The Cévennes is a spectacularmountainous area on the south-eastern edge of the Massif Central.Delightfully unspoilt, its wonderful variety ofscenery and habitats provide a specialcombination for the naturalist and walker.From our base for this holiday - a smalland friendly hotel in the attractive littlevillage of Cocurès, close to Florac, theadministrative centre of the CévennesNational Park - we will make full use ofthe region's excellent trails as we searchfor the wealth of natural history and, inparticular on this holiday, the wealth ofbutterflies to be found here. Fuelled by thedelicious meals served at our hotel, andour famous French picnic lunches, we (asalways!) intend to enjoy ourselves.The high granite peaks of Mont Lozère(1,699 metres) and Mont Aigoual (1,567metres) contrast with the surroundinglimestone and schist areas, all providing arich diversity of habitat within a relativelysmall area. Pine and deciduous forests,upland pasture, marshy wetlands, drylimestone plateaux with grassland androcks, flower-filled meadows, and deepgorges with cliffs and fast-flowing rivers,will all be explored during our stay. Furtherdiversity, created by the variety of climate,aspect, rainfall, soil and altitude,encourages an extremely rich flora,especially of orchids, which attracts anabundance of insects. In particular, there isa very good variety of butterflies, and up to70 or 80 species are possible during ourweek's stay.In the heart of the region lies the Cornichedes Cévennes, a 50-kilometre ridge with aroad along it that gives wide views over thenational park and the Causses. On ourwalks here we should find a wealth ofbutterfly species, among them Purple-shotCopper, Scarce and Common Swallowtails,Berger's Clouded Yellow, Large WallBrown, numerous fritillaries, and bluessuch as Escher's, Adonis and Baton. Wemay also find Green-winged, Burnt-tip,Elder-flowered, Lady, Military, Monkey andFrog Orchids, and birds such as Golden,Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Red Kite,Woodlark and Tree Pipit. Just to the west of Florac, the River Tarn has carved a deep and spectaculargorge through the limestone, the cliffsbeing a haven for Eagle Owl, Peregrine,Chough, Alpine Swift, Crag Martin andBlue Rock Thrush. Butterflies areparticularly numerous here, with Cleopatra, Blue-spot, Sloe, Ilex and Green Hairstreaks, Provençal, Twin-spotand Marbled Fritillaries, and Chequeredand Osiris Blue all likely, while on thenearby Causse Méjean we'll look for the extremely localised Esper's Marbled White. These limestone rocks are alsohome to many interesting plants, amongthem Rock Soapwort, St. Bernard's Lily, the endemic Cévennes Saxifrage andMalling Toadflax, and a colony of Lady'sSlipper Orchid.On the underlying granite of Mont Lozèrewe find a good acid flora, including thestriking yellow of Piorno Broom, abundantblue Mountain Pansy, Alpine Clover andSpring Pasque Flower. The damp flushesbeneath the summit are excellent forbutterflies, with Large Tortoiseshell,Camberwell Beauty, Purple-edged andSooty Coppers, Chestnut Heath, and Pearl-bordered, High Brown and Weaver'sFritillaries often seen. This area is alsofavoured by birds of prey, and these mayinclude Montagu's and Hen Harrier, Merlinand Goshawk, with Rock Bunting, WaterPipit, Black Redstart, Crossbill and CrestedTit also present.We will visit the extensive limestoneplateaux, with the Causse Noir, a superbpatchwork of pine woods, grasslands andsmall arable fields, a good example.Butterflies are numerous here with Rock,Woodland and Great-banded Graylings,Black-veined White, White and SouthernWhite Admirals, fritillaries, skippers andscarce Blues such as Chapman's andMountain Alcon, just some of the speciesexpected! Colourful plants, too, areeverywhere, with Aphyllanthes, Globularia,orchids, rockroses, and