TOURISTS ROUND and ABOUT

This is a tricky page as there is much to do to suit many tastes so it is difficult to narrow the field.

• History. From Saintes to Poitier the Romans came and built and civilised the natives. They leave behind many monuments; the triumphal arch, the arena, a road pattern and the odd aqueduct or two. Theirs are the tiles on the roofs and they encouraged and controlled the wine industry. Distilling came after. Sadly, I know of no ancient villas with tesselated pavements as found in England from Chichester to Hadrian's wall

In 1152 Louis the VII divorced Eleanor of Aquitaine who promptly married Henry of Anjou.Their combined estates stretched from Normandy to Navarre. On becoming HenryII of England the land of France was fractured and disputed culminating in the hundred years war commencing in 1340 and ending (roughly) at Castillon, East of Bordeaux. in 1453. This region has many reminders, particularly at Taillebourg

Not content with this, the French had a revolution, the Cathar crusades and the wars of religion which petered out after Cardinal Richelieu besieged la Rochelle and the mayor decided that he would rather give homage to a local king rather than one who failed to rescue him (that of the English).

In 1944 the German army was holding out at Royan at the mouth of the Gironde. The town was flattened and has risen as a smart, almost entirely new, holiday town. Well worth a visit and providing a regular ferry service across to the vines and chateaux of the Medoc

Rivers range from the Garonne south of Bordeaux, through the Dordogne, the Charente up to the Sevre Niortaise whose swamps were converted by drainage to be the green, multi -channelled Marais Poitevin, a popular destination for a day's visit Locally the Charente can be viewed by boat boarded from Soubise across from Rochefort, or Port d'Envau.. Choices vary from little electric punts to the grand luxe of the Bernard Palissy II,. Dine on or off it as it ploughs majesticaly from it's berth at Saintes.Estuaries The Gironde is the combined estuary of the Dordogne and the Garonne and is navigable by large vessels as far as Bordeaux. At Paulliac a large pontoon has been constructed to transfer parts of the Aerobus A380 from ocean going vessels to river barges on their way to Toulouse. The north bank has many small boating harbours and some interesting towns for day visits, such as Blaye with its Citadelle, Talmont founded by Edward 1st, and the excavations of the Roman town

of Fa.The Seudre estuary south of Rochfort is wide, shallow, and full of oyster farms. The flat bottomed oyster boats can be seen whizzing about at high speed between tides. A new multi media centre has been built complete with restaurant where you may investigate the whole process (in English) and then sample the product.Chateaux range from medieval - mostly sleighted following the wars of religion, to the XVIIIc folly of the Chateau de Beaufief. This was built in 1770 by the mayor of St Jean d'Angely for a close friend (belle amie). Other chateaux, gardens and distilleries are to be visited locally and their produce sampled.

Vineyards cover parts of the countryside becoming large to invasive as we approach Cognac. Locally many produce their own, quite acceptable wine, and thence, by distilling and melding,our aperitif, pineaux des charentes.

Islands are many and various, small and large, joined to the mainland by bridges and ferries and causeways. The Ile d'Oleron has miles of sandy beaches with Atlantic breakers and many villages with marinas and restaurants. Ile de Re has a cachet with shops and prices to match. The occasional celeb adds glamour to its pretty harbours.