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Limousin


Teamedup
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I have seen the Limousin mentioned a few times recently. And everytime I see it mentioned, all I think is cows.

Live there or holiday destination would never occur to me. Not somewhere I would ever mention to anyone as somewhere to visit either.

So as it is mentioned regularly, what is there, apart from countryside and cows.

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Rolling countryside, forests, rivers, gorges. Beautiful old towns and villages, Limoges...lovely city. Lakes to swim in in summer, decent skiing close by for winter. Miles of walking/cycling. Great scenic roads for motorcycling. Far from the mad crowds.

MMMM wonder why we went for it?????

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[quote]Rolling countryside, forests, rivers, gorges. Beautiful old towns and villages, Limoges...lovely city. Lakes to swim in in summer, decent skiing close by for winter. Miles of walking/cycling. Great sc...[/quote]

Blackadder - couldn't have put it better myself!

I remember a while ago someone saying they went to the Limousin and it was closed - is everyone expecting Blackpool in France?

I certainly can't imagine wanting to live anywhere else.

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All that Blackadder says, plus: miles and miles of beautiful hardwood forest, with cycle and walking trails through it, THOUSANDS of lakes, relatively peaceful, with relatively empty roads in most parts, not FULL of Brits, although enough if you want to meet some, and friendly helpful local people.

And the cows..............they so remind me of Lincolnshire reds.

Alcazar

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I have seen the Limousin mentioned a few times recently. And everytime I see it mentioned, all I think is cows.

As one would, TU, as it's home to le plateau des milles vaches.  Actually, hate to put a damper on things but if someone says "Limousin" to me, I immediately think rain, lots of it.  Anyone got the figures, for surely it's as wet as Mid Wales, if not wetter?  Many parts are undeniably beautiful though, Monts d'Ambazac are a particular favourite. 

But you're right in that it can't be everyone's ideal place to live.  Remember that letter I quoted last year from LF from the couple in the Creuse who were fed up with the lack of life in that part of the country?  Lucy wrote a very interesting reply warning people that the Limousin really is la France profonde.  And Michael Wright's excellent column in Saturday's Telegraph from a small hamlet further south often hints at the same.  Salut, Michael, if you are reading this!

Margaret

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I got the map out this afternoon and realised that I had passed through the Limousin region on our way to the Charente Maritime. It is about a 12 hour drive to get across to the Atlantic,  and for all I can remember some parts of the journeys we have made quite clearly, I have no recollection of Limoges et ses environs at all.

How many french people live in the region, and apart from the two obvious things I can think of how do they earn a crust.

 

 

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We found it to be a great place for a holiday home but lacking in life now we are living here full time. There is a large International Papers plant outside St Junien. LaFarge seem to have a huge number of plants turning out electrical sockets and Limoges itself has a huge medical centre and teaching hospital. 

The main aspirational activity amongst the British seems to be running B & B which are frequented by people looking for premisses from which to run B & Bs. In the UK Pubs are being closed down because the land is worth more as a building site. In 87 bars are closing because the French cannot cover their cotisation costs.

 

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On a personal point, I'd rather that people did not discover the Limousin region - it is in great danger of being the next "Dordogne".  Having said that, we, and many Britons like us, have moved to La Creuse, deep into the tranquility and peace of this undiscovered jewel in the heart of France - and never once regretted it.  

George Sand, when writing about the area said - "It can be said of this landscape that it has a solemn charm, a rare, gentle grandeur and that it seems to say to the stranger gazing at it - "look at me if you want, it doesn't matter to me.  If you go on, have a good trip; if you stay, so much the better for you""   

In another article, she wrote "No luxury, and yet richly endowed, no one detail worth attracting attention, but a vast ensemble whose harmony overcomes you, little by little, and fills the soul with peace"

Couldn't put it better myself!

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We spent a week in Limousin in the summer. The weather was excellent, but it was August. The countryside where we were was nothing special - no different to the part of Derbyshire we live in which isn't what you would call the pretty bit. But on the other hand, we did drive through parts which looked very nice. I imagine it could be a good place to live - although Limoges is a killer for walking around - the town centre is just steep uphills round the corner and then back down the hill - and we went to the tourist office where they could suggest nothing to see or do except walk in a park! Well we aren't into porcelain museums. We were actually near the Dordogne border - chosen due to the leaflet about La Route Richard Coeur de Lion, because we like to visit historical places. This advertises various castles which all turn out to be closed when you get to them, so you can have a superficial glance which takes 2 minutes, then drive on. One of the town/villages which was supposed to be beautiful was full of derilict properties, including a salon de the and a hotel/restaurant. It was in a lovely setting, but was past it's best! As a holiday destination, the area was a real disappointment. All anyone at our campsite seemed to do was sit and sunbathe or go in the pool. Which might be what some people want, but it seems a long way to go and then not see or do anything else.

So, I think the advantage of Limousin that it is probably a great place to live the real French life, but can't imagine it would be much use for a B & B or Gite business, and also, you wouldn't get people dropping in on you year after year. I could live there, but I'd rather live in an area where I could be proud to take friends to see the sites, as I can in Derbyshire.

