Quercy Photo Holidays

Quercy Photo Holidays Photography Holidays in Southern France with on-site accommodation, wildlife hides, woodland, meadows and stunning local scenery.

Workshops and tuition available with resident pro photographer Simon Phillpotts. Simon & Sarah Phillpotts

Simon has worked for over a decade as a Professional Wildlife Photographer and Guide. Originally based in the Yorkshire Dales, Simon established two highly successful photography hides which focused on Red Squirrels and woodland birds, as well as running regular workshops for other species th

roughout North Yorkshire. Sarah has a background in biology, and is a keen naturalist, with a wide-ranging interest in European plant and animal species. Based on a former farm, set in over 30 acres (12 hectares) of wildlife-filled oak woodland and meadows, Simon and Sarah have established a new nature experience / photography business with luxury on-site accommodation in the stunning Parc Naturel Régional des Causses du Quercy in Southern France. Simon's images have been Highly Commended in the British Wildlife Photography Awards on several occasions and shortlisted in Bird Photographer of the Year. They have featured in national newspapers including the Telegraph, Times, Guardian, Daily Record, Daily Mail, Sun and Mirror, the local press in Yorkshire and the North-East and a variety of books, calendars and magazines. On TV he has appeared on BBC's Countryfile with Julia Bradbury, Inside Out (North East and Cumbria), Escape to the Country and ITV 1's The Dales with Ade Edmonson. Simon is an f-stop Brand Ambassador and currently uses OM-System (Olympus) camera equipment.

Sarah has just set-up a display of local glass creations by Pam Angus in our La Grange gîte. Guests can admire her work...
31/08/2024

Sarah has just set-up a display of local glass creations by Pam Angus in our La Grange gîte. Guests can admire her work and even make a purchase. Pam has a workshop locally which can be visited by appointment to see more examples of her stunning work. https://pamelaangus.com/

A brown hare keeping me company whilst I waited for Red Squirrels to turn up earlier this summer!
19/08/2024

A brown hare keeping me company whilst I waited for Red Squirrels to turn up earlier this summer!

Due to a client having to unavoidably cancel at the last minute, we now have two weeks available in our 'La Grange' Gîte...
15/08/2024

Due to a client having to unavoidably cancel at the last minute, we now have two weeks available in our 'La Grange' Gîte (nights 17th to the 30th August). Come and enjoy the peace, use our photography hides and visit some of France's most beautiful villages. Please get in touch if you are interested and please share if you can!

A crab spider waiting for it's next victim in our potager!
06/07/2024

A crab spider waiting for it's next victim in our potager!

Young Hawfinches are visiting the pool hides here now after what looks to be a good year for them. They are so aggressi...
02/07/2024

Young Hawfinches are visiting the pool hides here now after what looks to be a good year for them. They are so aggressive to other birds, even much larger ones, gaping their beak and closing it quickly to produce a strong clicking sound. Their colouration is also very different to the adult birds.

28/06/2024

It's not all photography for us, a hard day of cleaning ready for incoming guests. Thirty two degrees today so now enjoying a sundown dip in the pool watching the birds and butterflies.

A Marbled White in our potager garden. We're absolutely teeming with butterflies, moths, dragon and damselflies at the ...
25/06/2024

A Marbled White in our potager garden. We're absolutely teeming with butterflies, moths, dragon and damselflies at the moment!

A male Emperor Dragonfly in flight at our wildlife pond. We have so many different species to see at this time of year ...
20/06/2024

A male Emperor Dragonfly in flight at our wildlife pond. We have so many different species to see at this time of year but these Emperors are just that, the undisputed kings of the water.


I'm probably one of a very few people who will get excited about an image like this, but for me (and Sarah), this is wha...
18/06/2024

I'm probably one of a very few people who will get excited about an image like this, but for me (and Sarah), this is what we moved here for.

Our Owlflies (Libelloides coccajus) are usually on the wing from late April until late May, then that's it, no more until the following year. This year I noticed a few still fluttering around and it appears to be a later hatch of the same species. Why later? I don't know, but maybe the strange Spring weather (including some very strong frosts) delayed emergence of some adults from the larval stage.

However, whilst mowing a pathway through the meadows I noticed a different looking Owlfly which turned out to be Libelloides longicornis, a species we'd never seen before. After examining the various owlflies roosting last night I found at least a dozen of the new species, which have appeared from nowhere. They are lovely looking insects with more delicate wings than the coccajus species.

After capturing a few backlit images of them I saw one settle on a stem right above it's cousin species. I've never seen two owlflies share the same stem, as one usually disturbs the other. In addition, I've never seen two different owlfly species in one image. Fortunately, and despite a strong breeze, I managed to bag a few images with both species in the same plane of focus before a gust dislodged one.

A once in a lifetime image. I'm sure it won't grab the attention like a backlit puffin or red deer stag would, but to me this is way more special. To top the evening off we watched the Emperor dragonflies chasing Banded Demoiselles around the pond.

07/06/2024

In one of the hides with a client last night and this chap dropped in for a welcome bath after a warm day. A bit close for images though at less than a metre, with water splashing against the window! Sorry, not the best quality with my phone.

