It’s filled with woods fields moors and undemanding hills that are ideal for walking cycling and

It’s filled with woods, fields, moors and undemanding hills that are ideal for walking, cycling and horseriding. The long-distance footpath, “la grande randonn?4″, crosses the region from Limoges towards Clermont-Ferrand. Local tourist offices can provide details of the numerous short local walks and VTT (v? tout terrain, ie mountain-bike) trails, and there’s also no shortage of equestrian centres and stables. But it is the 30-odd big lakes and numerous rivers that particularly attract visitors.The stars of the show are the huge Lac de Vassivi? (1,000 hectares) and St-Pardoux, which both have beaches and plentiful facilities for windsurfers, sailors and kayakers. But there are many other quiet and remote stretches of water where fishing, canoeing, swimming or just quiet contemplation are the order of the day. What you won’t find is much packaged entertainment, but there’s nothing quite as satisfying as renting a couple of canoes or kayaks at the Base de Loisirs in Uzerche, being driven a few kilometres out of town and left to find your own way back down the river V?re, negotiating small-scale rapids and a couple of weirs while looking out for kingfishers and buzzards.

SOUNDS LIKE CAMPING COUNTRY TO ME Par excellence; the Limousin has a good sprinkling of basic but attractive aires naturelles and campings ?a ferme, alongside the usual campsites. G?s rurales are also popular, as, increasingly, are B&B (chambres d’h? on the farm. There are also a surprisingly large number of traditional hotels, particularly in the Corr?. You can find houses to rent through local tourist offices in towns such as Tulle, Uzerche and Eymoutiers. This tends to be a lot cheaper than renting from owners in the UK, though you might not obtain such detailed information about what you’re getting, and your French will need to be up to a phone conversation with the owner. (Phone numbers for all tourist offices are on the French Tourist Office website: : Tulle (00 33 5 55 26 59 61); Uzerche (00 33 5 55 73 15 71); Eymoutiers (00 33 5 55 69 27 81). WHAT ARE THE ‘MUST SEES’? The Limousin’s greatest attractions are natural ones, and pride of ecological place is taken without doubt by the Plateau de Millevaches, which occupies a large chunk of the Corr?.

This has nothing to do with vast herds of Limousine cattle, but owes its name to the old French word for a spring, thousands of which emanate from this weird, boggy landscape, where rare plants and animals such as otters flourish. The most interesting way of getting to Millevaches is on the steam train that runs on Sundays in July and August on the branch line between Limoges and Ussel (exact times and prices from the tourist office in Limoges: 00 33 5 55 34 46 87).Limousin is no great centre for heritage, but nor is it a cultural desert. Aubusson’s tapestry museum has some stunning works, particularly by the man who reinvented tapestry for the 20th century – Jean Lur?. If you thought tapestry was all about faded bucolic scenes decorating the banqueting halls of country houses, Lur?’s brightly coloured works and thought-provoking themes will come as a surprise.Then, on a promontory jutting out into Lake Vassivi?, there is a sculpture park – more of a sculpture wood, really – where works by acclaimed artists such as Nash and Bouillon appear among the trees. It makes for a very enjoyable and relaxing cultural experience, which is not how you’d describe a visit to Oradour-sur-Glane…About 20 minutes’ car drive from Limoges, or by bus from Limoges (though buses will cease from 2 September), you will find this eerie and potent monument to a particularly vile episode in the Second World War, when a unit of the SS massacred the entire population of the village, before setting fire to it. Twisted metal, flapping wires, rusted cars, washing on a line – everything there has been left exactly as it was on 10 June 1944.For less demanding sightseeing, it’s well worth touring the picturesque villages of the Corr?, such as Collonges-la-Rouge, a picture in red sandstone, or the charming medieval St-Robert.