The West Country of France: Exploring Rural South West France and the Dordogne in Style
- Martin Hesp
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Introduction: The West Country Spirit in South West France
The West Country how it used to be. That would be one way of describing central south-western France. Highly rural, un-urbanised, unspoilt and gloriously beautiful.
Last week these pages were all about the incredible food served in three Relais & Chateau hotels, but I decided to write a second article because this wonderful area is only a day’s drive if you cross to France by ferry, so almost within what I’d call “staycation status”. Which is important in these times when we don’t know if or when airlines will run out of fuel for their planes.
What is Relais & Châteaux? A Unique Luxury Travel Experience
While each of the three hotels we visited is unique, they share a common DNA as members of Relais & Châteaux. This global association is not a hotel chain, more a fellowship of independent “Maîtres de Maison”, dedicated to the “Art of Living”. In order to belong, an establishment must offer more than luxury - it must possess a distinctiveness and a deep-rooted connection to its local terroir.
The Dordogne’s “Triple Crown” of Luxury Hotels
The holy trinity I choose consisted of Château de la Treyne - a jaw-droopingly beautiful cliff-top sentinel perched above the River Dordogne. Le Vieux Logis offers an intimate village sanctuary - homely luxury with a rich heritage, among the Dordogne of water meadows. And La Chapelle Saint Martin serves as the pastoral gateway, a manor of parkland and porcelain history.
Château de la Treyne: A Cliff-Top Castle Above the Dordogne
We’re in the more easterly, upstream end of the Dordogne River when we visit the first. You drive across a narrow suspension bridge to reach Château de la Treyne and, as you go, you can see it perched dramatically on its cliff above the river. It is one of those “wow” moments. Even I, after 40 years of travel-writing, muttered to my wife: “Blimey! Are we really staying there?”
Its beautiful proportioned towers and weathered stone battlements are reflected on the surface of one of France’s loveliest waterways. The castle doesn’t just sit by the river, it looms over it. But once you’ve arrived up the splendid private drive, you find that Château de la Treyne manages a magic of its own. Despite being such an imposing place (you really do feel this is a place reserved for the French aristocracy of old) you discover that this ancient fortress feels like a home.
The staff are so warm and friendly, you instantly feel that you’re welcome to put up your feet here alongside any millionaires or celebrities who might be there. And you are likely to meet the owner, Stephanie, who couldn’t be more charming and welcoming. One night when the Michelin starred kitchen was closed she personally served us a lovely fresh salad she’d made along with some delightful local cheeses, and stayed chatting for an hour telling us all about how she and her husband had poured cash and much passion into the place over many years.
An investment which is noticeable. In my job I have visited a vast number of hotels and rarely do I come away muttering words like “absolute perfection”. At Château de la Treyne, I did.
Curated Silence: The Landscape and Atmosphere
It’s a place defined by what I heard described as a “curated silence”. To the rear, a forest stretches across 120 acres of the estate and up into the steep hills - but this sense of wilderness is balanced by formal gardens which offer a contrast of manicured box-hedges and gravel paths. The kind of landscape that encourages a slow, rhythmic existence. You find yourself walking the terrace - a wide, stone-flagged expanse that feels like the deck of a great ship - simply to watch the way the evening light catches the grey-gold of the Quercy stone.
I could happily have stayed in our grand suite overlooking the river for days. From the four-poster bed we could see the river winding its way west among the steep hills and, as the martins and swifts came and went with their shrill cries, there were times when I didn’t know if I was waking or dreaming.
Le Vieux Logis: A Village Sanctuary in the Dordogne
Good dreams also happen at Le Vieux Logis, some 45 miles downstream. If you take the scenic route along the river, as we did, it is a truly memorable journey. You pass impossibly scenic villages such as La Roque-Gageac and Limeuil, to name but two.
The French colleague who arranged our trip put things this way… “If Château de la Treyne is a soaring aria, Le Vieux Logis is a masterfully composed piece of chamber music.”
Compared to the chateau, is a place of horizontal beauty where the stone buildings - a former priory and a collection of tobacco-drying barns - seem to have grown directly out of the water meadows. The delight here is found in the detail… the sound of the ancient mill leat trickling through the grounds and the architectural precision of the boxwood gardens, which look like a green velvet tapestry laid out in the spring sunshine.
And here too, there is an effortless, lived-in elegance that is a long way from the stiff formality of many high-end French hotels. You feel it in the way the sunlight filters through the lime trees onto the terrace and in the cosy, honey-coloured interiors that smell faintly of woodsmoke and beeswax.
Life in Trémolat: Authentic Rural France
This is a village sanctuary, deeply integrated into the life of the small and lovely community of Trémolat. The boundary between the hotel’s parkland and the surrounding village and countryside is somehow blurred. The chateau was perched aloft - somehow dreamily tucked away from the world - this place is very much part of a very pleasant, small, living, working community.
