Orchid Walks
All photographs on this page are copyright of Nina Adler.
The meadows and lanes around Preniac are so full of wild orchids that you can barely walk without treading on them.
The Area:
"White stone houses on hot white earth with gently sloping ochre roofs, small rivers tracking through gentle valleys, parallel vines winding over the gently rolling hills and into the flat river valleys producing rich dark wine, abundant melons and fields of sunflowers." - From "Lot, Travels through a Limestone Landscape in South West France" by Helen Martin.
The unique quercy environment is ideal for a great variety of flora and fauna, including wild orchids with its acres of uncultivated meadows, grassland and woods.
Our Orchid Walks:
Our fully catered and guided walking weeks are designed to discover this little known and idyllic corner of SW France with its abundance of wild flowers and orchids.
The walks will take you across limestone plateaus, in uncultivated and unspoilt countryside, through grassland, woods and water meadows where you will experience an abundance of wild orchids, some within walking distance of Preniac.
We will also pass through and visit some beautiful, untouched medieval villages and bastide towns.
The walks are all moderate level, in slightly hilly terrain and range from 3-5 miles each. Good walking shoes are recommended.
We will take time to investigate, photograph and discuss what we see. The absolute peak of the orchid season in Quercy is during the month of May, where you can discover up to 25 species in the Montcuq area alone.
Orchids we will see on our walks:
Common: Lady Orchid, Pyramidal Orchid, Twayblade, Large White Helleborine, Sword-Leaved Helleborine, Woodcock Ophrys, Bee Orchid, Fly Orchid, Burnt Orchid
Less common or even rare: Robust Marsh Orchid, Early March Orchid, Early Purple Orchid, Heath Spotted Orchid, Loose-flowered Orchid, Tongue Orchid, Plough-Share Serapias, Monkey Orchid, Military Orchid, Man Orchid, Bird's Nest Orchid, Violet Limodore, Lesser Butterfly Orchid and Greater Butterfly Orchid
If we're lucky (early season survivors): Green Winged Orchid, Small Spider Orchid, Early Spider Orchid or Yellow Ophrys.
Programme Dates for 2010:
1st-8th May
15th-22nd May
Your Guide - Nina Adler
Nina is a passionate orchid lover and amateur photographer. She has organised and led orchid walks for local nature conservation associations for many years. Her orchid photography exhibition has been touring local villages for several years.
Nina is Danish, but lives permanently in Montcuq. She is also fluent in English and French.
Nina is a very knowledgeable, patient and experienced group leader and will lead you on wonderful exploratory walks where you will see exquisite examples of many wild orchids amidst the stunning backdrop of the Lot landscape.
During the early part of the week Nina will give an illustrated talk at Preniac about the area and the orchids.
Sample Itinery:
(Actual itinery will depend on local weather conditions)
Day 1 - Arrival at Preniac and settling in.
Day 2 - Morning trip to Montcuq market, lunch at Preniac
Afternoon walk from Preniac to Lascabanes following the GR65 Pilgrim's route to Spain,
which will lead us through a typical "causse" landscape of grassy meadows and woodland.
We will pass the beautiful Romanesque chapel of St Jean.
We should expect to see up to a dozen species of orchid including Twayblade, Burnt
Orchid, Small and Early Spider Orchid, Fly Orchid, Yellow, Occidental and Woodcock
Ophrys, Man Orchid, Lady Orchid, Greater Butterfly Orchid, Tongue Orchid and
Plough-Share Orchid.
Evening talk about the area and local orchids.
Day 3 - Full day walk around Belfort du Quercy
and Puylaroque with
visits to several typical bastide villages, and passing some of the famous dove cotes
of the Quercy. We will be walking through woodland, causse, lakes and meadows, some
on privately owned land. (We have special permission from the owner). Picnic lunch.
We expect to see up to a dozen species of orchid, not all the same as yesterday's
species.
Day 4 - Drive to Le Chartron, just south of
Lauzert. The area offers a
2 hour walk through varied terrain including woodland and visiting the St Sernin Chapel
which is a must for pilgrims on route to Spain.
