was obvious that Mike was a man who had to continuously have a 'project' on the go . One such project intrigued me - one thing they didn't get when  they bought the house was a cellar. So what did Mike do - he dug one out under the floor of his barn ...of course he did...wouldn't anyone?  

One of the the things that I have noticed about my wall building and other projects here is the effect they have on my hands and fingers, with my age probably also contributing a lot, stiffness and light pain after a day of lifting and chipping.(hence the post title,appropriately enough from a 'Trogs' song)

Well, just the thought of starting a project like Mike's cave has my fingers tingling!

 Unbelievable, and apparently mostly done by a cheap hammer drill he bought on 'special' from Lidl!

  It has lighting, air circulation and more importantly wine!

Not content with this project he has also made a lovely gite in the neighbouring property they acquired. He is offering it for rent this year for the first time at a very competitive rate so if you want a quiet location in the countryside with good access to La Brenne nature reserve you can contact him through us. 

Footnote:

Mike had a slight problem with his hammer drill near the end of his project and had it repaired under the guarantee, ' fair use' clause obviously didn't apply! Me? I would have buried it with full military honours!!

Restaurant review - Auberge du Grebe

We had dinner Saturday night with friends at the Auberge du Grebe in Lureuil in the neighbouring department of Indre. From Barrou it was a straightforward drive through Yzeures-sur-Creuse and Tournon-Saint-Martin before turning off on the D6 to the village of Lureuil. We remarked on the fact that at just over half an hours drive it was well within our radar yet for some reason we do not tend to come down/over to this department much - we have visited parts of La Brenne and can appreciate its attraction to nature lovers as it is indeed beautiful.'La Berry' - the department's traditional name has its own unique traditions and customs and is definitely worth exploring.It also has the village of Saint-Valentin - will tell you more re this in another post.

Anyway back to dining, the restaurant has a charming exterior which I'm sure we would appreciate even more on a lovely summer's day but it was still very welcoming on this very pleasant autumnal night. The interior was simple and comfortable.The lady who served us ( the chef's wife) was very friendly and helpful. The food, game and fish were very prominent, courtesy of La Brenne no doubt, was very good and very well presented.


They had a variety of menus starting from 19 euros up to reasonably priced 'a le carte' We thought that value for money, the wine prices were very good, was great and we will be back. We will also be recommending it to our guests. It is very popular with tourists visiting La Brenne during the summer so it would be advisable to make a reservation even for lunch again great value, at under 12.00 euros including wine!


Their telephone number is: 02 54 37 98 36 
They are closed on Mondays.