Issigeac (15 minutes) is the nearest village to the West of the cottage, a very quaint small village that every Sunday morning holds the largest market in the area.

People travel from miles around to wander among the stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables, regional delicacies, and artisan made crafts.  The stalls fill every cobbled street through the village and spill out on to the small ring road beyond.  An excellent place to stock up for your weeks stay, and sample some of the local culture, with a coffee at one of the three cafe/bars.

Villereal (5 minutes) has a market every Saturday morning, This is also busy, but tends to be more functional in nature and there are less of the tourist attraction stalls.

The market of Beaumont du Perigord (10 minutes) is held every Tuesday and Saturday morning, but is substantially smaller and held just in the square.

Canoeing and Kayaking

If you are feeling energetic then you can hire canoes and kayaks by the hour and explore the Dordogne river and the Lot river solo.

However if you prefer the more traditional canoeing in this region, then try the downstream drifting.  Rent a canoes from one of the many companies along the river, who drive you upstream in a minibus and then let you drift back with the current, to where you left the car. There is nothing nicer than leaning back in the canoe watching the wildlife on the banks and the dragonflies landing on the boat, just using the oar to steer away from the bank or others drifting by.

Golf

There is a very good golf course close to Bergerac at Chateau les Vigiers. The grand 16th century chateau has a 27 hole golf course and driving range, with lessons available  It is open to the public, as are the two restaurants serving lunches in the courtyard.

Cycling

The local area is perfect for cycling.  The country lanes wend up and down rolling countryside so there is nothing too intensive, apart from the ascent to the many villages and bastides atop the hills.  But strong french coffees and croissants are great reward for the extra labours.

We use Bike Hire Direct for Cycle Hire.  They provide free delivery and collection of the bikes directly to the cottages.  They can be found on Cycle Hire

There are plenty of maps available at tourist information offices in each village but we have found this site for Veloroutes invaluable.  If you click on the link it should bring up a map of the local area showing bicycles, click on the bicycle in the area you want to cycle and it will bring up a separate box, if you 'télécharger la fiche PDF, it will bring up a map that you can print off.  We have printed off maps of the closest cycle routes maps and put them into the Welcome Pack, but if you would like to drive to another start point, let us know and we will print the map off for you.

If you would prefer to just follow your nose, the country lanes are quiet enough for families to cycle quite happily, and you will find the farmers will keep their tractors well over to one side for you.