Low-carbon holidays

After breakfast at the hotel, you set off for the Jardins de Colette in Varetz.

Beware of the traffic at the Ponts de Grange, 2 km before the Jardins de Colette: the bends and the slightly faster motorised traffic make it difficult to let yourself daydream while contemplating the landscape!

The Jardins de Colette retraces the life of the writer Colette, who stayed several times at the Château de Castel Novel, just next door to the Jardins, when she was living with Henri de Jouvenel. A strong, free, daring woman who loved nature and animals, Colette was a gaillarde before her time, and the Gardens are imbued with her avant-garde personality. The team of gardeners will be happy to share their responsible commitment with you: "zero phyto" gardens for many years, where waste is systematically recycled as mulch or compost, whereeco-pasturing is practised and where trees, shrubs and perennials are selected for their adaptation to the Correze climate and soil, and systematically purchased from local nurseries. As LPO refuges, the gardens also provide shelter for many birds, giving you the chance to make some really interesting encounters! Discount on admission on presentation of your travel pack.

Once you've regained your strength in the tearoom, get back on the bike and head for the Jardins de Lagarde in Saint-Viance, at a place called La Garde, then for La Ferme du Colombier at a place called Chaumont, in Ussac: Mesdames MURAT, a passionate market gardener, and CHAMBARET, a fruit and vegetable grower and breeder of cattle and pigs, will welcome you to their farm shop and advise you on the choice of local produce for your picnic lunch.

Once you're near Donzenac, there are two options for your lunch break: follow the Route du Rond and take the footbridge over the Maumont to reach a shady spot beside the stream, with its picnic area and tables available, or continue into the town centre and take a seat under the market hall, also equipped with tables and offering welcome shelter in case of rain.

In the early afternoon, continue your cycle tour of Donzenac, a medieval town dating back to the 12th century, where an interpretation trail takes you past the oldest house in Corrèze (13th century).

On leaving the village, stop off at the Pans de Travassac, a site that is unique in Europe: this open-air slate quarry is the last still in operation in France and the only one in Europe to have vertical rather than horizontal sections of rock, giving the place its very special atmosphere. A visit to the site will give you the chance to meet the craftsmen who work the slate every day, and to talk to these enthusiasts about their work and the added value of craftsmanship compared with the mechanised slate quarrying that is so prevalent today. Then you'll understand why Travassac slate was chosen for the roof renovation work on Mont-Saint-Michel! Discount on admission on presentation of your travel pack.

Your stay ends at the end of the day, after you have returned to the station and handed in your bikes to Arnaud. See you soon in Pays Gaillard!