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Our 2019 summer holiday in the Dordogne

July 21, 2024 by Neil Turner

A photo of a ferry leaving Ouistraham port on our way home from our Dordogne holiday

I’m away on holiday at the moment, so this week’s posts are about previous un-blogged holidays from 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Today, it’s our 2019 holiday to the Dordogne in France.

For our 2019 summer holiday in France, we went quite a bit further south, to the Dordogne region (named after the river that runs through it). As well as the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo, we stopped off at a hotel in Poitiers and so it took the equivalent of three full days of driving to reach our campsite near Bergerac. We took our own car, but we had to abandon it after (what I presume) was a failed wheel bearing saw me skid off the road into a ditch, so the second half of the holiday was in an a hire car.

As this holiday was five years ago, in June 2019, my memories are not the best, which is why there’s not a lot of detail here. It’s thanks to checkins on Swarm and my own photos that I can recall what we did.

Here’s where we visited:

Beynac-et-Cazenac

Benyac overlooks the Dordogne river where it cuts through a deep gorge, and the village is built into the side of the steep valley. It’s a pretty little place with narrow, twisting streets and craft shops.

Château de Castelnaud

Castelnaud is quite a good castle. It sits high up, in a commanding position over the surrounding valleys, and the courtyard is full of catapults, trebuchets and over siege engines that might have been used during the various wars that it has experienced over the centuries. I remember that we treated our (then) three-year-old to a wooden sword and shield from the gift shop.

Gouffre de Proumeyssac

Known as the ‘crystal cathedral’, Gouffre de Proumeyssac is a huge underground cave full of stalagmites and stalactites. Clever use of lighting makes it a fascinating experience. Whilst nowadays there’s a wheelchair-accessible main entrance, you can also opt to be lowered into the cave in a basket, as the original explorers would have done at the beginning of the last century.

Le Bournat

Le Bournat is an open-air living museum – a bit like Beamish or the Black Country Living Museum. The aim is to recreate how people lived in the Dordogne region in the past, with farms and small industry to look at. Whilst I would argue that it’s not as realistic as its British counterparts, it’s very pretty and makes for a nice day out. Like many of the places we went to in 2019, I seem to remember visiting when I was much younger and it seems to have expanded significantly since then.

Eymet

Eymet (pronounced ‘ay-may’) is an example of a Bastide, or fortified town. This means that there are walls around the town centre, and buildings such as the church are fortified. There’s also quite a large British diaspora here, with British ex-pats making up around a quarter of the population. Like many small French towns, its communal wash house has been preserved.

Château des Milandes

Our second château of the holiday was the Château des Milandes. It was home to the American singer Josephine Baker, and so it has a number of her more famous (and infamous) outfits and tells her story. There are some nice gardens outside, along with an aviary which is home to a number of birds of prey. If you time your visit right, then you can watch a bird of prey show. I visited here with my parents when I was younger and had the interesting experience of having a harris hawk land on my head, which my dad took a photo of.

Aquarium du Perigord Noir

We usually end up at an aquarium whilst on holiday, as it’s a way to spend a wet day, and so we went to the Aquarium du Perigord Noir. Besides the many fish – mostly freshwater, as it’s a long way inland – they are a breeding centre for caimans, and have some coypu (also known as Nutria or Chilean beavers).

On the way back, we stopped off at a hotel in Le Mans, and also at Warwick Castle once back in England.

Dudley Zoo and Castle

May 29, 2024 by Neil Turner

A photo of Dudley Castle, inside the grounds of Dudley Zoo

For my 40th birthday last weekend, we had a couple of days in Dudley. Which might seem like an odd choice for a short break, but it meant that we could visit Dudley Zoo and Castle, and the Black Country Living Museum (which I’ll blog about separately soon).

This was my third visit to Dudley Zoo; all three of us visited in 2019 on the way down to Portsmouth to go on holiday, and I had been as a child (probably 1992 as I seem to remember it being the 29th February). It’s a medium-sized zoo; it doesn’t have any really big animals like elephants and rhinos, but is home to some quite big animals like sealions, lions, tigers and giraffes. You’ll need a full day to see everything, but unlike Chester Zoo you will be able to see everything in one day.

Dudley Castle

Before the zoo, there was the castle. There’s been a castle on this site since Norman times, as it’s a strategic lookout position. The current castle is a ruin – it was damaged quite a bit during the English Civil War in the 17th century and suffered a fire in the 18th century. You can go up the keep, which is the oldest bit of the castle, and there’s a newer indoor part which is home to nocturnal animals, as well as offering a history of the castle.

