Holidays in the Dordogne: the most beautiful routes to do on Gravel, the hybrid all-terrain bike, between Isle and Dronne

What if the immense forest plateau of La Double offered new perspectives to gravel enthusiasts? Three new, fully marked routes offer an ideal setting for escaping into the heart of nature between Isle and Landais. The first 192-kilometer loop, called "Harrison Barker," named after the 19th ^- century English traveler who described his encounters with the inhabitants of southwest France in his chronicles, alternates between forest tracks, small roads, and dirt tracks. It allows you to discover the small, characterful town of Saint-Aulaye, a Périgord enclave in the Charente region. From its rocky promontory, the small village overlooks the Dronne and the Double forest. The town, with its old streets and alleys revealing pretty pieces of architecture, will offer you a well-deserved break, if you feel like it. The second loop, 111 kilometers long, between Isle and Double, uses mostly forest tracks. This route, without any major technical difficulty, allows you to dive into the heart of the forest and ponds before returning to the wide Isle valley, near Saint-Martial-d'Artenset and its Moulin du Duellas, or Saint-Laurent-des-Hommes.

> Find all our ideas for holidays in the Dordogne here

A third, more technical route

The third loop, between Dronne and Double, is the shortest at 86 kilometers, and not the least easy. The alternation of dirt roads, sometimes winding, and small roads offers a fairly hilly route with beautiful panoramas of the surrounding countryside. Sometimes there are cultivated fields, sometimes cattle grazing peacefully. The paths are narrower and often require a minimum of experience and technical skill. Along the way, you can admire the magnificent shades of green offered by the Dronne on a beautiful summer day or the magnificent Romanesque churches (some of which have domes) in the Ribérac area. If you wish to complete the route in several stages, you can stop at the large pond of Jemaye or in Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, in Charente, classified as one of the Most Beautiful Villages in France.