Yellow, Blue andWhite Flax creating a wonderful tapestry.Overlooking the Gorge de la Jonte, this isalso a good place to see magnificentGriffon Vultures at close quarters as theyglide along the cliff-top - evidence of ahighly successful re-introductionprogramme in the early 1990s.Finally, we'll drive to the pastures at the top of the forested Mont Aigoual. Here weshould find such alpine butterflies asMountain, Bright-eyed, Piedmont andOttoman Brassy Ringlet, as well as suchother species as Dusky Heath and Niobe,High Brown and Glanville Fritillaries in thevicinity. Sheets of yellow tulips, LargeYellow Gentian, Aconite-leaved Buttercupand Martagon Lily all provide botanicalinterest, while Red-backed and Great Grey Shrikes, Rock and Ortolan Buntingsare among the avian highlights. Like all the sites in the Cévennes, this isn't a place where the naturalist may easilybecome bored!France - Butterflies ofthe CévennesAn 8-day holiday in search of the wealth of butterflies, and other natural history, to be found in the south-eastern corner of the Massif Central.Thursday 14th June - Thursday 21st June Cost: £1,195Outline itineraryDay 1Fly Montpellier anddrive to Cocurès.Day 2/7Excursions on foot insearch of butterflies andother natural history ofthe Cévennes.Day 8Fly London.AccommodationA pleasant and traditional villagehotel, with private facilities, servingfine local food.FoodAll included in the price.Grading A. Gentle day walks only.Focus Butterflies, plus other naturalhistory.LeaderMark Galliott. Single room supplement£160.Web quick search: FRA0262Call now or visit www.naturetrek.co.uk for your free Trip ItinerarySPAINITALYSWITZERLANDGERMANYBELGIUMPARISTOULOUSEBORDEAUXFRENCHALPSSTRASBOURGENGLISH CHANNELATLANTIC OCEANMEDITERRANEANSEAFRANCECÉVENNESCOCURÈSMONTPELLIER10% DONATIONTOMazarine BlueBerger's Clouded YellowProvençal Fritillary

La Brenne and Vienne are situated inan area of central France, south ofthe Loire, and the capital of theVienne département is Poitiers, which lies80 kilometres to the west of La Brenne.The latter is known locally as 'The Land ofa Thousand Lakes' because of thenumerous pools, known locally as 'étangs',which dot its landscapes. Mostly man-made, these have been managed over the centuries for fishing and a rich tapestryof habitats has developed includingmarshes, deciduous woods, dry heathland and farmland.In the quiet, gently rolling mixed farmlandof Vienne there are many small étangs,much marginal land, unimprovedmeadows and pasture, and extensivewoodland. The older, more establishedétangs are prime habitat for dragonfliesand damselflies of which numerousspecies can be found within a fewkilometres of our first base at Moulismes.Indeed, up to 20 species can be seen at asingle étang in June including such non-British species as Orange Featherleg,Dainty Bluet, Blue-eye, Common WinterDamsel, Western Willow Spreadwing,Orange-spotted Emerald, White-tailedSkimmer, Scarlet Darter, Yellow andWestern Clubtails and Small Pincertail.Even for a non-specialist, the variety ofform and colour provided by these falconsof the insect world is an absorbingdiversion from the soporific warmth of asummer afternoon in central France.Our search for dragonflies will naturallylead us to find interesting butterflies,orchids and birds. Around Moulismes,butterflies such as Red-underwing andMallow Skippers, Scarce Swallowtail,Black-veined White, Southern WhiteAdmiral, Map Butterfly, Marbled, Weaver's,Knapweed, Spotted, Heath and MeadowFritillaries, Great Banded Grayling, BlackHairstreak, Sooty Copper and Short-tailedProvençal and Mazarine Blues may all beseen. Orchids in the area includePyramidal, Bee and Lizard, each addingtheir delicate colours to enrich the summerflora and, not to be outdone, the avianworld is represented by arguably the most beautiful of all