The ruined castle offered a focal point for what was originally known as Dudley Zoological Gardens, and several animals including the penguins and sealions now live in what was the castle’s moat.

Tectons

When the zoo opened in the 1930s, a number of concrete buildings were built by the Tecton architectural group, with all but one surviving. They’re now all Grade II or II* listed, although a number are no longer fit for their original purpose. They were all restored recently and still look quite futuristic, almost 90 years after they were built. These include the main entrance gates, which I gather are now only used on really busy summer weekends. Entry is now via what was originally known as the Station Café, which is now a gift shop. Incidentally, there’s no longer a railway station nearby, but there will soon be a stop on the West Midlands Metro once the Dudley extension opens – hopefully later this year.

A photo of a tiger licking its mouth at Dudley Zoo

Dudley Zoo highlights

The highlight for us was the Lorikeet Lookout; provided that you go in between 11am and 3pm, you can buy a pot of nectar to feed the lorikeets. They’ll happily sit on your hand/arm/shoulder whilst doing this. We also got to see a female tiger playing around in the water, and a weaver bird making its nest. As usual, I’ve uploaded a full set of photos to Flickr.

They also have red pandas; we saw one but it was high up in the trees and so I couldn’t get a photo. We also didn’t see the otters this time.

Accessibility

Like most zoos, Dudley Zoo is open every day (except Christmas Day). As mentioned, it’s on a hill, which is great if you’re building a castle, but not so great if you’re in a wheelchair. Whilst there is a marked out route with gentler slopes, some powered wheelchairs may struggle. If your wheelchair folds, you can use the land train to get between the bottom and top levels of the site.

There’s a detailed guide for people with sensory issues available to download, and there are sensory signs on just about every enclosure warning of possible loud noises or strong smells.

The things we did in Dublin

May 18, 2024May 26, 2014 by Neil Turner

This is the first of at least two posts about what Christine and I got up to last week whilst we were in Dublin – the focus of this one being about the attractions we visited, in no particular order.

Guinness Storehouse

Allegedly the most-visited attraction in Ireland, the Guinness Storehouse tells the history of Guinness, which is probably the most well-known brand of stout in the world. Although Guinness is still brewed in Dublin, on a huge site just outside the city centre, the Storehouse is across the road and not part of the main brewery site. Consequently everything inside is simulated or are static models, rather than actual, in-use brewing equipment like you would see on a tour of a microbrewery.

It’s one of Dublin’s more expensive attractions, however we spent a few hours here so it was somewhat worth it. Except that neither me or Christine particularly like Guinness – Christine hates beer altogether, and although I like stout and porter from time to time, I’ve never enjoyed Guinness in the past. And, sadly, our visit was to be the same – despite being shown how to pour my own pint, I still didn’t like it. The restaurants inside are very good though, with an above average food selection and many menu items using Guinness as an ingredient. For beer-haters, there is some interesting displays about Guinness’ advertising and how beer is made.

The Old Jameson Distillery

If Guinness is Ireland’s best known beer, then Jameson is its best known whiskey. Like the Guinness Storehouse, the Old Jameson Distillery is no longer an active distillery. Production was moved to the southern Irish city of Cork in the 1970s, although here some of the displays were active. It’s a guided tour, taking about an hour, with eight volunteers being picked for a whiskey test at the end. You should definitely volunteer if asked, as you get to try shots of Jameson’s whiskey, Jack Daniels’ bourbon, and a blended Scotch whiskey, to compare the three styles. Christine was chosen – I didn’t volunteer because I don’t like neat whiskey, but enjoyed a Jameson and ginger beer drink at the end, and a really nice Irish coffee in the bar. Again, a pricier attraction but we enjoyed this more than Guinness.

Dublin Zoo

Christine and I love visiting zoos so we spent most of last Monday at Dublin Zoo, as many other attractions in the city are closed on Mondays. It’s quite a big zoo, and whilst it has fewer animals than some others it does have some big enclosures. It was quite quiet when we went but it was a weekday and not especially nice weather, so at other times it will probably be busier. We were also wisely advised to take a packed lunch, as the food offerings there are not great. It’s home to two species of tiger (both very endangered), red pandas (my favourite animal), otters, lions, various apes, penguins and many others. The entry price is in line with other zoos over here in Britain.

