One Summer in Provence, in conversation with Carol Drinkwater

Carol Drinkwater, One Summer in Provence
(image provided by Carol Drinkwater)

I am delighted to welcome actress and writer Carol Drinkwater to the blog today. I’ve long been a fan of her writing, both her fiction books and her Olive Farm memoirs, so it is with great excitement that I can help her share her latest release, ONE SUMMER IN PROVENCE. This book is set on a vineyard in the majestic Esterel region of the south of France and Carol was gracious enough to answer some questions about the characters, their vineyard and what we can expect from this book. 

A bit about Carol:

Carol Drinkwater is a multi-award winning actress and writer, possibly best known for her portrayal of Helen Herriot in the BBC’s original television series, All Creatures Great and Small.

Carol is the author of twenty-four books, both fiction and non-fiction. She has achieved bestselling status - over a million copies sold worldwide - with her much-loved quartet of memoirs set on her Olive Farm in the south of France, The Olive Farm series. 

Carol's fascination with the olive tree extended to a seventeen-month solo Mediterranean journey in search of the tree's mythical secrets. The resulting, bestselling travel books, The Olive Route and The Olive Tree, were adapted into a five-part documentary film series, which has been screened all over the world.

Carol’s novels include THE FORGOTTEN SUMMER, THE LOST GIRL which was one of LoveReading’s Books of the Year 2017.  THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF published in May 2019. AN ACT OF LOVE published early 2021.

In 2022/23, Channel 5 in the UK screened a six-part series titled CAROL DRINKWATER’S SECRET PROVENCE. It is still being screened worldwide, garnering millions of viewers internationally.

Carol’s latest novel, ONE SUMMER IN PROVENCE, was published by Corvus Atlantic on 3rd July 2025.

 

One Summer in Provence by Carol Drinkwater

Depending on the time of day, may I suggest you pour yourselves a coffee or a glass of wine, then settle down in a comfy spot to enjoy a taster of summer, in a vineyard, in Provence. 

In your latest novel, One Summer in Provence, Les Roches du Soleil is the unexpected vineyard home to ex-London couple, Dominic and Celia. Can you tell us a bit more about them and how they came to be living in the south of France, making wine?

Celia spent her childhood and youth in a small town near Bristol. She left for London when she was twenty to study to become an actress at drama school. Some years later, she met Dominic when they were both working on a television play written by Dominic. They married soon after and built successful careers in the worlds of television and theatre. They lived in Primrose Hill. Had it not been for an unexpected setback in their fortunes, they would probably never have considered the move to France. Certainly, Dominic would not have uprooted. But one of Life’s twists and unforeseen changes of direction pushed them to Provence. Celia’s parents were the proprietors of a vineyard in the south of France. It was her father’s dream to own his own patch of French wine-growing territory. He was an early ex-pat, (before Peter Mayle and the wave of foreigners who headed to Provence!) After Celia’s parents had both died, she inherited the estate. The inheritance, due to the couple’s troubles in London, (which we only learn about later in the story) proved to be timely.

From just the first few chapters, I easily slipped into life on the vineyard and certainly wanted to read more about how Celia’s son turning up was going to play out. 

I am delighted to read, Jacqui, that the narrative drive of the story gripped you early on. That is so important. Thank you. Yes, the arrival of the man who claims to be Celia’s son, along with his unlikely travelling companion, does set the story rolling in new and unexpected directions.

The vineyard is in the Esterel area, with its particular red, rocky landscape. For those of us not lucky enough to be there, can you describe what is so special about this coastline for us?

As you say the earth, which is ancient volcanic land, is dark rusty-red in colour.  Gorgeous, rich. It’s really very striking. And it does make for unusual wine-growing. Like all this Med coast area, as you move inland it very quickly becomes dramatic because it is set in the foothills of the Lower Alps.

Soil is important for vine growing, does the Esterel soil make a good wine? If so, I hope you had a chilled bottle to hand to celebrate One Summer in Provence’s publication day.

This area is not one of France’s more famous and highly-esteemed regions for growing wines. However, that is slowly changing. There are some very fine wines being produced in the Var area (where this novel is set) and they are not only the famous rosés. Excellent dark ruby reds too and light crisp whites.

