Hiking on the Sentier des Fontaines de Salignac Eyvigues

Choose a nice day and come for a family hike in Périgord Noir. Salignac Eyvigues is a town with a quality market, a castle to visit and walking trails everywhere. Today, we are going to set off on the Sentier des Fontaines, which highlights country springs and wash houses. Come with your family, have a picnic and whatever the season, you will be surprised by the fauna, flora and landscapes of this region near Quercy. We will also discover Randoland, one of the best ways to get reluctant children to walk! Here we go ?

Photos from the report: Guide to Périgord

The Sentier des Fontaines, a lovely path following in the footsteps of the washerwomen

It is in the Pays de Fénelon that we take you, to discover the Sentier des Fontaines. It is a marked walk of 3.5km with variations to add 1km more. Perfect for families, this walk can be done in all seasons, the landscape is changing and diverse. The fountain trail highlights the springs, the wash houses, the water points where the washerwomen of yesteryear came to remake the world by beating laundry for the whole family. In summer, it's a perfect walk to do in the shade. In autumn you will enjoy the smells of pine sap, the glowing colors of deciduous trees, hazelnuts to glean, perhaps a few mushrooms (never on private property!). In winter, the landscape is more open and the trail remains very accessible. In spring, you will come across wild orchids, wild plum trees and apple trees in bloom, in short it's paradise all year round!

It was in 2001 that a local association developed the trail. It is dotted with panels to find out more about this place, the uses and customs of the inhabitants, and the work of the washerwomen. Because the wash houses were once places of life, ideal for transmitting and commenting on the latest news from the village. Useful and cheerful, the wash houses are a true vernacular heritage of the countryside! There are fountains, wash houses, but also springs. They are marked on the path by blue dots. Unfortunately, depending on the time of year, they are dry...

What is Randoland?

Do you want to go for a walk, but the children are dragging their feet? The weather is so bad and you don't know if the landscape will be attractive enough to merit an outing? You don't know where to go for a walk in the Dordogne? Give meaning to family walks again, easily encourage children to follow you: Randoland offers fun walks, sheets and circuits to download. It works throughout France, these are treasure hunts for children and their parents. There are several levels of difficulty, surveys, information on fauna, flora, nearby places, heritage... The walks range from 2 to 10 km on average. They are well made, the instructions are clear. The advantage is that you don't need your Smartphone to play! Our opinion : The only thing to know is that it costs money. The price is a few euros to be able to download the sheets . Sometimes when you go to the Tourist Offices, they have the printed sheets and can give you some for free. Some are sometimes on sale or free on the Randoland website. Alternatives and other types of services of this type exist: Tèrra Aventura in Nouvelle-Aquitaine or Geocaching all over the world. It's free because the economic model is different. Don't hesitate to test Randoland and the very interesting packs that exist to download all the files for a department. Practical when you live there or go on vacation.

Hike the Sentier des Fontaines

Park your car at the first wash house, a sign indicates the start of the hike. Picnic tables are available, to recharge your batteries with a “ frichti ” before leaving. Besides, don't miss a visit to the great Salignac producers store, it is very well stocked and full of delicacies! There are also small shops and a supermarket to choose from!

Let's return to the washhouse. If you are calm and observant, you will see salamanders, newts, tadpoles... It is a lot of fun for the children. A somewhat mysterious bamboo forest is planted there, don't hesitate to go and take a leaf bath there. Then follow the signs and take a small path on the right which begins by following the road before heading towards the forest. Be respectful of nearby homes. Observe everything around you and let yourself be transported by the ambient calm, there is only the chirping of birds to bring us out of our daydreams.

On the route, around sixty panels, to learn lots of things! There is a space in a small clearing which is dedicated to the 4 seasons. You walk on paths formerly accessible by cart, which is why paving stones remain laid and visible on the ground with the vegetation reclaiming its rights in the gaps. Old buildings abandoned and hidden by brambles, ivy, trees... old walls to symbolize crossroads. How long would it take nature to erase us? We ask ourselves the question as we walk and we feel very small! We alternate between pine forests and tall deciduous forests, which race towards the sun. The landscape is sometimes arid: we are not far from the Causses du Quercy in the Lot!

The walk ends when you go up a wide path towards the initial parking lot. You have done between 3.5 and 5km! We wish you a nice walk on this pleasant and interesting trail!

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