Fortunately the fall in the oil price still means that unleaded petrol (85) at €1.089 and diesel at €0.967 is broadly the same as current UK prices, a welcome relief after prices earlier in the year of £1.30 or more per litre.

So what can you do? Currency speculation is a dangerous game, but if you kept your spare €uros from your last trip, they are worth more now than before. But buying €uros now for next year is pure speculation.

One option is to book your ferry or other travel soon - with the loss of Speedferries there will be less capacity across the Channel next summer, and on the back of the Speedferries experience, ferry companies may be wary of offering ultra cheap prices especially in the high season. There are still some cheap offers around, but in general I would expect the level of cross-channel fares to increase next year. Perhaps book soon or very late would be the best advice - there may also be some good late-booking offers if the poor economy and exchange rate make a big dent in European travel next year.
P&O Ferries are offering crossings Dover - Calais from £27 each way, whilst Norfolkline is offering fares from £19 each way Dover - Dunkerque for bookings by 31 January 2009

Another approach may be to look at self-catering and/or camp site holidays where you can have more control over your spend, especially if you shop and cook for yourselves. Whilst eating out in France can be a real joy, it is no longer such a cheap option. B&B (Chambres d’Hote) can often provide a great alternative to hotels at a bargain price - with all the advantages of a warm welcome and good local knowledge. It can be a not scary first time, but most people find it a real bonus - saving money and meeting local residents - and of course there are numerous British-owned B&Bs and gites throughout France where the language need not be a barrier.

Whilst the temptation may be to stay in the UK next year, that is also not a cheap option unless you literally stay at home. Visitors from France generally comment on how expensive the UK is, even with the stronger €uro.

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Also running under the banner of Wild Earth Vineyards, Caroline is passionate about encouraging people to appreciate and understand her organic wines. With a delightful gite (holiday rental accommodation) enjoying stunning views over the Dordogne valley and the vineyards, regular vineyard walks (which include other local organic vineyards), tutored wine classes (in Bergerac and Ireland!), longer vineyard walking holidays in Bordeaux, St Emilion & Bergerac - and other wine experiences which include trying your hand at being a winemaker for a day! - they offer plenty of ways of getting to know the wines and vineyard well.

Happily, all this “tourism” is secondary to the main focus, which is to produce great wines - and they do. We were hugely impressed by their clean, bright aromatic dry Sauvignon Blanc, but their other whites, rosé and seriously good red wines are also excellent and rated highly in the press and elsewhere:

‘Its gorgeous’ is what the Irish Times says of our La Source red wine. We also have our methode traditionnelle sparkling (the real thing) and 2006 saussignac available to you.It’s not just the taste that is superb. When you buy from us you are supporting:
- organic farming giving you a healthy product that does not have herbicide/ pesticide residues
- a very low carbon footprint (we do much of our vineyard work by hand, we favour natural processes rather than intervention and we have an oak forest to offset our CO2 emissions) giving us all a better future.

Well worth a visit if you are in the region, you can also order online for delivery to your door in the UK and Ireland. If you order by 8th December 2008 you can get UK delivery in time for Christmas and indulge with good wine direct from the winemaker!

Interestingly many of the small independent vineyards in the Bergerac appellation are going organic - and not just for the “feel good” factor or as a marketing ploy - sustainable vineyards and a healthy environment are needed to support the complex combination of factors (e.g. soil, climate, rootstock and people) which have to come together to produce consistently good wines.

For more info:-
Caroline & Sean Feely  E: caroline@wildearthvineyards.com
Chateau Haut Garrigue
24240 Saussignac
France
Tel: +33(0)553227271

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Rural France suffers many of the same problems of rural depopulation and poverty as the UK, but the maintenance of a good, reliable and affordable local train service makes a huge difference to the viability of the local community, and provides some of the “glue” that ensures its survival. And this is not a second-rate service, with delapidated rolling stock and surly staff.

French railways (state owned SNCF) has three levels – TGV which provides the impressive network of high speed trains between major cities, SNCF which provides the main inter-city and inter-departmental routes, and then the TER, the local network of lines.

And that elusive “joined-up thinking” seems to have been employed too, as the Region Bourgogne and the Departement of the Yonne, have also invested in the development of a tarmac cycle track alongside the Canal du Nivernais from Auxerre to Clamecy (almost complete), which being flat is a joy to ride. And you can put your bike on the TER train service which generally follows the canal.

