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Times
5 days ago
- Times
Spit, don't swallow: And what else a holiday in Bordeaux taught me
I'm a cyclist. Not a Lycra-wearing, hand-signalling cyclist, more of an urban approximation, so when the opportunity came up to velo my way through the peaceful rhythms of rural Bordeaux and its wineries, I was saddling up quicker than you can say merlot, dragging my (cycling-averse) sister and friend with me. It's hard not to romanticise Bordeaux: France's wine capital is a panorama of sleepy villages and medieval châteaux with a beautiful city at its heart, the backdrop of many a French masterpiece. It's also vast, divided by the Dordogne and Garonne rivers with the left bank known for its cabernet sauvignon blends, gravelly soils and structured wines and the right bank hailed for its merlot, clay and limestone soils and softer, fruitier wines. The plan was to sample the lot, without spitting. Easy by bike, right? We got off to a good start, freewheeling our way through leafy French forests near Créon, a small village in the Entre-deux-Mers region on the left bank, just 45 minutes after disembarking our plane. The former train line between Créon and the village of La Sauve is now a greenway anchored by the L'Aiguillage restaurant housed in the original train station in La Sauve, where we stopped for lunch, lazing in the pretty garden to the cacophony of a nearby French family celebrating their grandmother's 100th birthday. As we soon learnt, cycling in France requires some level of self-discipline and so we forgo the second glass of wine for a tour of the nearby Benedictine abbey in La Sauve, a Unesco world heritage site and a masterpiece of Romanesque art, where we climbed to the top of the 11th-century bell tower for a bird's eye view of Entre-deux-Mers. It's a scene of such sylvan tranquillity we almost forget we have to hightail it to our next stop, a 30-minute cycle away. My sister is complaining about my failure to book electric bikes as we huff our way up hills until we turn down a dirt track signposted for Château Thieuley and arrive at a beautiful sandstone château where we all gasp. We are met by Sylvie Courselle who, together with her sister Marie, now runs the family estate. Sylvie is charming and knowledgeable, taking us through the vineyard's history and philosophy, which includes combining 'tradition with modernity'. There's a certain mettle to their metier, devoting half of their production to bordeaux blanc, a brave move considering it's something of a paradox in the region. We retire to the bar to taste their rosé, claret and white blends — all easy drinkers with plenty of substance and flavour for their €8-€10 price tags — before picking up some homemade pâté, olive oil (and a couple of bottles) . It's a family affair, one that feels effortlessly charming and personal. There are about 6,000 wineries in Bordeaux and 57 different appellation d'origine contrôlées (AOCs — indicating the geographical area), all of which taste different depending on the terroir: the subtle differences in soil, slope and climatic exposure. This we learnt in depth at the Cité du Vin, Bordeaux's sleek, shiny swirl of a building and a seriously impressive wine museum, not just any museum but one that manages to engage, educate and delight both oenophiles and the mildly curious (aka us) alike. In truth, you need to know nothing about wine for a successful trip to Bordeaux but it's a hot day and the museum is a cool lung in which to spend the afternoon, flying over vineyards in Greece and Chile by means of giant screens, learning about the origins of wine through 3D models, holograms and displays, strolling through galleries of civilisations from 6000BC to 19 th-century Paris detailing the history of wine and sitting back in dark rooms with plush velvet couches wrapped by large screens to be seduced by the romance of wine making. It makes wine fun even for those who can't tell a cabernet from a Coke. We ended our tour with a tasting on the top floor overlooking the river before crossing the street to the Halles de Bacalan food hall for a cheese plate and accompanying glass of minerally white wine, no spitting. Bordeaux is smart and elegant, all those honey-coloured buildings shouldering up handsomely together, a miniature Paris of sorts. But it wasn't always the case. It has been coaxed back from its gritty past by the former mayor Alain Juppé, who metamorphosised the soot-stained shipping hub into an intoxicating city, brimming with history, galleries, bustling markets, boutiques and enough wine bars and restaurants to shake a stick at (there's more restaurants per capita here than Paris, which is saying a lot). • 23 of the best things to do in Bordeaux As much as we'd love to linger, we're after a slice of Bordeaux in just two days. We wander the old town with its fairytale towers, baroque churches and