What the papers say about Gascony
Living in this beautiful region it’s easy to be biased, but don’t take out word for it, why not read what the papers have to say about Gascony. 
“Many people don’t know where Gascony is, unsurprising really, as it is the old name given to parts of the Gers and Ariège. You can drive round for days without spotting another GB car number plate in mid-August and pass miles and miles of towering sunflower fields before sitting down to lunch at a small auberge where almost every course includes duck meat (even the omelettes) and a good bottle of wine. When I visited the area last year, the week after the Blairs had left, the locals were still raving about his visit. ‘Monsieur Blair was eating lunch right off this very checked tablecloth last week. Such a nice family’…
The Guardian
Gascony – a “triangle” running south of the Garonne, west of Toulouse and down into the foothills of the Pyrenees – has at its heart the Gers. As départements go, this one easily levels with the Dordogne for gentle hills and rolling farmlands, for slow winding rivers and avenues of poplars. You can crawl from château to château, comparing the merits of one Armagnac dégustation against another. Or, as in the Dordogne, respond to the many roadside hoardings promising farm-made confits and foie gras. And yet you would be hard-pressed to find a GB number plate here…
The Telegraph
South-west France is home to exhilarating ingredients, wines, markets and food festivals.
Where much of foodie France suffers from a dose of the smugs, the little-hyped region of Gers (Gascony, as was) offers sincere welcome and genuine discoveries. Wines like Madiran, dishes like l’aligot (imagine the silkiest, creamiest puree of yellow potatoes forked through with fresh Cantal cheese and a French kiss of garlic) and abundant affordable foie gras are produced in green countryside that rolls and dips before sharpening into the Pyrenees…
Guardian Travel
If an Englishman’s ideal French home is in Provence, many Frenchmen say they would prefer to be in Gascony. There are fewer foreigners, for a start (which means it helps to have a smattering of the language), and it is far more authentic. Gascony is no longer a distinct administrative area, but it covers an area including Bordeaux, Bayonne, Pau and Auch.
Within easy distance of the Pyrenees and the Atlantic coast, the area has something for everyone, with beautiful rolling countryside, a relaxed, friendly way of life, wonderful stone houses, a temperate climate ….. good wines and gastronomic delights…
Times Online
“The countryside is unspoilt and the wildlife abundant. Mass tourism hasn’t made any impact here at all and you find yourself wandering round villages that are like pristine period-drama sets, with all visual evidence of the modern age removed, not quite believing that in high season you have the place to yourself.
The fortified village of Bassoues d’Armagnac would, in any other part of Europe, be essential itinerary for coach parties and festooned with car parks and postcard kiosks.
Here it is deserted – a small Café des Sports serving bowls of steaming duck to the locals, blissfully unaware of the staggering beauty that surrounds it.”…
Mail Online… Howard Goodall ,“Gascony and all that Jazz”



If you’d like to see this exhibition it’s being held from 5th September until 25th September, on Wednesdays through to Sundays at the Auberge de Gauran, just outside Lectoure. All the beautiful photographs featured have been taken in Gascony, they are available to buy as framed works and some have been produced as gorgeous high quality postcards. I can highly recommend it!

This theme park at Agen, just 30 minutes from our gite La Vieille Source, opens around Easter each year until it closes for winter in November. It’s great fun for all ages with lots and lots and LOTS of fun rides to discover. It’s well signposted and easy to find, there’s plenty of parking and a really nice shady picnic area with tables and bench seating.

It’s time to celebrate the locally grown Melon de Lectoure. In previous years the tasting sessions have taken place outside the post office in Lectoure, but this year the stalls offering this delicious local delicacy will be set up in front of the tourist office on the newly refurbished, and very attractive, place du Général de Gaulle. The dates are six consecutive Sundays starting on 12 July until 16 August.
There’s an excellent play area with wooden swings and slides also with a sandy floor. There’s also a woodland walk to explore complete with a fitness trim trail obstacle course. The entry fee to enjoy all these facilities is just €2 for children and €3 for adults. This “beach” is only ten minutes from our gite. There are over twenty five inland fishing and swimming lakes to enjoy in this department. For details on the other lakes and leisure centres see pages 3 and 4 of our
On Saturday the time had come once again for the end of year school concert. The school chooses a theme that runs throughout the childrens’ classwork, poems and songs over the school year. Last year the theme was films and this year the focus was on different countries of the world. The title of this piece was “Around the World in 60 Minutes”. Some of the acts we enjoyed included France, China, some line dancing Cowboys & Indians from North America, traditional African dancing, a Japanese state circus, a troupe of dancers from India and a flying carpet. The girls in our daughter’s class took to the stage in colourful saris, complete with red bindis, dancing enthusiastically to their Bollywood routine and the boys were dressed as snake charmers. Our son began his turn as a Japanese flute player leading out the circus acts. He looked great with his black eyeliner Foo-Man-Choo moustache and beard. He and his best friend put on a great act as Japanese jugglers, and the girls in the class twirled around with paper parasols, dressed in bright silk kimonos as Geisha girls with the traditional full face white makeup. After the concert families could stay to enjoy the stalls and an evening meal.