I find that in a well-researched novel, the setting/location becomes one of the characters, how important do you think it is to an engaging read?

Location, for me as a writer, is always an essential element. We are impacted by our surroundings. I am deeply rooted in nature and need to put my writing fingers in the soil, as it were. I was partially brought up on a farm in Ireland and so the rituals of crop production, feeding, nurturing, are in my DNA, I think. I agree with you that location can be a character in a novel. Location with some dramatic weather changes have quite an important role to play in this story.

Although vineyard life was never their plan, it seemed that there was something about life on the land and the changing seasons that spoke to Dominic and Celia. Was this a bit of south of France magic and can you relate?

Never underestimate the magic and lure of this part of the world! PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) offers myriad different faces. It can be lush and poetically beautiful; it can be stark and rugged especially further inland; it can be buzzing with life and elegance for the tourist trade. It is fecund, almost everything grows here and nature’s abundance is very attractive, almost addictive. If I were Dominic or Celia and I had inherited this lovely old vineyard, I would have stayed on too!

Carol Drinkwater on her olive farm
(image provided by Carol Drinkwater)

As you are as at home on the land in the south of France as Celia and Dominic, what is your favourite season on your olive farm?

Every season has its secrets and its gifts. These days, as the heat becomes more intense, I find that summer can be too hot for me, but there is never a day when I wish I was living in another country. France, the Côte d’Azur, is one of the loveliest places on earth. I consider myself immensely fortunate.

Can you describe a typical summers day for Celia and Dominic, to give us all a taste of life at Les Roches du Soleil?

Well, they are landowners and land workers so their days would include being out in the vineyards. Sometimes working long hours. Late summer - September - is grape harvesting season, which is a time of group activity - extra causal labour is employed to pick - and important decisions about when to pick the fruit clusters are made. There is a science to that. Communal lunches are enjoyed out in the fields, at the edge of the vineyards. I know from our own olive harvests, when we have many friends to stay to help us bring in the olives and get them to the mill for pressing, how engaged everyone becomes. It’s very exciting. Friends, or in Celia and Dom’s case, hired hands, all become invested in the outcome. The desire for the finest produce, fruits harvested with love and care. 

These are traditions that go back to the Middle East thousands of years ago.

You can’t write about France and not include delicious food and wine. Are there any of your favourite French summer dishes that make an appearance in the book?

When Celia and Dominic discuss the menu for the grand weekend party, I was salivating as I made the choices for that section of the novel. Lamb cooked over a fire outside seasoned with a generous sprinkling of freshly-grown Provençal herbs. Home-grown veggies, wines to accompany each step of the occasion, each dish. I had great fun with this part of the storytelling. Someone said to me that they gained weight just reading it!

As well as the vineyard, will we get to visit any other Provençal gems alongside Celia and Dominic?

Aside from a couple of scenes set in Cannes - I don’t want to say too much here! - the novel is predominantly centred at their vineyard.

Henri, Celia and Dominic’s gardener with his chickens, accordion and vegetable garden was one of the characters who put a smile on my face. Was there one character in the book whose story shouted louder than the others to be told?

Each character is my best friend while I am writing about them and creating them. I love Henri because he is such a gracious old man, carrying his personal sorrows with dignity and because he loves and tends bees!

What do you hope your readers will remember most at the end of the novel?

Love and family are where you find and welcome them. 

Thank you, Carol, for taking the time to answer my questions. I was hooked from the first few chapters and will be sharing my review soon. 

The novel has many twists and turns, plenty of mystery and readers are saying it is a page-turner. I hope it sweeps you away to a magical setting even if events take several unexpected turns. Please enjoy it, I loved writing this novel. It is intended as a celebration of Provence.

One Summer in Provence by Carol Drinkwater

ONE SUMMER IN PROVENCE is available to buy in all good bookshops. Here are some links to Amazon for the kindle and paperback editions.

Amazon kindle 

Amazon paperback 

French Village Diaries is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk at no extra cost to you.

Carol has just completed the first leg of her book tour. She will be in both UK and Northern Ireland from September onwards. The dates and events will soon be up on her website, click here for more details. 

