Ambazac Hills

Peaking at 701m on the Puy de Sauvagnac, the Ambazac Hills north east of Limoges give magnificent views from their rounded granite slopes of deep valleys, streams and lakes.

The sparsely populated countryside is rugged, with oak, chestnut and pine forests and moorland alive with golden broom and purple heather.

The 350km network of way-marked trails are popular with French ramblers and range from gentle walks through woodland and pretty hamlets to longer more serious routes.

Plateau de Millevaches

Some say Plateau de Millevaches takes its name from the Celtic for ‘many rivers’, others that it relates to the thousands of springs rising on this northern fringe of the Massif Central.

Certainly Plateau de Millevaches is the source of many springs and rivers, a sparsely populated area where sheep and the famous Limousin cattle graze; a land of wild places, coniferous forests, and woodlands of beech and chestnut - beautiful in autumn when nuts and wild mushrooms are gathered.

Old traditions remain on farms - haymaking with rake and pitchfork - and in towns such as Ussels with its eleventh century church. Walking or cycling in late spring and summer are good ways to enjoy the area.