We will find the Green-winged Orchid, Pyramical Orchid, Large White Helleborine,
Sword-leaved Helleborine, Small-leaved Helleborine which is rare, (mid May only),
Red Helleborine, Robust Marsh Orchid & Fragrant Orchid, (all late May) and Violet
Limodore, Twayblade, Burnt Orchid, Bee Orchid, Fly Orchid, Woodcock Ophrys, Lady
Orchid, Greater Butterfly Orchid & Plough-Share Serapias.
After the walk we will visit Lauzert for coffee and then return to
Preniac for lunch.
Afternoon: choice of walks dependent on weather conditions.
Day 5 - Morning trip to Cahors: visit Pont Valentré and Cahors market, Lunch in Cahors and then drive to St Circ Lapopie for site-seeing.
Day 6 - Drive to Le Moulin a Vent on a hill top near Pern and
L'Hospitalet. The area is very dry and chalky and there are many varieties here,
many of which we will have seen but also Military Orchid, Monkey Orchid, numerous
hybrids and sometimes albinos.
This is not a long walk as flowers are relatively close together, but it will take
about 90 minutes to see everything.
We will then drive on to a water meadow at St Anthet, where we will find the quite rare
Loose-Flowered Orchid, the Robust Marsh Orchid plus others already mentioned.
Lunch at Preniac.
Afternoon drive east of Cahors to the Vers valley where there are water meadows with
Early Marsh Orchids and Robust Marsh Orchids.
Day 7 - Full day with picnic lunch, drive to St Antonin Noble Val via Caylus along a gorge. We may see the very rare Dactylorhiza Coriophora just south of St Antonin. Drive home via Caussade and Castelnau-Montratier, a very beautifully preserved bastide town. Stop here to walk in the town and have coffee.
Day 8 - Departure
The Quercy Blanc Area:
"In summer, the limestone plateaus that give the area it's name are ablaze with flowers, a veritable rock garden of pinks, rock-roses, convolvulus, thyme, saxifrage, flax and many wild versions of species one recognises from gardens at home. In spring there are meadows of wild narcissus. The hedges are a tangle of honeysuckle, pink and yellow, though the yellow smells the sweetest. And then there are the orchids. In May and June the roadside verges and fields are thick with the magenta spikes of the common pyramid version, with shades ranging from deep purple-pink through to pure white. There are straggly lizards ones with long curling tails, march orchids by the streams in shady places and, hiding away in private spots, rarely more than three together, are the exquisite bee orchids. You will also find Because orchids, Fly orchids, Bird's Nest orchids, Hahaleb cherries, wild jasmine and the exquisite and rare Turkscap lilies.
And through the flowers fly the butterflies, Chalk Blues, fritillaries, Tortoiseshells, Swallowtails - white, red, blue, black, yellow, in summer the whole land seems a flutter.
A rustle in the roadside may mean a snake, but more usually it is the big green lizard of Quercy, a mini dinosaur which lies hidden for hours until a wink of a small black eye or the flick of a tongue gives it away.
Then there are the birds - buzzard, lark, kestrel on the causse, red-legged partridge, woodcock, cuckoo, warbler, golden oriole and even the hoopoe.
There is the ubiquitous jay and along rivers are found wagtails and kingfishers.
At night the land hums to the odd sound of nightjars and corncrakes, and owls fly low over the fields. Pipistrelle bats squeak above you and in the woods you may see genets and martens. If you are lucky you may catch a glimpse of a wild boar or deer..."
Excerpt from LOT: Travels Through a Limestone Landscape by Helen Martin
What to Bring:
- A pair of comfortable walking shoes or boots.
- Sun hat
- Waterproof jacket
- Sun cream
- Water bottle
- Camera
- Walking sticks (optional)
What's Not Included:
Cost of Flights - Bergerac Airport can be reached from a number of UK destinations, using budget airlines - see RyanAir.com and Flybe.com
One evening or lunchtime meal taken at a local restaurant or auberge - payable locally (approximately 20-25 euros)