La vie est Belle

A bike ride along the river Belle, Deux-Sèvres

La Vie est Belle

 

September, how could you, my birth month, have been so disappointing weatherwise this year? I have vivid memories of September 2004, our first full month in France, where temperatures regularly topped 30º, breakfasts, lunches and dinners were eaten outside, and it seemed summers in France would go on forever.

Looking back on twenty years of photos, sunny days, hot bike rides, touristy days out under blue skies, and sultry vistas of our orchard looking crisp and dry at the end of the season are far more common than the low-hung grey skies, vivid greens of soggy water-logged land and the stormy days you have showered on us this year.

Had we been blessed with a summer of endless sunny days a moist September might have come as a welcome relief. As it was, summer had hardly seemed to get going as August drew to a close, and I was eagerly anticipating a September where foggy mornings gave way to hot afternoons, where despite the shortening of the days, evenings were still warm enough to be outdoor events. The disappointment of a September that has been so far from my expectations has been hard to accept.

Terra Aventura parcours, Exireuil, Deux-Sèvres

As October arrives, so does the ominous date of the 14^th, marking exactly one year since the weather turned, becoming wet and unsettled following a gorgeous six-week period of late summer heat. This year, I think I’d be hard pushed to count six decent, hot days in the last six weeks, but I do know we have made the most of them, often following the routes and answering the questions on the Terra Aventura geocaching app. This has seen us clambering over boulders in the river gorge, as we explored les puits d’enfer (hell’s wells) in Exireuil, alongside the military town of Saint-Maixent-l’Ecole in the Deux-Sèvres, as well as discovering hidden gems in Civray and Charroux in the Vienne.

A September sunset ride

The Bromptons continue to be our faithful companions, whether to and from work, enjoying rarely glimpsed sunsets after work, or the glowing autumnal colours of Chef-Boutonne on market day. We also discovered the Belle valley, less than thirty kilometres from home, where lavoirs, lost lanes and fairy bridges hidden in the trees reminded us that la vie est belle, life is beautiful (whatever the weather).

Sunshine in Charmé, Charente

I have yet to cycle my traditional 100km in a day birthday bike ride, something I have been doing since September 2015, although we did manage a fabulous 93km on the 20^th September. Our route took us through the Charente vineyards ripe with fruit, past Romanesque churches, lavoirs and fields of sunflowers with drooping seed heads, awaiting harvest. In Mansle, on the banks of the Charente River, we enjoyed a coup de soleil from a local patisserie. This new to us delight had a base of an apricot clafoutis with a lightly whipped topping of crème patisserie and Chantilly cream and was a real burst of sunshine in our mouths. Sadly, with storm clouds and thunder rolling in around us, we didn’t risk adding on the required seven kilometres to hit the 100. Ten days later and it seems the stormy showers and high winds, although interspersed with sunny spells, are still with us. I’ve had enough. Like the lizards I watch soaking up the heat on the steps of the château, I need to recharge my solar panels before winter arrives.

I can only hope that October gives us some respite from the cold and damp before winter truly sets in. 

  

The good, the bad and the ugly of life in rural France

Sunflowers and sunny skies

As we approach our twentieth anniversary of arriving in France, we have experienced the good, the bad and the ugly of rural French life - and all in one week. 

Note - to keep things on a happy note, all the photos in this blog are from our days out enjoying the sunshine.

The Cognac vineyards

The good

Since my last post about the year without a summer, we were treated to almost four continuous days of sunshine and heat, which miraculously coincided with days off work for both of us. It would have been the ideal time to head away, but that wasn’t possible with Mini the dog’s age-related issues – which are to be expected now she is 16 ½. Not ones to waste our days lounging around, we set off on the bikes every afternoon, exploring some hidden gems in the Charente vineyards, and Marais-Poitevin marshes, enjoying the warmth of the sun on our skin. This felt so good after bike rides in the rain, cycling into head winds, or summer commutes cool enough to cause goosepimples and runny noses. There is something quite special about real summer cycling where you learn to appreciate the subtle temperature changes as you ride into the shade of the trees, or follow a cooling river, enjoying the caressing breeze as you move through the air.