Natural History Museum

After you’ve visited the zoo, have a look at the ‘dead zoo’ – yes, it’s really known as that. Though significantly smaller than its London namesake, and less interactive, the Natural History Museum has an extensive collection of stuffed animals. The ground floor is set aside for species native to or resident in Ireland, with everything else upstairs. The two balcony floors are currently out of bounds due to a lack of fire exits but most of the exhibits are viewable. Some of the specimens are very old, and were stuffed at a time when people were less familiar with exotic animals, so there are some slightly dodgy examples of taxidermy on show. Entry is free, although it is shut on Sunday mornings and all day Monday. Set aside a little over an hour for a visit.

Temple Bar

The Temple Bar is a district of Dublin which is home to many pubs and restaurants – the above pub gets its name from the area, rather than the other way around. It’s nice for a stroll through but livens up on an evening.

General Post Office

I’ve already briefly mentioned this one, but it’s worth a look. As well as being the main post office for the city, there is a small museum inside, which tells the history of Ireland’s postal service. In particular, there is quite a bit about its role in the Easter Rising of 1916, which set in motion various events over the next decade which ultimately led to Ireland’s independence from the United Kingdom. It’s only €2 to get in, and kept us occupied for up to an hour. You can also post letters and postcards into the oldest postbox in the country, and any mail collected from it will get a unique cancellation stamp.

Dublin Castle

We decided not to do the guided tour of Dublin Castle, which costs money, but there were plenty of bits to walk around for free. Follow the signs to the tearooms, and you will go past several boards with information about the history of the castle, and its wider role in Irish history. You can also cross a bridge into Dubh Linn Gardens, at the back of the castle, which are nice to walk around.

Kilmainham Gaol

Another historical attraction worth visiting is Kilmainham Gaol. Though it’s been many years since prisoners were interned there, it forms an important part of the history of the nation. The population exploded during a crime wave brought on by the potato famine – as the potato crop failed for several years running, those without food had to steal to survive, and many were caught. But in the early twentieth century many of those involved in campaigning for Irish independence, and those that opposed the Irish Free State in the Irish Civil War, were imprisoned and executed here. There’s both a small museum, and a guided tour of the main jail.

The jail isn’t in the centre of Dublin and is a good 20 minute walk from the Guinness Storehouse, itself away from the city centre. If you’re not up for a long walk, you may wish to catch the bus out here. It’s worth the long trip though.

Being a tourist

April 22, 2025July 26, 2011 by Neil Turner

I spent the weekend being a tourist, twice in my home town of York. York is a city that, since I no longer live there, I have actually come to appreciate more. Whilst growing up there you took the historic buildings for granted, and the hordes of guided tours just got in your way. But now I see the city in a very different light.

On Friday afternoon, we spent a bit of time at the National Railway Museum – one of my favourite museums as a child, but my last visit was in 2007 (although I blogged about it last year). The main attraction is the return of Mallard, which spent many years in the main hall at the museum but was recently sent to the Shildon Locomotion Museum in County Durham; however, it’s in York on a brief visit and presently takes pride of place on the main turntable. The museum is undergoing a lot of renovation at present, which includes a new entrance hall, so there are fewer attractions than normal – the station hall in particular was rather sparse, which was a shame.

On Saturday, we eschewed York and headed up to the small market town of Helmsley, on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. In particular, we visited Helmsley Castle, parts of which date from the 12th century but has been mostly ruined since the British Civil War in the 1600s. It’s now looked after by English Heritage, and for a little under a fiver each for adults you can spend a couple of hours wandering around. There’s also a museum section, which shows some of the finds that have been excavated as well as information about the castle’s history and how it would have looked over various key periods in its history.

Finally on Sunday we went back into York city centre, partly for some sightseeing but mostly for shopping, for which York is very good. Whilst there aren’t many large branches of chain stores (with the exception of a large Marks & Spencer, split across two sites), there are plenty of smaller shops and thankfully most don’t sell tourist tat. There’s now a sausage shop on The Shambles, and we also called in at Betty’s for some of their fondant cakes which change regularly. We were hoping to go to the Jorvik Viking Centre – again, despite living in York I haven’t visited this in nearly 20 years – but it’s rather expensive unless you make a day of it and go to the other museums (DIG, Barley Hall and Micklegate Bar Museum) – a £16 ticket lets you into all four.

In a way, it’s refreshing to be a tourist in your home town. You can take time to go to the places that you walk past every day, and maybe discover things that you never knew existed. At the same time, you have the advantage of knowing your way around and knowing the best places to eat, or what to avoid. Whilst not every town is set up for tourism, if yours is, give it a try. You can even do it in places like Bradford.