grand vintage buildings, past the swish designer shops of the Golden Triangle and on to the riverbank via Place de la Bourse and Miroir d'Eau — a reflecting pool where kids play in and out of the misting machines. It's Sunday and the Quai des Chartrons food market is in full swing along the promenade, where you can smell the briny freshness of seaside oysters and Basque sheep cheese. We dogleg on to Rue Notre Dame, normally buzzing with boutiques and bars but it's Sunday and the street is sleepy, save for one restaurant, Le Bistro 111, where we stop for a lunch of warm burrata served at tables outside. Our hotel, Villas Foch, is a ten-minute stroll from one of the city's best wine bars, Le Bar à Vin, located in the Bordeaux Wine Council's headquarters, where we sample some of the best regional wines accompanied by local cheese and meats before heading to bed. On a tree-lined avenue that ends in the famed Place des Quinconces, Villas Foch is a quiet, unassuming and sophisticated boutique hotel housed in a former bank. It's a step up from our first-night lodgings at Hôtel Konti, a smart budget-friendly option but heavy on the retro furnishings. Villas Foch is small but manages to pack a punch with everything you need for a stay in the city: a sauna, gym, pool, elegant bar, breakfast room and bedrooms that riff on 'modern library' style with high ceilings, bookshelves, objets d'art, bathrooms stocked with Hermès toiletries and views over the rooftops. After filling up on the hotel's generous buffet breakfast we make a beeline for Saint-Émilion, known for its medieval town and for producing some full-bodied reds, and into the throng of tourists. There's a distant rumbling of thunder from the leaden sky and so we head underground with our guide to marvel at the monolithic 12 th-century church, which is partly subterranean and one of the most important religious monuments along the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. We fuel up with coffee and a croissant from Le Médiéval and we're back on two (electric) wheels, much to my sister's delight, cycling the 15km loop around some of Saint-Émilion's most prestigious wineries. We ride under a heavy sky, through sloping vineyards, past manicured vines to the soundtrack of thunder and lightning. • 25 of the best vineyard hotels to visit in France Just as the downpour begins, we roll into Château La Dominique and retire to La Terrasse Rouge for lunch. Château La Dominique is one of a smattering of wineries marked with the hand of an ambitious architect, in this case Jean Nouvel, whose modern touch includes the wine-coloured metal cladding and a terrace laid with thousands of glass 'grapes' inspired by the artists Jeff Koons and Anish Kapoor. From here you can marvel at the perfect parcels of vineyards as far as Pomerol, including the modernist splendour of neighbouring Cheval Blanc, one of only two châteaux that earned the premier grand cru classification. They are so close in proximity I wonder whether their blends are similar? 'Yes and no,' says Christian, our guide. 'It's all about the blue clay ridge, which only a handful of wineries in the region have, including Cheval Blanc. It's their secret weapon,' he explains. 'A type of clay that is rich in iron and allows them to age their wines for longer than everyone else. We have a small section of it and our best wine comes from that parcel.' A hectare in Saint-Émilion costs in the region of €100,000 and upwards — it's a profitable business but you have to start with deep pockets. At 29 hectares Château La Dominique is a medium-to-large size vineyard, owned by the Clément Fayat family — the fourth largest construction company in France … deep pockets. We head to the cellar to see how their premier wine is made. A grand cru classé means strict processing rules involving 22 separate steel tanks for the 22 different parcels of land and ageing the wine in oak barrels, which are only used twice before being sold on, usually to whiskey distilleries. There is so much riding on the quality of wine, it's dizzying. The terroir, which can change from one side of the road to the other, clay and oak storage vessels, the weather — it can all dramatically affect the quality, and price, of the wine. At Château de Ferrand, a 30-minute cycle away, we learn that a vine that yields a 'good' wine is one that is suffering. 'If you don't trim it, it's going to try harder to grow,' says Elliot who, together with his colleague Josephine, is passionate and knowledgeable. 'We don't irrigate, we don't trim, we stunt it so it produces the biggest, juiciest grapes.' Château de Ferrand is another family-run estate. Not just any family, but the Bich family, responsible for bringing us Bic pens, razors and lighters. Pauline Bich then married Philippe Chandon-Moët, giving it additional kudos in the world of wines. This place is more than just a winery; it is a seriously smart château that feels like an art gallery-cum-winery. We are greeted at the front door by a very amiable and friendly team framed by a large sculpture of a chewed pen lid. After a tour of the wine cellar and vat room, we are ushered into a tasting room so pretty we forget to sit down, marvelling instead the 360-degree wall mural of the château, hand-drawn with Bic pen. 