 

We drank in the endless vistas of smiling sunflowers, saw young deer sheltering in the vineyards, dusty combine harvesters working the wheat fields, and stopped to admire old lavoirs or wash houses. We fuelled our 235kms of pedalling with patisserie stops where croissants, éclairs (coffee and Grand Marnier) and tartelettes (apple and lemon) were appreciated on shady benches. Summer in rural France is good.

 

Grand Marnier éclair

The bad

Despite getting much less usage than the bikes, the time had come to replace all four tyres on our car. Adrian got a few online quotes before booking an appointment at Feu Vert in Niort, paying up front as requested. We live about an hour’s drive from Niort and as we approached the garage, in plenty of time for our appointment, the phone rang. The line wasn’t good, but I understood enough to realise that the tyres hadn’t been delivered, so they were calling to cancel the appointment to fit them. This was frustrating. They had taken our money four days ago and we’d now committed to a two-hour round trip, to coincide with our days off, and had nothing to show for it. Had we lived closer, we might have been able to save ourselves the wasted journey, but this is one of the downsides to living in rural France. Thankfully, it wasn’t all bad as cancelling the order was straightforward and the full refund arrived within the 48 hours promised. Adrian is now back online, searching and checking availability of four low-profile, all-season tyres.

 

Romanesque church, Charente

The ugly

Heading out and about from the village this last week, the vehicles we have seen more of even than the combine harvesters, have been Gendarme vans, normally a pretty unusual sight around here. There were convoys of them in Niort, heavily manned check points appeared on the way in and out of Chef-Boutonne and the only car that we saw on the quiet backroads heading to the château on Sunday morning, was a Gendarme. The reason for this activity is the controversial construction of mega-bassines or huge water reservoirs, that has put our local area on the global map.

 

The idea behind the reservoirs is that farmers who irrigate their crops build a reservoir, fill it from the rivers over winter, so they won’t run out of water during the drier summer months. Sounds simple, but this causes a massive imbalance for the local ecosystem and water table levels, that affects us all, purely for the benefit of a few farmers who choose to grow water-thirsty (mainly maize) crops. Add to this the huge financial costs to their construction, that are massively funded by the state, along with the responsibility we all have to conserve water, and this has become a highly controversial topic. Greta Thunberg was among the activists visiting the pop-up water village in Melle over the weekend, and she shared the following about the reservoirs on social media:

 

“Construction of mega-basins have accelerated in recent years partly as a result of the climate crisis and more intense and frequent droughts. But this is no way a solution…This only digs us deeper into an already deeply flawed policy-system that benefits big agro-industrial interests representing a small minority of farmers, while ruining the environment and destabilising the climate”.

Cycling the Sèvre Niortais in the Marais Poitevin

 

I am not a fan of the bassines, but when thousands of protestors from all over the world arrive in our quiet corner of France, accompanied by thousands more Gendarmes, riot police and helicopters, the situation quickly got ugly. Whilst many protestors were genuine, there were others who had weapons confiscated, and I can’t help but think of the negative environmental impact of all these extra vehicles on the roads.

 

So as not to finish on an ugly note, something else happened last week that highlights why we are happy with our rural French village life. At the same moment we were about to fill the boot of the car with lots of garden waste to take to the tip eight kilometres away, the village gardener’s truck pulled up outside and Monsieur began to unload the commune’s lawnmower. When he saw what we were doing, he took one side of our loaded groundsheet and with Adrian’s help emptied it into the truck, saving us an afternoon’s work. That is why he will always find a cup of coffee by our front gate when he turns up to mow the patch outside our house in the mornings.

 

Tartlettes au citron et aux pommes

I’m working this week, so I hope summer returns and encourages lots of visitors to enjoy all that the Château de Javarzay has to offer. 

The year without a summer

Arriving at work in the rain, June 2024

Yesterday was the 14th of July, France’s fête nationale, and as I welcomed the morning visitors into the Château de Javarzay (and out of the rain), we were all in agreement, the weather this year is rotten.

 

“It’s more like autumn than summer, I’ve put my coat on to come out today” exclaimed one lady and another agreed, “I thought the weather this spring was bad, but summer is no better so far”.

 

It’s depressing, and the longer the gloom of cloudy days that block out the sunshine hang over us, the lower our moods are slipping. I know the blog has been quiet, aside from the book review tours I’ve signed-up to do, and this ongoing lack of sunlight has certainly played its part.

