Day 5 - Montmorillion to Arnac pompadour
route
description
This is quite a long day spent mainly on very minor roads with the aim of avoiding the traffic associated with Limoges. We start by heading south on the D5 and D4 to Bussière-Poitevine where we head east before picking up the D49 south to Bellac. The early stages are gentle rolling countryside. Bellac is a good spot for a coffee stop, and also for picking up a fine if you manage to get caught running a red light you haven’t even noticed (it was a sunday morning with no traffic and I had my eyes on the support van). The French police swooped like I was an international terrorist, so be warned.
From there we take even smaller roads and the ups and downs are a bit more severe and tiring, but the surrounds are pretty enough to make the effort relatively painless. After around 79km you cross the river Vienne and run parallel to it for a while. We found a perfect picnic spot a few km further on just before Aixe-sur-Vienne
Picnicing by the river on D32 just past Les Prades, before Aixe-sur-Vienne.
We continue south through green fields and small towns. The countryside is not as flat and open as northern France, but it does not yet have the hot dry feel that you find further south. The biggest town en-route Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche and if you want refreshment, this is probably your best bet. After this the roads are even more empty. Shortly before the end of the day we go through Ségur-le-Château, which has won awards for the “prettiest village in France”.