From the hillsides of the Auxerre to the Vales of the Yonne, Clamecy-Auxerre is a wonderful route of some 62 kilometres along the Valley of the Yonne. Because it runs for the most part along the tow path of the Nivernais Canal, there are not too many hills to climb, making it ideal for a quiet family bike ride.
The Nivernais Canal, built at the end of the 18th and the start of the 19th century, runs from Auxerre to Decize, linking the Seine basin to the Loire basin. Like all the smaller canals, it has been deserted by commercial barges, which have given way to pleasure cruisers from around the world who are attracted to its route through the beautiful countryside, the quality of its engineering work and the charm of the towns and villages it runs through.

For more info on trains see TER BOURGOGNE (in French)

For more info on the Yonne and the Canal du Nivernais see YONNE TOURISME

If you are looking for a house to stay in the region we can recommend the English-owned The French House at Vincelottes

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Lauroux vineyards in the Gers in winter

Nick and Karen Kitchener will be in London exhibiting their wines (Cotes de Gascogne and Floc) and Armagnacs at The Wine Show to be held at the Business Design Centre, Islington on 23-26 October. (Stand C35-4 in the Wine Market on the 3rd floor). It is only seldom that you get the chance to taste Armagnac and even less often can you also meet the English winemaker (is there a special name for an Armagnac maker?).
I like the Lauroux website with its tons of info and vineyard diary - have also discovered some rather good menus on the site, all of which involve Armagnac in some way, from the sumptuously seductive Chocolate, Prune and Armagnac cake to Slow Roast Leg of Lamb with Armagnac Sauce!!

For more info see www.lauroux.com
The Wine Show

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Now here’s an opportunity to spend several months in one of the most beautiful and unspoilt parts of France next summer - near Entraygues-sur-Truyère (12 Aveyron, Midi-Pyrenees) in the upper Lot Valley. The American owners of Sweet French Cottages are looking for some help in setting up and running their gites in return for board and lodging.

Lance and Rain would like to “hire” some young and able individuals - or possibly a couple — to come and live for free in France (room and board including most meals) for 3 months during the spring/summer 2009 in exchange for working with us.

We’re looking for individuals or a couple that can help us get our properties ready for high season 2009. From maintenance such as painting, staining, planting, gardening to cutting/stacking firewood and moving rocks to helping with dinners for our cottage guests, laundry, cleaning, etc.

We’re asking for 6 hours per day of work, 5 days per week. Some knowledge of French would be great, but is not entirely necessary.

I could be tempted myself, but may not qualify as “young and able”. Seriously though, you could pay good money to spend time in such a place - almost a “retreat” from the hustle and bustle of the modern world and a long way from the nearest MacDonalds. Wonderful landscapes, river valleys and natural splendour but with easy access to a charming little town with all the important facilities such as shops, cafés, banks etc good food and very drinkable local wines - and the owners are really “cool” in the nicest possible way - and in no way “typical Americans”.

For more info contact rain.heron@orange.fr

For more about these Sweet French Cottages see www.frenchduck.com

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The trouble with writing about “hidden” corners of France, is that you run the danger of sharing the secret with too many others. Places which I felt were “real France”, quiet, peaceful and unspoilt, have often changed in the last 20 years, becoming commercialised, crowded and bland. But, somehow the location and geography of the upper Lot Valley probably make this less likely.

Although I have made many visits to the lower Lot, especially around the town of Cahors and the Cahors AC vineyards, I had only ventured up-river once - and that was to the picturesque village of St Cirq-la-Popie - perched high on the limestone crags overlooking the valley about 20 miles distant. The valley even here is quite different to the lower Lot where the river, although still pleasingly curvaceous, tends to be wider.

Few vineyards are to be found upriver from Cahors, but the countryside of the Upper Lot and Célé valleys is spectacular - and quieter. The limestone crags and cliffs dominate the landscape offer breathtaking views - and although the roads are often narrow and distinctly bendy, this tends to have the effect of entering a land where time runs more slowly, where nature makes itself felt - and that is miles away from the tourist centres of the Dordogne. And the journey keeps unfolding as you head on up the valley - another 90 miles in our case.

Our objective was to get to meet with Americans Lance and Rain who have 3 cottages to rent near Entraygues-sur-Truyere ( 12 Aveyron, Midi-Pyrenees). Although we had been in contact by email, I was intrigued to discover how and why 2 Californians had settled in one of the lesser-known parts of France.

The journey up the valley provided at least part of the answer - this is a truly beautiful part of France - the valley becomes narrower, but still offers delightful villages, stunning views and plenty of opportunity to enjoy the river - whether just sitting on the bank in the shade or being more energetic with canoes or kayaks. Entraygues-sur-Truyere, which translates as “between the waters” - i.e. the river Lot and its tributary the Truyere - is everything you expect of a small rural French market town - with its bridges over the river and narrow streets - and the essentials - a bank, boulangerie, hotel, bar etc - and the quiet air of a place at peace with itself - especially on a hot summer afternoon.

