The Tourbières de Vendoire, a magical site for walking!

Let's go for a walk in a refreshing and pleasant site, in the middle of a unique environment: the Tourbières de Vendoire! Peat bogs are magical places for those who like to observe the fauna and flora. In Périgord Vert, to the west of the department, not far from Ribérac, the Tourbières de Vendoire can be discovered in several ways: On a guided tour, on a free walk or with puzzles to discover, by boat, on the back of a donkey, day, evening during summer nights, all year round too! It is a free site and free to access, more than 6 ha of nature, La Maison des Tourbières and its small museum will please everyone and there is enough to picnic on site. Lets' go?

Photos of the report: Guide du Périgord

A unique site, an environment to be protected

The Maison des Tourbières (open in summer, but the site is open all year round) will allow you to learn more about this magical environment. There is a small museum, organized guided tours, a permanent exhibition, in a pretty wooden hut on stilts, at the edge of one of the ponds. There are several ponds to discover, with a landscaped path and spaces to observe the fauna and flora. Throughout the year, the site evolves and its face changes, come back 6 months later and nothing will be the same! We sometimes come across the European otter, the Cistude tortoise, the marsh harrier… And a whole myriad of small mammals and insects that swarm wherever you look.

Managed by the Community of Communes, of Périgord Ribéracois, it is a place powered by The Conservatory of Natural Spaces of New Aquitaine.

Peatlands and their context

There are no bogs everywhere! Before, there were many more, but these environments deemed unhealthy have been eradicated, yet they benefit from a very strong capacity to capture carbon from the atmosphere. These are wetlands, where the accumulation of organic matter is particular. The absence of oxygen and the acid character of the surrounding moor makes it difficult to degrade the materials, so the material is as if fossilized! The peat is rich, it is dense and for millennia it has been accumulating to form this very black earth that was used before as fuel (a very poor replacement for wood, absent from these regions, we do with what we have!). Peat bogs are excellent for retaining water in winter and releasing it gradually in summer, no more droughts (well almost…). They are natural water filters, sort of kidneys of the earth! They are great reservoirs of biodiversity, both for aquatic and terrestrial species.

In peat bogs there are carnivorous plants, bladderwort (no, they won't eat your hand, they are more interested in the insects they attract, retain and digest very slowly…). We find in the waters of the lakes characeae, green algae which are the ancestors of grasses, we see them through the water which is fresh and clear. Fish appreciate these aquatic herbaria!

A place to protect

We now know why peat bogs are important, but do you know why human intervention is essential today to preserve them? It is because of the closure of the circles. Naturally, the forest is gaining ground, without human action (for once!) the environment would become wooded and we would lose the fauna and flora interest of this unusual place. Our visit therefore contributes to bringing the site to life, maintaining its existence and preserving it! The forest is the final stage of the peat bog, but thanks to the maintenance of the site, we will be able to preserve the different stages of the peat bog: the low marsh, the extraction basins (dug by man at the era of peatland exploitation) and grasslands.

It was until the 1950s that peat was extracted from this place and probably since the Middle Ages. The peat was used here as fuel, it had to be extracted and dried before distributing it. But it can also be used in agriculture to improve the soil (Vendroire peat is not suitable for this use, due to its composition).

What to do in the peat bogs of Vendoire?

You can walk on the interpretation trail, you can also go fishing! We visited the site in the summer evening, so the museum was closed, but it is open during the day and on Wednesdays, night boat rides are offered. Bring your picnic, there is enough to settle on the site!

We wish you a pleasant visit to the Tourbières de Vendoire! Continue your journey in Périgord Vert, rich in exceptional natural sites!

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