The surrounding countryside is exquisitely beautiful in all seasons. Summer temperatures can be relied on to exceed 30° C (86 ° F) with long, lazy days, sunflowers in full bloom, clear light and the occasional dramatic storm.

Once August is past, the intensity of summer's heat makes way for sparkling days under blue skies and the gentle arrival of autumn's colours.

In winter the average temperature is between 6-8° C (42°-46° F). Afternoons can often see the mercury rise past 15° C (59°F), with the land bathed in glorious sunshine, followed by nights of deep frost.

Spring brings capricious weather. Frosts are generally finished by the end of April, by which time violets and cowslips have already appeared in the woods and by the hedgerows.

Freda White, who knew the area very well, provides an accurate description of this season in her book 'Three Rivers of France' :

The spring of Aquitaine comes flying from the west in a swirl of flowers. It has to hurry, because summer is hard on its heels and will pursue it by the rivers and catch up with it on the ridges in June.