Product Description

The Dordogne region in southwest France offers the walker a beautiful environment in which to walk, surrounded by delightful pastoral countryside, sweeping fields of crops and walnut orchards plus dramatic vistas from cliff tops. The 30 routes, split between the regions of Sarlat and Bergerac, move through this countryside, taking you along valley bottoms and into woodlands and leave plenty of time for exploring the historic sites or just sitting in the delightful surroundings of a village cafe. Illustrated with the author's own colour photographs and sketch maps, this is a comprehensive guide to exploring the region on foot.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25187 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 239 pages

About the Author
Janette Norton has lived in the Geneva region of France for over 30 years, raising four children and working in the marketing and educational fields. Her love of walking and exploring the mountains dates from the time she was a guide in Switzerland in her twenties. The proximity of both the Alps and Jura to her home has enabled her to continue her passion for walking. After writing her first book, on the Haute Savoie, she has moved further afield to explore other areas of France, such as Provence, the Cevennes and the Dordogne.

Customer Reviews

I actually used it
I bought the book in advance of a holiday in the Dordogne combining walks with visits to prehistoric sites in the region. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone planning something similar. I actually did four of the walks, from St Genies (walk no. 2), Les Eyzies (no. 5), Domme (no. 10) and St Sozy (no. 12).

What I liked about the book was the detail in the walk descriptions. For example (walk no 10): "Go through a small hedge to the lower part of the park, where there is an orientation map next to a tall iron cross. With your back to the orientation map, walk out of the garden gates and turn down right on the narrow Rue du Vieux Moulin, following yellow splashes (ignore a track to the left)." This is not just 1:25000, it is 1:1 stuff - much better. The diagrams in the book were fine and actually I didn't refer to the 1:25000 maps at all!

I did go wrong a few times, but in each case it was my fault. I had not read the author's instructions carefully enough or I'd missed a yellow stripe on a tree. But because of the detailed instructions, I soon realised my mistakes (eg: `Where's the canoe shop? I must have gone wrong').

I agree with the author about the ridiculous (my word) `Deviation Provisoire Blazanguet' (walk no 12), which winds round and round and up and down in a small wood. By the way the use of heavy type in the book to indicate sections where the walker has to be especially wary is a useful feature.

In advance, I thought that the authors timings for the walks were generous, ie too long. But in practice, each one was about ¾ hour too short. However, the weather was hot and I needed frequent water stops, book consultation stops and butterfly identification stops.

In summary, a lovely area and a very useful book for walkers.

Actually acurate!!
My girlfriend and I bought this book a week or so before our holiday and completed about 4 of the walks whilst we were in the region.
The descriptions and directions are easy to follow for anyone with half a brain! most walks are signed (sort of) by little coloured arrows/symbols which makes following easier, although this being France they tend to disappear and re-appear at random times!
all in all a very good book for people of varying abilities and well worth it for some off the beaten track sights of rural France!!

Walking in the Dordogne
I usually rely on just ordnance survey maps to plan and undertake long walks. This book was, however, invaluable in suggesting very pleasant walks in the Dordogne. The walks were described very accurately, pointing out a host of useful waymarks not obtainable from the map. It is well worth the expenditure and enhanced our holiday experience.