Walking in the Dordogne. Janette Norton

on the left. Continue on the road to a T-junction and turn left into the village of Singleyrac to reach the square and church (2hr 45min).

      Look for the signpost at the side of the information board in the square and follow the sign saying ‘Liaison Flaugeac 2.6km’ down the hill to the D15 at a crossroads with more wooden signposts. Turn right towards Flaugeac and go along the D15 for a few minutes, passing the lake and ‘Village Vacances’ over on the left and vineyards to the right. Turn left off the road at Chez Cinquet/Bois de Petit, at a yellow marker where the D15 bends to the right 3. After two houses the road turns into a grassy jeep track leading into a sunken lane and woodland. Follow the track and yellow markers through the woods and ignore any turnings off. In the middle of the wood there are more wooden signs at a junction where you go straight on towards Flaugeac. You pass a hunting platform on the left and another signpost, and after about 100 metres the track comes out of the woods. Here there is an open view to the right across to the hamlets of le Marsalou and le Maine. The track goes back into the woods for a few minutes and then reaches a road where you turn right and then immediately left at a yellow marker by a house (3hr 30min).

      Keep to the left of the house on a track going through vineyards and then fields. You can see the church of Flaugeac ahead and there are wonderful panoramic views over to the right. Follow the track and yellow markers to arrive at the D15 again where you turn left into Flaugeac to reach the church and your car (3hr 45min).

WALK 4

      Around Monestier

Start/Finish	Monestier, 95m
Distance	15km
Total ascent	210m
Grade	Medium
Time	5hr
Maximum altitude	130m
Maps	IGN Série Bleue 1737 E Duras 1:25,000
Access	From Bergerac, take the D936 towards Bordeaux for 13km and at Gardonne turn left on the D4. After 7km turn left again on the D4E, towards Monestier, a further 1km. Park in front of the church where there is an information board showing the walks (20km from Bergerac).
Signposting	Mostly good, but you need to follow the directions carefully – wooden signposts naming the two circuits, posts with yellow tops, and posts with green tops for the liaison (connecting) path

      This is a long but easy walk with no great ups and downs, through numerous vineyards, orchards, farmland and woods, past the occasional farm building and small hamlet. You are in unspoilt countryside with practically no road walking, and you will find lots of orchids in springtime. As many of the tracks are used by farm vehicles and horses, they could be muddy after rain.

      The route combines two separate circuits, the Boucle Monestier of 5km and the Boucle Couture of 8km, connected by a liaison path of 1.2km, which has to be done twice. The two walks can be done individually by starting the second walk at the village of Couture and walking 400 metres up the road towards Saussignac to reach the signpost saying ‘Liaison Boucle Couture’.

      As its name implies, there was a small monastic cell at Monestier, built in the 11th century by a stream at a clearing in the woods; now there is a 19th-century church, a mairie (town hall) where you can pick up walk pamphlets and an attractive-looking auberge. Nearby is the hamlet of la Bastide, a small bastide town founded in 1284 by the English king Edward I, with a small Romanesque church.

      From the information board in the parking area, follow the signpost saying ‘Boucle Monestier’ along the narrow road to a post at the junction and go straight over onto a grassy track. At the next post turn right into the woods to reach a cherry orchard, and turn right again, with the orchard on your left and gorse-covered scrubland on your right. Follow the posts round the orchard, to the left then right, to reach a tarmac road where you turn left to see a post further on. Turn right into the vineyards towards the farm of la Tuillère (15min).

      Fruit orchards at start of walk

      Follow the posts carefully as you bear left and then right, on a grassy track between two vineyards, to a T-junction. The farm over on the right is la Croix-Blanche. Turn left onto a jeep track to reach a signpost saying ‘Liaison Boucle Couture’ 1 (35mins). You are now entering the connecting path between the two walks, so look for posts with green tops instead of yellow.