Camping Étang Vallier

There are 14 hiking trails in the countryside around Étang Vallier, along with three cycling circuits of varying lengths and difficulties. Several vineyards are also within easy reach of the site, including one less than five kilometres away that’s been family-run for five generations and gives visitors tours on a little train. If you’re in the market for foodie souvenirs, the vineyard shop sells cognac, wine, walnuts and walnut oil, as well as the region’s aperitif Pineau des Charentes. Also around five kilometres from base is the Guizengeard clay quarry, where there’s a nature trail through to an artificial lake created to fill the holes left by the quarryworks’ excavation of kaolin, a white-coloured clay that gives the water a spectacular turquoise tint: the team at Étang Vallier says this is an absolute must-see. For road trips, Brossac lies rather conveniently between the Dordogne, Charente-Maritime and Aquitaine regions, and the splendid seaside spot of Royan and other major cultural destinations of Bordeaux, Cognac, Saint-Émilion and Angoulême are all within 90 minutes’ drive.