 

Water restrictions

Way back on 13^th of October, when the sun still shone consistently for days in a row, we were put on water usage restrictions. The water table was at an all-time low and rain (or the lack of it) was on everyone’s lips. As if to prove that she had the upper hand, Mother Nature sent in the rain on 14th of October, and there are some days when it’s hard to remember a week without heavy rainy days, strong winds or storms since then. By Christmas, the water table was at a healthy level, by Easter, it was full to bursting and many local rivers flooded, the water rising to levels not seen in over forty years. There are still waterlogged areas in some of the local fields and the summer sunflower crops are late, the first flowers only just beginning to open.

The level of the Boutonne river, December 2023

 

We are now sun deprived and fatigued by the rapid growth rate of the grass and weeds that have become even more difficult to keep on top of. The cherry crop rotted on the trees. We didn’t bother with a potager as the weeds would have strangled the courgettes and keeping the tomatoes free of blight would have been more stressful than beneficial. It’s not all doom and gloom though, as the figs are of giant proportions and the plum crop is looking great.

Giant figs, July 2024

 

The year without a summer

There have been times when it feels like summer just isn’t going to arrive, but I learned recently of events in 1815 that caused 1816 to be known as “the year without a summer”, and the more I delved into the history books, the more grateful I became for our lives 108 years later.

 

In 1815, one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions recorded, occurred at Mt Tambora in Indonesia. As well as the devastation, death and destruction locally, a sulphur-filled ash cloud formed that caused disruption over part of the United States, Europe and China throughout 1816. This resulted in temperatures being colder than normal and more days recorded that were wet or with heavy cloud cover, than sunshine – something that feels very familiar this year, although we haven’t suffered with the summer frosts or snowfall that also hit them. The effects of this were catastrophic on the wheat, potato and grape harvests in Europe and it couldn’t have occurred at a worse time for France. Following the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815), France and Europe were already economically struggling, so the poor harvests led to famine and illness, including a typhus epidemic. The death rate in 1816 was ten times higher than the normal average for that time. As is often the case when pushed to our limits, we realise how strong we are, and great things arise from the devastation.

 

The first bicycle

Many horses that families relied on for transport and to work the land had either died of starvation or were eaten to avoid the family starving, which led to Baron Karl von Drais inventing the Velocipede. These two wheeled, steerable, human-propelled machines were patented in 1818 and regarded as the first bicycle. I can’t thank him enough as cycling has certainly helped to keep our spirits up, even if the weather has meant far less longs days out on the bike than usual.

Cycling in the Charente, summer 2024

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley and friends spent the summer of 1816 in Switzerland and instead of relaxing in the sunshine, the weather kept them all indoors, searching for other things to do. The dark days of that summer inspired her to write Frankenstein, that was first published in 1818.

 

Jean-François Cail’s potato grater

I’d like to add another event to this list, that ties in nicely with my life and the museum at the Château de Javarzay. Part of our museum is dedicated to the incredible life of French industrialist Jean-François Cail. He was born in Chef-Boutonne in 1804 and finished school at the age of twelve, as there was no money to pay the fees. Most young men at that time would have become farm labourers, but as he turned twelve in 1816, it is no surprise this wasn’t what he wanted from life. Whilst looking for a metalwork apprenticeship he began making a potato grater, piercing holes in an iron sheet, that he sold at the weekly market. This simple device helped to make a potato flour that could be added to the wheat flour and used to make bread. With the poor wheat and potato crops that summer, anything that could reduce waste and help to put food on the table would have been lifesaving. From his humble beginnings he became a great industrialist, building railway locomotives and infrastructure, as well as modernising agriculture and running sugar refineries all over the world. Knowing what I now know about the year of no summer, I like to think he was more than a little bit influenced by this event.

Jean-François Cail museum, Château de Javarzay

 

While I’m totally fed up with our lack of summer, at least we haven’t had to endure the hardships of those living through 1815 and 1816.

