17/08/12 – 20/08/12 – Lake Vassiviere, Limousin Region
There’s something about visiting lakes in France that seems very relaxing to us. They (The French) have a unique way of mixing relaxed tourism with an appreciation for the natural environment that is quite unique. Lake Vassiviere was no exception.
Originally created in the 1950’s with the construction of a dam, Lake Vassiviere is one of the largest artificial lakes in France, covering approximately 10 square kilometres. It’s also situated in the Regional Natural Park of Millevaches in the Limousin Region.
Our home for the long weekend was on the site of a shut-down aire – basically a lot of parking spaces on the side of a quiet road, meters away from the tiny Pierrefitte beach at the southern end of the lake (GPS 45.7863808,1.8705869). There was no motorhome facilities to speak of, but there was a small beach cafe that sold cold beer, Croque Monsieurs and other snacks along with a lifeguard station, W.C’s and a few picnic tables further along at the end of the road.
On the first night there was an outdoor screening of Asterix which didn’t get started until around 21:00, so we gave it a miss as it was quite cold and a little drizzly but we could see it from the Moho.
On the Saturday the beach was quiet in the morning but got very busy towards the mid-late afternoon as the day got hotter. We spent the morning walking with Marley, exploring the woods nearby then spent the tail end of the day relaxing on the shore, away from the busiest parts which remained that way until around 18:00 when most people looked like they left for dinner – very different to the Spanish and Portuguese who would have all brought their days worth of food with them and stayed much later into the evening. I’m not sure which approach I prefer – maybe the French as we got the beach to ourselves relatively early.
On the Sunday we decided to head to visit the Ilse do Vassiviere – it was about a 20 minute walk from where we were staying and you could either get to the island by walking or taking the tourist train which took you around the island. We took the walking option.
The island has a chateau and a couple of other buildings including a gallery and the usual tourist shop, plus in excess of 50 sculptures dotted around the chateau grounds and into the surrounding woodlands. It made for a nice walk for a couple of hours. There was also a sound installation as part of a festival in the building adjacent to the gallery – people were chanting and playing around with the acoustics of the space – it was quite weird but interesting nonetheless. (see Instagram video)
When we got back, it was much quieter on the beach, so we made Marley a nice shelter and spent the afternoon relaxing with him in the sunshine before visiting the cafe for a couple of beers.
We didn’t really know how long we were going to stay here when we first arrived, but we ended up staying 3 nights – quite a long time for us. It must have been reflective of the interesting yet peaceful surroundings we found ourselves in. Definitely worth a visit.