We met an English couple during our stay who’ve lived in another part of France for 15 years, and they described Le Vieux Logis as “one of the best small hotels in the country”. Which is saying something. A peaceful, garden-scented retreat where time slows down to the pace of the river looping lazily through the valley nearby.
And again, a wonderful warm and friendly staff. There is a story about how the previous owner - a well known figure in the district - spent years developing the place with his wife, then passed away leaving the property to a small handful of core members of staff. It was a good move. They have an undoubted passion for the place. I’ve stayed at Le Vieux Logis before and one of them, manageress Estelle, really did welcome me like an old friend the other day. Her husband, another of the owners, is the Michelin starred chef, and a very talented one at that.
This wooded hills and valleys around Trémolat are lovely. I’d go as far as to say it is one of the prettiest areas in all of South West France. I would happily spend a week or two here e-biking from village to village, or perhaps canoeing down the river.
La Chapelle Saint Martin: Limousin Elegance and Parkland Retreat
We flew to Limoges on our recent trip, which brings me to the third of our hotels - because La Chapelle Saint Martin is just minutes from the regional airport (about an hour-and-a-half’s drive from Château de la Treyne).
The highly regarded award winning establishment offers a different kind of charm, defined by the expansive rolling parklands of the Haute-Vienne. If the other two hotels are dominated by the Dordogne, this 19th-century manor house sits within a forty-acre estate of ancient cedars and sprawling lawns that provide a sense of exclusive peace and quiet.
The manor, once the country retreat of a wealthy porcelain manufacturer, overlooks wide lawns set in mature woodlands, punctuated by a series of small lakes. Walking the grounds feels like stepping into a nineteenth-century landscape painting - a manicured wilderness that manages to be both grand and deeply peaceful.
It’s the perfect environmental palate cleanser - a welcome transition from the hustle and bustle of travel to the stillness of a truly historic French retreat. And the couple who own and run the place are clever people. Gilles Dudognon and his partner Aude Bourliataux have built a small but impressive empire centred around Limoges, all under the “Collection Saint Martin” banner.
As I noted last week, chef Giles is celebrating 40 years of holding a Michelin star - and he has spread his talents to several other ventures. La Table du Couvent is an atmospheric restaurant set in a 12th-century former monastery canteen in the heart of Limoges, specialising in wood-fired meats and 100% Limousin beef cooked in a giant open hearth. Then there’s Le 27, a stylish, contemporary bistro and art gallery space in Limoges that offers high-quality, inventive seasonal cooking at a more casual price point.
They even own a famous cheese shop in town - La Maison du Fromage - one of the oldest and most respected cheese shops in the region, featuring a stunning three-level maturing cellar. The couple also have two other classy places in which you can stay locally, and they even have a side passion for vintage travel called LocaPassion, allowing guests at La Chapelle to rent classic 2CVs or Land Rovers for their own exploration of the countryside.
Exploring the Monts de Blond and Montrol-Sénard
As we were only there a couple of nights, we took our hire car a few miles north to the Monts de Blond, a range of forested, granite-strewn hills. One of the highlights is Montrol-Sénard, a “village-musée” where time has effectively been frozen in the year 1900. We loved this quiet backwater and were delighted to stroll around the village entering the museum buildings quite freely without the need for any ticket or payment. A poignant, open-air museum focussing on the rural life of yesteryear, where you are free to wander through places like the old schoolhouse, the cobbler’s workshop, and traditional farm cottages, all perfectly preserved.
Montrol-Sénard captures the quiet, vanished nostalgia of the Limousin before the rush of the modern world. While I’m not quite 126 years old yet, the place did remind me in some ways of the West Country of my youth. Quiet. Silent even.
A deeply rural space time has almost forgotten. I was spellbound. But then, I remained spellbound for the entire week.
Fact File: The Southwest France “Triple Crown”
Le Vieux Logis
Set in a beautifully restored former tobacco-drying barn and priory, this hotel is the epitome of Périgord charm.Contact: +33 5 53 22 80 06 www.vieux-logis.com
Château de la Treyne
Dramatic 14th-century fortress perched on a limestone cliff directly overlooking the Dordogne river.Contact: +33 5 65 27 60 60 www.chateaudelatreyne.com
La Chapelle Saint Martin
A 19th-century manor house set within a 40-acre park. Serves as the perfect gateway to the region.Contact: +33 5 55 75 80 17 www.chapellesaintmartin.com
Travel Tip: Save Money on Airport Parking
Martin uses Holiday Extras, market leader in airport parking, hotels, lounges, and transfers – in 2025 its customers saved an average of £200 per trip by booking their airport parking in advance. For more information, HolidayExtras.com or call 0800 316 5678.
Comments