South West hotels collection

The forest of the Landes was planted by hand, pine after pine, to hold back sand that was advancing on the villages; for a long time resin was gathered there in pots, from cuts made in the bark. At its edge, the Dune du Pilat keeps the sand the forest never fixed. Bordeaux was built in a pale gold limestone, in a crescent along the Garonne. Further downstream, on the estuary, the vines of Saint-Estèphe grow on ridges of gravel, pebbles rolled there by the river. In the Basque Country, the houses of Espelette paint their timbers red and, in autumn, hang peppers to dry on their limewashed fronts.