You can read more about the Château de Javarzay in these posts here:

My five top tips for a visit

The stonework

Mysterious markings

A film crew at the château

A film crew at the Château de Javarzay

A bit like the misty mornings of Autumn, my head is a little clouded at the prospect of the rapidly approaching end of the summer season at the Château de Javarzay. It has been a blast once more, welcoming over three-thousand visitors, including almost a thousand international tourists, from thirteen different countries, and rescuing two species of bat from the spiral staircase.

 

A long-eared bat, rescued from the staircase

Some of the visitors will stand out more in my memory than others. One Monday evening, just as we were closing up, two men appeared by the door and started to read the opening times. I could hear them speaking in English, so picked up one of our English flyers and popped outside to explain they were a bit late for a visit today, but that we’d love to see them on Wednesday. We chatted for a bit about the château and the museum, and when they asked about things like vintage car rallies, I was able to regale them with tales of 75 Porsches parked within the courtyard to the rear of the château and the MG car club lined up at the front. However, sadly there was nothing else in the calendar for the two weeks they said they were in the area. They then revealed they were a film crew for A Place in the Sun, a long running UK television programme finding holiday homes abroad for sun-deprived Brits. As I may well have watched an episode or two over the years, this certainly piqued my interest.

 

Some of the 75 Porsche parked in the courtyard

They asked about filming the outside of the château to use as one of their postcard shots for an episode to be set in our area, and I happily gave out the contact details for the Mairie (mayor) to get the required permission, as well as waxing lyrical about life here and all the fantastic events that are organised over the summer. Almost as a last-minute parting thought, they asked for my phone number, to let me know when they would be back to film. A few days later, they called, with a question – would I be happy being filmed, talking to their house-hunters about what it’s like living here?

 

Two thoughts instantly flew into my head. The first was the wooden freeze pose that automatically descends as soon as someone points a camera in my face. The second was that this is an experience that will put me way out of my comfort zone, so I obviously have to say yes. Adrian and Ed thought it was hilarious, but I am a firm believer in pushing my comfort boundaries and I’m also quite used to chatting away to holiday makers at the château who are keen to find out how a British woman gets a job in a château in rural France – in short, by saying yes to new opportunities.

 

It is fair to say that the weather this summer has been mixed, so when I opened my shutters on the morning of the filming and it was chilly and misty, it was difficult to predict whether it would be overcast all day or follow the normal September pattern of misty mornings and warm, sunny afternoons. Luckily, the mist was already lifting by the time I cycled to the château, with my favourite dress rolled up in my bag and by the time we set up by the lake at the back of the château, the grass was still damp with dew, but the sky was an incredible shade of blue, that complemented my dress nicely. 

 

I did have a brief fan-girl moment/flicker of panic, when I recognised the presenter of the show, Lucy, who was the face of Homes Under the Hammer for fourteen years, and I was rather in awe of how easy she made talking to the camera seem. Happily the team were very gentle with me as a total TV newbie. The soundman was discrete as he attached a box to my bra strap and dropped a little fluffy microphone into my cleavage, reminding me that just four days earlier I had worn the same dress to work (on my birthday) and had suffered an epic underwear fail. Despite bringing a change of clothes to work with me, swapping cycling gear for something smarter, I don’t normally bother with two bras. It was just bad luck that it poured with rain on my way in, soaking me (and my padded bra) to the skin, so I had no option but to spend my birthday wearing my dress with nothing on underneath. I was rather grateful that I was appropriately dressed today. 

 

The cameraman, who I’d met on the steps of the château, was patient, relaxed and put me at ease, so I was almost able to forget he had a camera in front of him. Lucy was chatty and friendly, and made me feel like we’d known each other for years. The house hunters had already had a few days experience of life on camera and were keen to hear my take on life here in the Deux-Sèvres. In the days before filming, I’d come up with a plan to ignore the camera and just pretend I was talking to tourists who had walked into the château. It worked and it was a great fun experience, although having to have the same (or at least similar) conversations over and over again, to ensure different angles and close-ups were all covered, did seem rather weird.

A Place in the Sun - the château, the house hunters, the presenter and me 

Almost as quickly as they’d arrived and set up, they were gone, off to view their third property, a thirteen-minute drive from Javarzay. It was interesting to learn that filming one episode takes them five days on location, where they must wear the same outfit every day and the location of each property is kept a secret from the couple, until they arrive. I have obviously been following Lucy on Instagram to see where else they have been this week (Cognac and the Charente Maritime) and now it’s just a waiting game for the new series to hit the screens.