'Look at the colour of the wine against a white surface,' says Elliot as we sit down to taste. 'Then swirl and smell. Is it fruity, floral, herbal, buttery, oaky? Now sip.' We sip, they spit, we follow suit. Full disclosure, I don't actually like red wine, preferring the light and crisp swell of white wine. But I may well be converted. It's silky, fruity, delightfully fresh with just the right hit of oak. 'It's a wine full of pleasure to drink with friends,' he says, smiling. • 9 of the best wine-tasting holidays in France The team here are eager to press the point that Château de Ferrand may have accommodation — three stunning bedrooms that walk the line between luxury five-star hotel and comfortable family home — but it's all about the wine experience. Dinner can be arranged in the dining room among the family's private art collection (original Picasso included) or group tastings, tailor-made tours, parties and events can all be organised in the cellar or one of the newly renovated rooms. Our elegant dinner was an exquisite experience. It felt at times too formal: at the big polished dining table surrounded by expensive art, but that comes with the territory. It is after all the most expensive wine region in the world, but not exclusive. After three days of touring the best of it by bike I remain a bit of a wine beginner, but I do have a renewed appreciation for what goes in to making it and in future I will remember to spit. Aer Lingus operates daily flights from Dublin to Bordeaux between June and October; Hôtel Konti, double rooms cost from €112; Foch, double rooms cost from €285; de Ferrand, double rooms cost from €350; Rustic Vines runs a day trip from Bordeaux, which includes transport, bike hire, three tastings and lunch and costs from €175pp;
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: The rural French property owned by controversial Salt Path couple 'Raynor Winn' and her husband 'Moth'
They famously told the world they were homeless, yet this is the rural French property owned by controversial Salt Path couple 'Raynor Winn' and her husband 'Moth', MailOnline can reveal. The couple – whose real names have now been revealed as Tim and Sally Walker – bought a ramshackle stone farmhouse near Bordeaux in 2007, with the intention of refurbishing it, along with its next-door neighbour, a pigeon tower already owned by Tim's younger brother Martyn. But these days both properties are deserted, overgrown and occupied only by those pigeons, in the tiny hamlet of Le Village du Dropt, surrounded by maize fields and vineyards in the lush valley of the Garonne river. Meanwhile, Sally Walker, 62, is furiously defending herself and her husband against a catalogue of charges of misleading the millions of fans who bought her soul-searching blockbuster, The Salt Path, which in turn spawned two sequels and this Summer's hit movie starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. Last week, The Observer claimed that far from falling victim to a bad investment as the book claimed, the reason Raynor lost her house in the Welsh countryside was that she embezzled £64,000 from her employer, the Hemmings family. She avoided criminal charges by paying back the money in a settlement, the newspaper reported. The report also uncovered evidence of their ownership of a house in France at the time they claimed to be homeless. Just as disturbing was the suggestion from nine neurologists and researchers that they were sceptical that Tim could have survived for so many years with the rare and fatal neurological condition, corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which affects movement, speech and memory. But long before their live took such wildly differing paths, this poignant photograph taken 21 years ago by one of the Walker brothers' few neighbours in Dropt, Mme Nathalie Duparant, 74, shows them and their families at what can now be seen as a watershed moment. It was 2004, and tile-fitter Martyn, now 63, and his 59-year-old wife Carole had already quit the rat race in Burton-on-Trent to move to Lot-et-Garonne with their six children to live a simpler life. Tim and Sally and their own two children, on a visit to see their in-laws, camped in the grounds of the property and subsequently decided to invest in the next-door house, at the cost of a few thousand Euros, given its dilapidated state. According to sources, the side-by-side refurbishment project was intended to be a chance for the brothers, born just over a year apart, to bond with each other and their respective families. But things didn't turn out that way. While Martyn and Carole decided to invest in a rambling 16th century chateau about 40 minutes' drive away, Tim and Sally returned to their life in Wales and barely returned to France at all. 