The Sologne, June 2008

With the weather deteriorating again, we headed south and west through the Sologne. This intimate but large area of hundreds of small, man-made lakes, reedbeds, wet heath and grassland, scrub and woodland is broadly little visited apart from honeypot sites such as Chambord (more on this later). Unfortunately, it is also not an easy place to explore as much of the land is private with few footpaths, and viewing and tends to be restricted to the roadside. Having said that, it remains one of my favourite areas in France due to its tranquility - the Sologne's quiet back roads are ideal for cycling.

Classic Sologne habitats: reed-fringed lake enclosed by scrubby

woodland at Ciran (photo by phileole via Creative Commons)

As we threaded our way the region, we stopped regularly on the side of the road - often in the drizzling rain -  to check out areas of pasture, farmland and open water. With no more effort than this, we picked up Whiskered Tern (a personal favourite), Little Tern, Turtle Dove, Cuckoo, Grey Partridge and two Coypu.

Heading towards the brighter skies in the west, we hit upon a great campsite just south of Cheverny, Camping les Saules,with great facilities including table tennis and bike hire and found a great pitch overlooking a small lake. We took advantage straight away of the bike hire for a late afternoon ride around the deserted roads and tracks out towards nearby Pöely (see photos below). Despite ominous clouds, we enjoyed a leisurely ride and some great birdwatching, with Stonechat, Linnet, Yellowhammer, Cuckoo, a pair of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers at their nest and a white-rumped Harrier species at long distance.

It stayed dry for the rest of the evening and we managed to sit out by the tent for dinner, overlooking the lake,  and later got out the bat detector although there wasn't much around. We did see some wildlife, however, with a Hedgehog snuffling its way right up to us after dusk!

The following morning we retraced some of our bike ride in the car, keen to get a look at the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nest with the telescope. We had fantastic views of the visiting parents and at least one chick near the edge of the hole. A Cirl Bunting was nearby and a Little Owl perched on a house roof allowed us to approach quite close.

Chambord château and a herd of Wild Boar on the hunting estate

(photos by Steph0987 and Frédérique Voisin-Demery via Creative Commons)

We stopped in Cheverny for a bakery breakfast and a peer through the gates at the charming château before heading off to an even more beautiful one: the royal château at Chambord, the largest in the Loire valley and one of the most recognisable buildings in the world, built by François I as a hunting lodge! Whilst the house itself is most impressive, Heather and I had visited before and today was about exploring the estate a little and (for Heather) visiting the stables and taking in their horse show. The estate itself - still a hunting reserve and home to deer, boar and much other wildlife - is very large at 54 square kilometres; the western part is crossed by four trails, bike hire is available and there are three observation towers from which to watch the animals and birdlife between dawn and dusk. Chambord is truly an all-day visit and was a great way to spend our last day in France.