 

They have probably already forgotten meeting little old me, but I will remember them and be grateful for another memorable experience that came my way thanks to working at the château.

 

I know it’s been way too long since my last proper blog, so now I’ve got more free time, I’ll do my best to catch up with some of the other memorable moments from our busy summer. 

Poitiers summer fun

Place du Maréchal Leclerc, Poitiers

HoliDAYS out and about: Poitiers

This summer, rather than going away for a holiday we are making the most of our holiDAYS out and about, mostly involving the bikes. The first of these was an afternoon in Poitiers, where the relaxed groups of tourists milling around with maps, ensured there was a feel of holidays in the air.

 

There are certain things we like to do on holiday; ride our bikes, sit outside at a café, enjoy warm sunny weather, eat patisseries, drink cold beer and see the sights. I’m pleased to say, we managed all of these in just one afternoon in Poitiers.

Lunch on a terrace, Poitiers 2022

 

We lunched in the main square with the imposing Hôtel du Ville watching over us, as we people-watched the constant flow of activity around us. We might have had the intention of grabbing a quick croque monsieur, but with a menu offering steak frites, followed by a chocolate éclair and a coffee (that came with a biscuit) for less than 12€ each, our resolve crumbled. Seated outside, there was more than enough room for our bikes to join us without getting in the way and the distance between the tables was safe and reassuring. The creamy blossoms of the Japanese Pagoda tree fell like confetti on us, the table, and added a certain something to the salad that accompanied our steak frites. We then set off for a short twelve-kilometre city tour by bike.

Aliénor d'Aquitaine, Poitiers

This year Poitiers is celebrating the 900^th anniversary of Aliénor d’Aquitaine, who (I believe) is the only person to hold both the title of Queen of France and Queen of England. The impressive Palais that is at the heart of the medieval city, was where the Counts of Poitou and the Duchy of Aquitaine held their courts. I haven’t had time so far this summer to book into any of the events being organised but seeing this artwork on the grand steps up to Palais reminded me to check out the calendar, as I really enjoyed the office du tourisme’s guided love-theme walk. 

Parc du Blossac, Poitiers

 

Despite the tourists in the town centre, we had the beautiful Parc de Blossac, that dates from the eighteenth century, almost to ourselves. It’s central fountain and wide tree-lined boulevards, with a bandstand and views over the ramparts feel very Parisian to me and are perfect for enjoying on a bike, but the more intimate Jardin à l'Anglaise and small animal park are best explored on foot. If you look closely on the old stone walls there is evidence of the Nazi occupation, a swastika, and the date 1940, plus a German eagle, carved into the stone at one of the strategic viewpoints over the river. A reminder that the park was requisitioned as a parade ground for the many garrisons of soldiers stationed in the vicinity.

Church of St Hilaire le Grand, Poitiers

We also took advantage of the cool interiors of some of the churches in Poiters, including the church of St Hilaire le Grand (who was the first bishop of Poitiers). This impressive Romanesque church has been welcoming pilgrims on Chemins de St Jacques for hundreds of years and I’m always delighted when my path crosses this ancient pilgrimage route.

Poitiers viewed from the cycle lane flyover

 

In more recent years, Poitiers has come on a long way in terms of being an eco-city and somewhere that is cycle and pedestrian friendly. In our early years in France, on the odd occasion we did venture into the town centre, around family airport or station drop-offs, we quickly remembered why we rarely bothered. It was difficult to access, impossible to park and noisy and unpleasant to walk anywhere because of the constant traffic. The main square becoming pedestrianised was one of the best things they have done, topped only by the fact that the best view of the city is now one that is reserved exclusively for cyclists. It is a city panorama, from the flyover, where two out of the three lanes are now car free. Cycling into town from Ed and Pearl’s flat is a joy. Poitiers took the decision a few years ago, to drastically reduce car access into the city and now the town centre is a hive of people, happily shopping and socialising in the car-free streets. More towns need to follow this example.

Vive l’active travel!

You might also like my holiDAYS out in Melle and Celles-sur-Belle post.