'It was very sad that they only came back once and camped in the ground,' recalled Mme Duparant, speaking in the grounds of her rural house above the din of her geese, chickens and a brace of turkeys. 'Both the pigeon tower and the house next door are potentially beautiful buildings and have stood for centuries, and it would have been lovely to see them restored to their former glory,' she added. 'But Sally and Tim didn't seem to have the same enthusiasm as Martyn and Carole, and as the two properties are side by side, it's not worth improving one if the other is still a wreck.' Mme Duparant said she was 'shocked' to hear the allegations against Sally Walker and had never read the book nor seen the film. 'I had no idea they were so famous,' she told MailOnline. 'I cannot believe what they are being accused of, it all seems so unlikely.' Dropt's only previous brush with fame was because it was also the home of the late esteemed French novelist Marguerite Duras. Her erotic novel of forbidden love in 1920s Saigon, L'Amant (The Lover) was turned into a major film of the same name and caused a scandal in Britain and elsewhere when it was released in 1992 because of its unusually graphic portrayal of sexual violence. The house which Sally and Tim bought for a few thousand Euros in 2007, has long been uninhabited, but would certainly have given them enough land to pitch a tent when they lost their home to the bailiffs in 2013 and began their epic 630-mile walk around the South West Coast Path, nicknamed the Salt Path. Now, fighting our way past the 6ft high thorns, weeds and ivy surrounding the French property, it's clear that the robust stonework dating back hundreds of years, looks sturdy enough, but the same cannot be said of the oak beams, rotting because of the completely absent roof. The house which Sally and Tim bought for a few thousand Euros in 2007, has long been uninhabited, but would certainly have given them enough land to pitch a tent when they lost their home to the bailiffs in 2013 At some point, someone has attempted to build an inner structure with modern bricks inside the old stone walls but they didn't get that far. A particularly precarious-looking beam appeared to be supported only by a single steel 'acro-prop' and we decided to beat a hasty retreat. The empty property now has a British next-door neighbour, chef Sean Morley, from Bristol, who grew up in both Britain and France, and is restoring his own converted barn. 'You can see the potential of both the house and the pigeon tower,' said Sean. 'These buildings probably go back to the Middle Ages in some form or other, but it needs someone to spend a proper amount of money restoring all that original brickwork and the oak beams. 'In England, someone would already have done that, but here, it's just as likely some French farmer will knock down the lot and build something in its place.' According to the Mayor of the nearby town of Pardaillan, Serge Cadiot, whose bailiwick includes Le Village Du Dropt, the local taxes on the house haven't been paid 'for years' – an accusation which Sally Walker rejected in her statement this week. But M. Cadiot was adamant that the taxes remained unpaid, though was unable to specify exactly how much was outstanding when MailOnline spoke to him at his home. 'The taxes haven't been paid for a long time, but we keep sending the letters. The place isn't worth much, but there's not much we can do if the owner lives abroad. 'We did send a letter to his brother, but that came back unopened,' he said. Shortly after the Walkers bought their property in Dropt, according to widow Ros Hemmings, whose late estate agent husband Martin employed Sally Walker at their firm in Pwllheli, north Wales, money began to go missing from the company. Bookkeeper Ms Walker was eventually accused of 'embezzling' £64,000 from the firm. Ms Hemmings said that one day in 2008 Martin looked at the company bank balance and realised that Walker had failed to deposit a large sum of cash. A loan was then allegedly taken out to avoid prosecution and when this was not paid their home in Wales was sold, it has been claimed. Tim Walker has been living with an illness for 18 years with no apparent visible symptoms that medical experts claim would require round-the-clock care within 12 years. The claims in The Observer prompted a medical charity supporting victims of the disease to cut ties with the Walkers. Earlier this week, Sally Walker issued a long defence to the accusations contained in The Observer article which they branded 'highly misleading'. She posted NHS clinic letters on Instagram addressed to Timothy Walker, which she said showed that 'he is treated for CBD/S and has been for many years'. She wrote: 'The last few days have been some of the hardest of my life. Heart breaking accusations that Moth has made up his illness have been made, leaving us devastated.' In a statement on her website, she said that the article was 'grotesquely unfair, highly misleading and seeks to systematically pick apart my life'. She added: 'The Salt Path is about what happened to Moth and me, after we lost our home and found ourselves homeless on the headlands of the south west. 