Think of holidays in the Dordogne and you usually think of lazy picnics by the river, leisurely chateau visits, and indulgent foodie breaks in Bergerac or St Emilion. But up the winding river from these famous tourist spots lies the lesser-known, more rugged upper Dordogne, where the last thing on the minds of the few visitors that make it there is wine-tasting. The area around the medieval town of Argentat, on the edge of the rocky Massif Central, is instead becoming a magnet for adrenaline junkies.
Here rock climbers scale granite gorges, and hang-gliders, mountain bikers and kayakers pit themselves against the wooded escarpments, twisting hills and fast-flowing water.
And here you can find a wonderful twist on the chateau holiday. Château de Cautine is a rambling 17th-century estate 18km north-east of Argentat, which the new owners, Cornish restaurateur Ruth Phillips and her Argentinian husband Antonio Carvallo, have restored and turned into Chateau Adventure – a bucolic retreat with thrills on tap.
After breakfast on our first day at the chateau, Philippe, a lithe, suntanned rock climbing instructor for local outfit Aventures Dordogne Nature, drove us past tussocky meadows, rolling dairy farmland and woods that slope sharply towards the glinting Dordogne river to some granite cliffs beside a tiny church, the Chapelle de Notre Dame du Roc. "Maybe an angel will catch me if I fall," said Richard, one of our party and a vertigo-suffering novice.
After showing us how to work the ropes and harnesses, Philippe talked us up, or in some cases part way up, a beginners' 30m climb, calling encouragement in broken English when we slipped or became nervous. After a go or two we were all so pumped with adrenaline we could have stayed all day, but on this action-packed trip it was time to try something even more exciting – hang-gliding.
Summer sees hundreds of hang-gliders flinging themselves over the edge of the forested escarpments near Argentat, to fly over a patchwork of farms and pastures on the valley floor. That would have been a bit much for first-timers, so we started on a hang-gliding simulator – attached to a zipline – in a sloping field. You clip yourself onto the hang-glider, grab the control bar underneath then run a little way down the field as if to go "over the edge". When the slope drops away, you "glide" down the zipline.
Argentat's focal point is the river, flowing under an imposing granite bridge. The river, swollen by recent rainstorms, was racing too swiftly for kayaking, so instead we all climbed into a large, more stable, Canadian-style canoe. A colleague of Philippe's, Eric, was in charge, steering from the back and calling out to us when we needed to paddle hard through mild white water.
It took a couple of hours to canoe 16km downstream, past steep wooded banks where herons and hawks flew, to the striking town of Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, whose Romanesque cathedral was reflected perfectly in the river as we arrived. A minibus collected us there and we repaired gratefully to the chateau to shower and relax on the lawn with a glass of wine as the sinking sun glowed on its grand old walls.
Ruth and Antonio's restoration of the eight-bedroom chateau has left as many of the original features as possible – charmingly warped oak staircases, creaky hallways and bubbly glass in many of the windows.
Families or groups of friends can cater for themselves or take advantage of the housekeeper's superb cooking. After our day's exertions we gathered at a long table in the cavernous dining room for a feast of foie gras, tender turkey gizzard and chestnut salad, duck with creamy mashed potato, and a rich boeuf bourguignon washed down with delicious St Emilion wine, then cheeses and an apricot tart.
In our quest to try as many sports as possible, we had intended to go mountain biking first thing next day. But we all agreed we were just a little too tired from the day before, and a little too reluctant to leave the sunny kitchen with its fresh croissants and coffee. So we moved straight on to the day's main event – horse riding.
Definitely not pony trekking or nose-to-tail walking, this was a proper riding lesson that had us trotting and cantering through the woods on substantial Appaloosa horses.
There was one last surprise in store on our long weekend. Driving back to the chateau to wash off the riding dust, we stumbled on a local fête. We pottered about, buying wine and bunches of lavender to take home, then toasted each other with small glasses of draft lager in the beer tent. The perfect antidote to a weekend of thrills.