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The Lot-et-Garonne is a Départment, in the old
areas of Gascony and the Guyenne, in the Région of Aquitaine, in
south-west France - an area full of fascinating and important
history.
Lying immediately south of the Dordogne, the Lot-et-Garonne is
situated south-east of Bordeaux and north-west of Toulouse, apx. 130
kms from the Atlantic coast and a little over two
hours from the Spanish border.
Because the Department carries two of
France's principal rivers, the Lot and the Garonne, the landscape is
beautifully verdant and incredibly varied. Broad, fertile valleys
wind past picturesque ranges of hills to meet at the
confluence of the rivers just to the south of us, at Aiguillon.
From there, the mighty Garonne carries all, flowing majestically
past us, watering the world-famous "Bordeaux" vineyards of the
Gironde, before surging on through the city of Bordeaux itself, and
out to the Atlantic.
Due to the very fertile river
deposits and the abundant supply of water available, the economy of
The Lot-et-Garonne is heavily reliant on agriculture, with tourism
still in its relative infancy. Consequently the roads are very quiet
and, unlike the Dordogne and Provence, few places are crowded even
in the height of summer.
You will see growing in abundance, vines, maize, all kinds of fruit,
fields of sunflowers, vegetables and many varieties of trees. The
Lot-et-Garonne is also the home of the world-famous Agen prune. And,
of course, with the agriculture comes the wildlife; you will find
many birds of prey here (look out for magnificent kites riding the
thermals high above).
Our summers are significantly warmer and sunnier than further north,
with long settled spells. Rain is not usually a problem as, when it
does come, it tends to be very heavy and of short duration. (See the
graph below right for more details).
The Lot-et-Garonne is France as most people imagine it to be.
Warm, verdant,
historic, colourful, sparsely
populated, and very picturesque. It also has some of the best food and wine, the most
beautiful scenery, and the loveliest and friendliest of people, as
we hope to show you in this series of photographs.... |
