CHRIS RUNDLE

THE ancient French dukedom of Berry holds two abiding memories for me. We found ourselves negotiating its byways a few years back on our non-motorway return from a fortnight down in the Aveyron.

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We had allowed ourselves plenty of time to amble up to the ferry port but even so failed to be tempted by an invitation - repeated at the roadside over several kilometres - to make a small deviation in order to visit a stunning tourist attraction: the Berry Museum of stone.

We figured out its appeal would rank somewhere below that of observing paint drying and kept going. For years afterwards I continued to find it an oddly attractive prospect, however, and was tempted to go back, find it and tick it off my must-see list under the heading of Europe's least inspiring tourist attraction, but never did.