It's a little early in the year but can I say 'two Turtle Doves' 😆😆😆🌲☃️❄️ It's a real bumper year for these beautiful bi...
05/06/2024

It's a little early in the year but can I say 'two Turtle Doves' 😆😆😆🌲☃️❄️ It's a real bumper year for these beautiful birds here with lots visiting the hides at the moment.

A Black Veined White on a Pyramid Orchid. The butterfly was roosting on this low lying orchid (you can see all the tall...
29/05/2024

A Black Veined White on a Pyramid Orchid. The butterfly was roosting on this low lying orchid (you can see all the taller grasses behind) as these gave it some protection from overnight predation. There are lots of images on Instagram of butterflies posing perfectly on perfect orchids. We have twenty species of orchid and over sixty species of butterfly and roosting on orchids is pretty rare simply because the butterflies would leave themselves very exposed to bats for example. I believe many of these butterfly photography accounts are moving cold butterflies to favourable and unnatural locations. This is something I won't do.

🦋

A stunning male Turtle Dove. This one had just finished preening and was having a 'fluff up'. It's amazing to see such...
26/05/2024

A stunning male Turtle Dove. This one had just finished preening and was having a 'fluff up'. It's amazing to see such a persecuted bird up close. I do wonder how they manage to survive the long migration with all the hunting going on around the Mediterranean.

Don't forget that we have hides here at Quercy Photo Holidays where you can capture images like this. Message me for further details.

Lots of Turtle Doves showing at our at the moment. Love these delicate, colourful birds. The woodland is alive with ...
23/05/2024

Lots of Turtle Doves showing at our at the moment. Love these delicate, colourful birds. The woodland is alive with their purring at the moment.

Something new for our visitors! Sarah is now running guided bicycle trips from here (Les Teyssonnieres) to see local wi...
21/05/2024

Something new for our visitors! Sarah is now running guided bicycle trips from here (Les Teyssonnieres) to see local wildlife and places of interest. We have hundreds of kilometers of quiet lanes and off-road tracks to explore and Sarah regularly rides a range of circular routes, with frequent stops to look for wildflowers, views, and historic sites. A range of trip lengths can be organised and a picnic lunch is provided. More details on the website or contact us!

Ascalaphids (Owl Flies) in the meadow at dusk. They stretch their little wings out to warm up in the last light of the ...
15/05/2024

Ascalaphids (Owl Flies) in the meadow at dusk. They stretch their little wings out to warm up in the last light of the day before roosting.

We're trying to do something different at Quercy Photography Holidays. Across the UK and wider Europe there are locatio...
12/05/2024

We're trying to do something different at Quercy Photography Holidays. Across the UK and wider Europe there are locations where you can visit wildlife hides for a single species or go on a rigidly run trip, where you are carted around ticking boxes with little time to think and work on your images in a relaxed way.

Here, in the South of France we have the most amazing landscapes, medieval villages and abundant wildlife that you can enjoy at your own pace. You are free to use a hide as and when you feel like it, with a range of birds and mammals visiting, such that we never know what is going to drop by next. You can take in the meadows and woodland using hundreds of metres of paths to see a multitude of butterflies, insects and flowers. I'm always around to offer any tuition required or just point you in the right direction, but only if you need it.

With some of the darkest skies in Europe for astrophotography, great trails for camera trapping and a host of unbelievable beauty spots to visit locally you can do as little or as much photography as you choose, whilst staying on-site in one of our two comfortable gites.

We love to spend time with our guests, chatting away with a glass of wine or a beer at sundown, listening to the Nightjar churring away in the woodland and seeing the bats flying around the meadow as the Milky Way emerges above.

If you'd like a different photography adventure then we'd love to see you here. Please feel free to share this post with other photographers that you know. You won't be upsetting anyone by doing so, as we believe that what we are doing is pretty unique. It would be great if we could reach as many like-minded folk as possible.

www.quercyphotoholidays.fr

I never thought I'd see the so far South in France! This was taken from the meadow outside our house. Despite feelin...
11/05/2024

I never thought I'd see the so far South in France! This was taken from the meadow outside our house. Despite feeling ill I couldn't miss out on this. It was possible to see the colours with the naked eye and the pillars were very strong. An unbelievable sight considering we can see the Pyrenees from this area on a clear day!

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Quercy Photo Holidays, 2 Chemin Des Teyssonnières
Limogne
46260

Téléphone

+33626342618

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Vidéos

It's not all photography for us, a hard day of cleaning ready for incoming guests. Thirty two degrees today so now enjoying a sundown dip in the pool watching the birds and butterflies.

In one of the hides with a client last night and this chap dropped in for a welcome bath after a warm day. A bit close for images though at less than a metre, with water splashing against the window! Sorry, not the best quality with my phone.

A boar 'nest' quite close to the house. The marcassin are tiny and really stripey, probably the smallest I've seen. Just a very distant view from the only spot I could get to without disturbing them. They are in a hollow against a wall so its a nice peaceful spot. I'm putting a hide out on a nearby trail shortly so hopefully will be able to get some images and footage when they start to explore!

A beautiful Aesculapian Snake we found exiting our composter today. About 1.2m long and very calm. This is a new species to us here, it's fascinating to come across such amazing creatures on the doorstep.

This little fella was moving above the ground in the direction of our napping cats. We quickly gathered him up and took him into the field well away from the house to carry on digging in safety. The front paws are incredibly powerful!

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