The Brenne Nature Reserve, France

The Brenne Nature Park is a world recognised nature park made up of a beautiful fragile living area, arising from a local desire to work for the protection of the areas natural and cultural heritage whilst at the same time helping to develop the economy. The Brenne is of international importance or its wildlife.

Covering some 10,000 hectares and with over 1200 etangs, man-made lakes, the Brenne has reedbeds, meadows, rough pasture, cereal production and woodland, also two river valleys and some calcareous zones. Bird species number over 280, at least 98 butterfly species and 60+ odonata species have been recorded here; orchid species number over 40. Amongst the birds, 300+ Common Cranes winter here, Whiskered Terns (c1000 pairs) and Black-necked Grebes (150+ pairs) nest, as do Purple Heron, Cattle Egret, Night Heron, Black-winged Stilt, a few pairs of Short-toed Eagle, and 30+ pairs of Bee-eaterThere are two good visitor centres, one at Cherine Nature Reserve (Maison de la Nature), and one at Le Bouchet (Maison du Parc), with a total of 10 hides throughout the park, 3 of which are at Cherine reserve.

Go the The Brenne Website for more information


There are also man made beaches at The Brenne which make for a great day out for the kids, many walks to go on in the area and some lovely restaraunts such as Le Gabriere which looks out over one of the many lakes and boasts a very full menu of French food- very well cooked with many local dishes as well as some fantastic fish. One can sit outside under the sun umbrellas during the summer sun and have a drink or an ice cream on a hot day. A simply gorgeous setting.

One of the bigger lakes is the Etang de Bellebouche - Mézières-en-Brenne, of the largest and most attractive lakes in Brenne (100 ha). Known primarily for its beach and swimming, it is also a site for natural history observation. Its reedbed and the surrounding heaths and woodland make for a great diversity of wildlife. Hides open to the public with guided visits.

There are also various nature trails and walks within some of the most picturesque landscapes of Brenne, the Beauregard (Saint-Michel-en-Brenne) and Blizon (Rosnay) nature trails mix walking with leaning thanks to the presence of interesting information boards along the length of the trails. They provide information on the wildlife and landscape.