'It's not about every event or moment in our lives, but rather about a capsule of time when our lives moved from a place of complete despair to a place of hope. 'The journey held within those pages is one of salt and weather, of pain and possibility. And I can't allow any more doubt to be cast on the validity of those memories, or the joy they have given so many.' In The Salt Path, the couple lose their house due to a bad business investment. But The Observer reported that the couple, lost their home after an accusation that Winn had stolen thousands of pounds from her employer. It also said that it had spoken to medical experts who were sceptical about Moth having CBD, given his lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them. Publishing house Penguin said it 'undertook all the necessary pre-publication due diligence', including a contract with an author warranty about factual accuracy, and a legal read. It added: 'Prior to the Observer enquiry, we had not received any concerns about the book's content.' A Hemmings family source this week told MailOnline that: 'He [Martin Hemmings] felt he'd been ripped off by her which he was. 'Ros is still really angry with her as she's knows how devastated Martin was by it all. 'He felt really let down by it all. It was a real messy situation.' Tim Walker's brother Martyn and his wife Carole, approached by MailOnline at their magnificent chateau not far from Dropt, declined to comment.
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- The Guardian
Discover Bordeaux and beyond: why France's riverside jewel is a must for cultural travellers
Sitting riverside among the colourful flowers of the Jardins des Lumières, between the River Garonne and Place de la Bourse, it's easy to appreciate the lure of Bordeaux. The Miroir d'eau (a large 2cm-deep pool) reflecting passing clouds and the monumental symmetry of Bordeaux's grand cream-stone buildings is every photographer's dream, as indeed it is for the children splashing about, playing amid its spurting water jets. It's a fine place to begin a visit to Bordeaux and gain some perspective of this magnificent city – the most extensive urban environment in the world to be recognised by Unesco as a world heritage site. Bordeaux's city centre is a heady mix of 'old' (in the days when Eleanor of Aquitaine would bind Bordeaux and Aquitaine to the English crown) and 'new'. New, that is, for those fortunate to be in Bordeaux during the 18th century, when grand neoclassical buildings, wide boulevards, and elegant squares transformed the city. My pick of cafes for breakfast is La Belle Époque, on Quai Louis XVIII, which celebrates a later era. Look up at the ceiling while sipping on your morning coffee to enjoy the building's period ornamentation. Visit the Miroir d'eau, a reflecting pool located across from Place de la Bourse; enjoy the ornate decor of La Belle Époque; see the city from street level on a guided walking tour. Photographs: Steve Le Clech Photos; Alamy; Teddy Vernuil Bordeaux is so crammed with architectural beauty that it's worth joining a guided walking tour that points out the incontournables (unmissable), starting at the tourist information centre. Then hop on board the BAT (Bato) river taxi at Quinconces Jean-Jaurès (beside the Jardins des Lumières) for a gentle boat trip to Les Hangars, from where you can take a scenic 20-minute walk along the Garonne to the Cité du Vin to view Bordeaux's modern-day architecture. Its rooftop restaurant offers one of the best views for an all-encompassing sight of Bordeaux. From here, it's a five-minute walk to Bassin des Lumières, the world's largest digital art centre. Sit back and allow the sound and light show to wash over you, or wander through its ever-changing 3D scenes. Exhibitions include a colourful deep dive into the civilisation and mythology of the ancient Egyptians. Cité du Vin's rooftop restaurant offers stunning views of Bordeaux; Bassin des Lumières is the world's largest digital art centre. Photographs: Alamy; Vincent Bengold; Culturespaces/Vincent Pinson When you arrive back at the Quinconces Jean-Jaurès landing stage with a return river taxi you'll be brought up to date, culturally, with a visit to the CAPC Bordeaux Contemporary Art Museum. While Bordeaux's Cité du Vin is a savvy visitor attraction promoting wine from around the world, you might opt for a more