A brief stop at Champagnac-La-Riviere in the Limousin

Chez Trangiroux 

We've paused for a few days in the village of Champagnac-La-Riviere which is in the Limousin region of France to visit our friends Chris and Marta who have a base nearby. Our campsite here is again Camping Parc Verger and there have been a few changes since we were last here in April. There's now a little swimming pool - although it's closed for the winter - and plans are afoot for a cafe in the New Year. Franc and Lisa were welcoming again and we managed to get the same pitch as before with its view over the neighbouring lake. The water level is so low we can scarcely see it though. Apparently this part of France has experienced an unusually dry summer. I took advantage of the book exchange in Reception for a spot of BookCrossing so if you're wanting to read Turkish Gambit or And The Mountains Echoed, my copies are here!

Walk signs at Champagnac-La-Riviere 

We've been on two good walks around the local area with our friends. The first was one of their regular routes of about 8km. The second was shorter at 6.3km - Marta has a GPS gadget! - and mostly followed a marked route around the Circuit des Ecureuils. The photograph above is of art at Chez Trangiroux, a house on route which is decorated with several eye-themed artworks. Although chilliness descends once the sun has set here, we had pleasantly warm sunshine over the weekend so the autumnal woods were glorious in shades of orange, yellow and brown. Their paths were deep with fallen leaves too and Marta found a few chanterelle mushrooms. She is quite the eagle-eyed forager! We are delighted to have been given a jar of her homemade Medlar Jelly as a 'Happy Travels' gift. I know it is delicious!

Deyme, near Toulouse, is our destination today and we plan on an overnight stop at Camping Violettes - another good campsite we discovered last trip. If the weather there is gorgeous, we might be tempted to prolong our stay and cycle a little of the Canal du Midi again. Otherwise it will be straight on to pastures new.

Marta's Medlar Jelly