I suppose it's OK if you are in the hillier bits and are keen on walking, but we tried a walk on the leaflet through St Yrieix and it took us past two football stadiums, through allotments and through an industrial estate - thrilling. We cut it short and walked back along the main road, which was actually more interesting.
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I'd rather that people did not discover the Limousin region - it is in great danger of being the next "Dordogne".  

You've reminded me of something.  We have Danish friends who briefly owned a maison de vacances in the southern Creuse in the early 90s, they bought it through a Danish real estate agent who was based in the area.  When they sent us pictures of the house, etc. they included the agent's brochure.  It waxed lyrical about the beauty of the area, the river, scenery, peace and tranquility and how it had so much in common with "its neighbour" (eh?) and was obviously going to become "the next Dordogne".  Things obviously move nice and slowly in the Limousin for it's clearly taken a bit longer than the agent hoped. 

Thanks too for reminding us of the George Sand connection.  Her Nohant novels have a very distinctive voice.  Interestingly, didn't she return to the region of her childhood in later life in order to escape the "real life" of Paris?  M

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Can n't wait to get down to Le Creuse, leaving tomorrow via P&O after frantic rushing around at work. Trouble is it takes several days to unwind, but the fantastic scenery and contented Limousin cows help.

Calm and tranquil are words used by our French neighbours when they describe the area.

The weather is variable within the Limousin due various micro-climates but tends to be much better than the UK if you like sunshine.

Yes property is more sensibly priced than say the Dordogne

 

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Can n't wait to get down to Le Creuse, leaving tomorrow via P&O after frantic rushing around at work. Trouble is it takes several days to unwind, but the fantastic scenery and contented Limousin cows help.

Calm and tranquil are words used by our French neighbours when they describe the area.

The weather is variable within the Limousin due various micro-climates but tends to be much better than the UK if you like sunshine.

Yes property is more sensibly priced than say the Dordogne

 

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The Limousin region is vast - so I can only talk about the north east corner of  La Creuse with any confidence.   I was told by the mayor that we have our own unique microclimate, as the region is sandwiched between one of the wettest areas in France (Limoges) and one of the driest (C-Ferrand).   We live 500 metres above sea level (no fear of global warming getting us unlike our previous home in Kent) and enjoy some of the best views around - we can see Cher and Allier and the snow-covered distant Puy-de-Dome sitting on the southern horizon like a great white meringue.   Yes, it gets cold, we recently had -11C and when it rains it certainly does rain, summer thunderstorms are all the more superb for us being in the middle of them rather than under them, but other than that, in the summer the sky always seems to be blue, the air is clean and unpolluted, the neighbours welcome us at all their events - who could ask for more?

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Having bought our little cotage in the Creuse in 1992 as a 2nd home and visited it every year since, I fully agree with all the praise e-mailed here.  We bought partly because it rains - the previous year there had been a drought in much of France.  It is so peaceful and uncrowded.  The French all spoke French and did not try to speak English to us.

Now this region is being 'discovered' and more GB plates are here.  French sometimes try to speak English.   But at least house prices have risen quite amazingly well!

Apart from butchers, bakers, farmers etc here there are many artists, craftsmen - among the French.  English include some excellent artisan workers, but I feel there are too many B & B enterprises blossoming and the holiday season is short unless you are sited on or near a main route.

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I cannot imagine (m)any of us admitting that we have not moved to the best bit of France - that would smack too much of making a mistake.

But following the original post I cannot see why anyone would want to live in or even visit NE England but each to his own gout.

John (50% Geordie)

not

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John,I think france is big enough and as varied to cater for most tastes,we like it down here by the med because we spent many years around the med before the kids were born,although for what we paid for the house could have bought us much much more in the northern part of france.Each to their own in what they buy,we prefere the sunshine.
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LOL I am not any percent a geordie, although I would have nothing whatsoever moving to that very small part of the NE where the geordies live though.

Global warming or freezing as it may end up, was mentioned. Does anyone truly think that any part of western europe will be a l'abri of any future catastrophies?   

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TU wrote Global warming or freezing as it may end up, was mentioned. Does anyone truly think that any part of western europe will be a l'abri of any future catastrophies? 

Probably not but like another poster, I moved from an area which ran the risk of flooding. It had its own multimillion pound flood barrier and for the couple of years we were there heard about the barrier almost being compromised and watched the high tides getting further into the road. More and more houses were built on the flood plain and when it started to feel as oppressive as the town centre house we moved from we decided it was time to go. Global warming/dimming etc will affect all of the world but something like the Gulf Stream moving or sea levels rising will have less of a hit here in the middle of France 464 mtres above the current sea level.

I think that most of us live in France because we want to, not because we have to. If I was ever in the position of 'having' to go back to the UK I dread to think what I would do.

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Sounds like you're OK where you are, Di, but Cahors has been badly flooded many times.  And many parts of France are at high risk of inundations, generally worse than anything experienced in the UK.  We've twice nearly had the car washed away in the Vaucluse in September, never, ever seen rain like it even in the tropics, terrifying, flash floods and all. And look at the Languedoc in the late summer of '03, catastrophic flooding over a wide area yet not for the first time.  And off the top of my head I can think of several more tragic cases of campers washed away in Savoie, towns under several metres of water in Normandie. M

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