intimate experience. Head south-east from the city centre to La Sauve and its House of Wines of Entre-deux-Mers, where you can taste the local wines of this specific AOC (Appellation d'origine contrôlée) region in the 11th-century Abbey of La Sauve-Majeure. To the south-west of La Sauve is Beautiran, close to the River Garonne. Here, you can wander the streets of this delightful village. Perhaps stop at charming Villa Maglya to visit the Museum of Techniques to discover the preindustrial heritage and artistry of the area, including highly embellished printed toile fabrics that were manufactured here during the 18th century. Discover modern art at CAPC Bordeaux Contemporary Art Museum; taste local wines at Abbey of La Sauve-Majeure; walk through enchanting gardens at Château de Vayres. Photographs: Arthur Péquin; Philippe Berthé/Centre des Monuments Nationaux To the north-east, between Bordeaux and Libourne, is Château de Vayres, once owned by King Henry IV of France. It's regarded as one of the most beautiful chateaux in Aquitaine. The entrance fee gives you access to the registered historic monument's interior, with its incredible collection of Aubusson tapestries, and the gardens, designated as one of France's remarkable gardens, with fine views over the River Dordogne. You can add another medieval site to your itinerary with a visit to the picturesque towns of Bourg and Blaye. La Citadelle de Blaye, along with the Bolt of Vauban fortifications, is one of a network of major sites designed by Sébastien Le Prestre, Marquis of Vauban. France's best-known maritime military engineer established this huge defensive system beside the Gironde, Europe's largest estuary, and there are fabulous panoramas of it from the preserved fortress. And then, there's that other mammoth maritime fortress, guarding the mouth of the Gironde estuary, La Phare de Cordouan. At seven storeys high and 68 metres tall, the 400-year-old lighthouse is grand in scale, ornamentation, and presence; latterly nicknamed the Versailles of the Seas, it even has its own chapel and royal apartment. Visits are only possible on a pre-booked boat trip with Vedettes La Bohème from Le Verdon-sur-Mer, at the tip of the Médoc. If all this sightseeing leaves you ready to put your feet up, it's Arcachon, west of Bordeaux, that you should visit. Under Napoleon III, Arcachon became a popular, upmarket coastal health resort, and the town is filled with imperial elegance from grand villas along tree-lined avenues, pretty parks, and a selection of excellent restaurants. From Arcachon's Sainte-Cécile belvedere (inspired by Gustave Eiffel), is an extensive view over the Bassin d'Arcachon with its sweeping curve lined by sandy beaches – a fine way to conclude your cultural tour of the Bordeaux region. Bordeaux: where to eat, sleep and visit Eat … Cuisine et Dépendance This restaurant nestled in medieval Bourg has a seasonal menu of authentic French dishes (magret de canard) prepared well – opt for a shady table under the lime … Les Villas de la Ville d'Hiver These tranquil twin guest houses within the historic Ville d'Hiver quarter of Arcachon are only five minutes' walk from the miss … European Heritage DaysEuropean Heritage Days across the Bordeaux region in September offer free entry to museums, galleries, and other cultural monuments, plus themed guided tours to discover Bordeaux's heritage. If you'd like to discover more on Bordeaux and why sailing to France with Brittany Ferries is the best way to start your holiday, then visit Set sail from Portsmouth, Poole or Plymouth and enjoy up to seven days in France from just £206, based on a car and two passengers
Reuters
30-06-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
EDF shuts down Golftech nuclear plant due to high river temperature
PARIS, June 30 (Reuters) - French utility EDF said it shut down the No. 1 reactor at the Golftech nuclear power plant in southwestern France late on Sunday, ahead of an anticipated rise in the temperature of the Garonne river that supplies the plant's cooling water. The company is required to modify production when the average daily temperature of the Garonne downstream of the plant exceeds 28 degrees Celsius. The second unit at the plant was already shut for maintenance, EDF added in a statement on its website on Monday.
Bloomberg
25-06-2025
- Climate
- Bloomberg
French Power Prices Rise on Warnings of Heat-Linked Nuclear Cuts
French month-ahead power prices rose after Electricite de France SA warned that nuclear output could be cut at the end of June because of scorching weather, just as increased cooling demand strains electricity supply. Several plants along the Garonne and Rhone rivers could be impacted as rising water temperatures threaten cooling operations, according to the state-run utility. Production may be restricted at the Blayais site from June 30, St. Alban from July 1, and Golfech from July 2.