European birds - the Bee-eater, which can be observed in all its gorgeous splendour at a colonyclose to Moulismes.Pinail reserve, lying 20 kilometres north-east of Poitiers, is a peat-bog where oldmillstone quarries have left more than3,000 small, deep, water-filled holesscattered among the heathland. Manydragonflies have been recorded here, butthree rare species we will be looking for inparticular are Robust Spreadwing, andLilypad and Yellow-spotted Whitefaces.With over 2,000 lakes, the 160,000-hectareRegional Nature Park of La Brenne isfamed for its wetland birds, but what isless well known is that it is also amagnificent place for dragonflies andbutterflies. Among the many dragonflies tobe seen in La Brenne we should be able toadd Variable Bluet, Small Bluetail, MigrantSpreadwing, Small Redeye, Green-eyedand Hairy Hawkers, and Common Clubtailto our growing holiday list.To date, 97 butterfly species have beenrecorded in La Brenne, nearly twice thenumber occurring in the whole of Britain!These include several species which arerare or rapidly declining in other parts ofEurope. Examples should include LargeChequered Skipper, Ilex Hairstreak,Camberwell Beauty, Marsh Fritillary,Woodland Grayling and Pearly Heath. In addition, no fewer than 36 species of orchid occur in the park. Species thatshould be in flower at the time of our visit include: Brenne, Fragrant, Loose-flowered, Bee, Pyramidal, Lesser Butterfly,Greater Butterfly, Lizard, Lady, Man andTongue Orchids, as well as Red, Broad-leaved, Mueller's and Small-leavedHelleborines, and Violet Limodore. Thissuperb proliferation of orchids is one of the botanical highlights of the summermonths and it is an interesting exercise of imagination to match the various bizarre flower shapes with the namesborne by the plants!Among the breeding birds we should see in both the Vienne and La Brenne are Purple Heron, Cattle Egret, NightHeron, Black-necked Grebe, Garganey and Whiskered Tern - the last morenumerous here than anywhere else inFrance. Warblers to be found include Fan-tailed, Melodious and Bonelli's, whileother species include Black Kite, Short-toed Eagle, Honey Buzzard, harriers,Hobby, Red-backed Shrike, BlackRedstart, Short-toed Treecreeper, Serin andCirl Bunting. The calls of Hoopoes andGolden Orioles and the powerful songs ofNightingales complete this classiccollection of European birds. We will use two hotel bases in order toreduce daily travel and to maximise ourtime spent in the field. This will be an idealholiday for those with a particular interestin dragonflies or the all-round naturalistwho prefers unhurried outings. There willbe opportunities to linger and takephotographs, or to simply becomeimmersed in the sights and sounds of mid-summer in this very special, yet rarely publicised, region of France.Dragonflies of La Brenne & VienneAn 8-day holiday in search of dragonflies, butterflies, birds and plants in two lesser-known areas of France, both outstandingly rich in natural history.Wednesday 20th June - Wednesday 27th June Cost: £1,295Book direct on 01962 733051or see page 280 for Booking InformationSPAIN ITALY SWITZERLAND GERMANY BELGIUM LA BRENNE MOULISMESCALAIS LILLE PARIS POITIERS TOULOUSE BORDEAUX FRENCH ALPS STRASBOURG (FROM LONDON ST. PANCRAS)ENGLISH CHANNEL ATLANTIC OCEAN MEDITERRANEAN SEA FRANCEOutline itineraryDay 1 Eurostar to Poitiers.Day 2/3Moulismes.Day 4Pinail/La Brenne.Day 5/7 La Brenne.Day 8 Eurostar to London.AccommodationSmall, comfortable hotels with ensuite facilities.FoodAll included in the price, except enroute to/from Poitiers.GradingA. Easy walks only.FocusDragonflies, butterflies, birds andflowers (especially orchids).LeaderDave Smallshire or Nick Ransdale.Single room supplement£140.Web quick search: FRA2163Yellow-spottedEmerald Small PincertailEtang de Biai, Moulismes