Situated 80km from Bordeaux and in the heart of the Charente maritime is the village of Lorignac and it’s just a stone’s throw away from here where we have been house sitting for the last few weeks.
In the small hamlet of Chez Poupot is the charming old farmhouse that is home to Jane and her 3 cats Noiraud, Blanche and Lite.
Surrounded by vineyards with views rolling across the fields towards the Gironde estuary it’s a quiet ( apart from the frogs in the pond opposite who break out into a nightly chorus ) calm place to stay.
Before Jane leaves for her holiday we spend the evening chatting over dinner. and learning about her life here in France.
We don’t have a car at this house sit and it’s a tight squeeze getting the motorhome in and out of the drive so we walk to the local villages or cycle to see the surrounding hamlets.
It’s a 5 mile round trip across the fields to the village of Saint-Fort-sur-Gironde and on a Saturday morning, we find the market that has a handful of stalls but still seems popular with the locals. After purchasing bread and Mille Feuille ( this is becoming a habit ) from the Boulangerie we stop off at Tina’s cafe for coffee where the dusty, musty smelling second-hand books don’t seem to get many customers.
It’s a pretty village with its emblematic streets and its beautiful church where you can climb the spiral staircase carved into the limestone up to the bell tower to view the surrounding villages and countryside.
On the walk into Lorignac, we pass the Chateau De Beaulon distillery where they produce some of the best artisan Pineau and Cognac that is recognised around the world but as we walk further into the village there’s just one small shop and we learn that a food takeaway truck that visits on a Thursday and with very few people around it seems more of a sleepy village, it’s very quiet.
Back at the house during the day, we spend time with the cats, gardening, watch the vineyard farmers attending their vines, admire the beautiful chateau across the road from us, and pass the time of day with Patrick our neighbour but come early evening and the sun starts to go down we sit looking across the fields with the Gironde in the distance and watch the sky with its ever-changing colours each day a different picture.
When we arrived here the weather was cold and windy but over the days the sun has finally started to shine albeit there is still a chill in the air. We have enjoyed our time here it’s been a chance to stop and slow down, it’s an area that’s worth a visit.