Discovering Charente-Limousine by Heidi Fuller-Love

Moulded by the Vienne river, which weaves it’s turbulent blue thread through lush green countryside, the little-known Charente-Limousine region of southwest France boasts a micro climate that gives a thousand more sunshine hours than Paris, lakes that incite lazy bathing, some of the best preserved Roman remains in Europe and gastronomic specialities guaranteed to make your mouth water.

One of six sub-divisions of the larger Charente department, Charente-limousine stretches from it’s medieval capital, Confolens, in the north-east, to the busy maquis town of Chasseneuil in the south-west. As its name suggests, the area is really a blend of two zones brought together centuries ago for the usual administrative reasons, but still divided by ancient traditions, by language (two different forms of patois are spoken here) and by nature: the Charente side has a chalky soil where vines abound while Limousin has a thicker loam dotted with purple heather and the deep shade of chestnut trees.

The well-signposted route des Lemovices - a road used by the Romans to carry wine and salt from the Atlantic coast as far as Rome - is an ideal thread to follow if you want to discover the region’s past. Cutting across countryside dotted with the stony tussocks of crumbled bridges, this ancient highway was an important economic axe during the second Century. How are the mighty fallen! These days the well preserved theatre and Roman baths at Chassenon are all that remain of the large and prosperous Empire which once lorded it over this area.

Renowned for it’s fertile soil the area also abounds in plant nurseries and botanical gardens and a must-see for the green-fingered is the town of Chabanais, lying further along the lush Vienne valley. Its charms include a well-stocked botanical garden and a horticultural festival each Autumn, which honours La Quintinie, the Sun King’s innovative gardener, who was born here in 1626.

The region’s soil might be fertile, it is also deeply scarred by conflicts and many of the battles of the Hundred Years War took place here. Numerous chateaux forts still bear witness to those troubled times and the castle of Rochebrune, near Etagnac, is definitely the most imposing. Erected during the middle ages by the lords of Chabanais, to defend the Vienne river and access to the Charente valley, the forbidding stronghold is still owned by one of their descendants, and can be visited in season.

More recent tribulations are commemorated at Chasseneuil-sur-Bonnieure. Split in two by the Demarcation Line which separated occupied France from Vichy France during WWII, the city’s memorial shining out over surrounding countryside is a constant reminder. A crypt beneath the memorial’s stark, sculpted flag shelters the remains of 28 resistance heroes; men like Claude Bonnier, alias Hypothénuse, who was mandated by de Gaulle to organise the French resistance movement, and Colonel André Chabanne, founder of the maquis Bir Hakeim.

Just a short drive away Lavaud’s 140 hectare lake is a shrine to more frivolous matters. Originally used to irrigate the fields of maize which rustle like bamboo in summer’s breezes, it was rapidly colonised by holidaymakers and now boasts meticulously raked beaches, snack bars, ping pong tables and a fleet of sleek mirror dinghies just waiting to prove their stuff. For a theme visit with a difference ‘Au Pré de la Vache’ offers a chance to learn everything-you- wanted-to-know-about-cows-but-were-scared-to-ask, and kids adore the newly opened Adventure Park where they can strap on a harness and clamber to the forest’s lofty summit .

Talking of forests, in Charente they are everywhere and the region’s pine, chestnut and oak just cry out for mushroom hunters who come seeking the royal cep. Other gastronomic delights include luscious entrées like the migeot, a silky consommé made of bread soaked in white wine, and cagouilles (snails) served lightly braised in a rich garlic sauce. Summer heralds the arrival of the orange-fleshed melon charentais which is served chopped in two and soaked in Pineau (a syrupy, fortified wine made with grape skins soaked in cognac) and lip-smacking main dishes include chou farci, a crisp, green cabbage stuffed with pork, and home-cured ham served on a bed of white beans known as mojettes.

Staggering away from one of those long, lazy lunches, a great way to get back into shape is to hire a kayak on the Vienne and see the region from it’s waterside. For an equally active après dejeuner try a ride on Manot’s vélo-rail and plunge deep into the blissfully shaded forest with only the buzz of bees and hum of birds for company. Or why not take a trip to Confolens, and spent an afternoon sauntering round Charente-Limousine’s medieval capital?

Vibrant with life during the August folk festival, when groups from all over the world gather to sing and dance in the city’s cobbled streets, the rest of the time Confolens drowses like a cat alongside the river Vienne. Despite it’s dozy air there’s plenty to do: sample Pineau at the well-stocked Vinitheque, browse the antique shops, clamber up the Puits d’Olivet to the place Docteur Defaut for panoramic views, slide down through narrow alleys via the rue des Buttes and the rue de Soleil and admire the half-timbered abode where the Duke of Epernon hid Marie de Medicis. Whether it’s culture or Cognac you’re after, Confolen’s heady mix of history and hedonism neatly summarizes the Charente-Limousine, a region split in two by it’s past but reunited by present pleasures.