Dotted with medieval towns, the French countryside east of Bordeaux offers more than just superb wine

Words and photographs Tess Paterson

We’ve settled in at our self-catering gite near the town of Margueron in south west France. It’s a restored barn with a cherry orchard for a garden and the sort of bucolic farmy surrounds that would have Cézanne in a tizz. This is my kind of getaway, not so much a village as a hamlet, where a tractor trundling past is a notable event. Shutters are painted lilac, courtyards are gravel-covered and clematis trails effortlessly over stone walls. More importantly, there’s duck confit on the menu at the local bistro.