The other reason for Lance and Rain choosing this spot also became clear when we found the “Sweet French Cottages” up a narrow track above the river a few kilometres out of town. We discovered a haven of tranquility - with delightful hosts and some wonderful holiday cottages - well, appointed, cleverly and carefully restored - but above all secluded and deep in the countryside - yet just a few miles from all the conveniences of the town - and in an area rich with local artisans producing wine, cheese, wine. pottery…… The local wines, Vins d’Entraygues et du Fel VDQS, had to be tasted of course (along with some wonderful goats cheese made by one of the neighbours)! The vineyards are often terraced high on the sides of the valley, and production is small - mostly drunk locally. The white we tasted from Domaine de Mejanassere was a blend of Chenin Blanc and Mauzac grapes - a light, refreshing dry wine with a pleasing floral nose and exotic fruit finish; the red (Gamay, Fer Servadou, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Savignon), whilst being a tad “rustic” was perfect with some local saucisson. Somehow these uncomplicated straightforward wines were a great match for the time and place!

Whilst many might aspire to the Californian lifestyle, these Californians have clearly found their home in the depths of France, and whilst they remain ambitious, they are relaxed and welcoming - a long way from the stereotypical loud American we’ve all met. Indeed, there is something about the place that seems to instill some sense of peace and contentment - the world of autoroutes, big business and conflict seems, and is, a long way away - whilst nature imposes its own sense of order to things - whether it be the landscape, the river or the weather.

It is certainly an area I intend to return to - there is so much to explore, especially guided by two people who know the area well, and are keen to share it with others. Their ambitions include developing artists retreats (with a studio planned) and themed stays based on the local food etc.

For more about Lance and Rain’s SWEET FRENCH COTTAGES - see www.frenchduck.com/latest OR to enquire about availability and rates etc, complete the form below:-

cforms contact form by delicious:days

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As well as delivering to private customers in the UK, we supply some of the country’s leading chefs: our Bordeaux Blanc has been the house wine at all Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants for eight consecutive vintages and a bespoke Bauduc red is the top selling wine in his three Michelin star establishment – still the only London restaurant with that accolade. Our white is also a ‘special selection’ at Rick Stein’s.

Since they bought the Chateau in 1999 the reputation of the Chateau has grown, not an easy task in the competitive marketplace that is Bordeaux. There is a 4-bedroom farmhouse on the estate which

…. is rented out on a weekly basis, overlooks the vineyards and backs on to the farm buildings and chais where the wine is made and aged. This 18th century stone dwelling was completely restored in 2002 with painstaking attention to detail and is a great place to spend a week or two in lovely surroundings.

For more details see www.bauduc.com
Chateau Bauduc, Creon 33670, France T: 00 33 (0)5 56 23 06 05 Email: team@bauduc.com

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One such is Chateau de Pennautier in the Cabardes appellation (11 Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon) north west of Carcassonne. (see map). We have mentioned this chateau before, partly because its wines are a crossover between the Mediterranean and Languedoc to the east and the Atlantic and South West to the west and also because unusually for a domaine in one of the lesser known appellations, it has really worked on making a visit to the vineyard an all-round experience - rather more than a dank cellar with old vineyard tools and some stainless steel tanks.

They offer a wine bar/restaurant/shop as well as a cellar (not dank!) and now offer a campsite and mobile homes to let as well.

The wines are pretty good too - Majestic Wine (amongst others) stocks the red Château de Pennautier 2006 Cabardès AC, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Syrah and Grenache - a true south/southwest blend.

“Aromas of fresh raspberries and mulberries follow through to a firm, tannic palate, showing the Cabardès appellation at its best.” £5.99

See our customised map of the Aude département.

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Regular readers will be aware the the Lot Valley in the South West of France features frequently in these pages - in many ways the essence of “deepest France”, it is less crowded than the Dordogne to the north and yet offers a wide variety of landscapes, pretty villages, great cuisine - and is home to the often under-rated Malbec-based wines of Cahors. Hence an essential recent purchase has been the revised edition of Helen Martin’s Book Lot: Travels Through a Limestone Landscape in SouthWest France, which is packed with insights, history and information on the Lot département (46) as part of the River’s journey from the Massif Central to its meeting with the Garonne near Aiguillon (47 Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine).

Helen has kindly allowed us to print an extract of the section on Cahors and its wines…….
Lot: Travels Through a Limestone Landscape in SouthWest France

Chapter 8 The Lot Valley: West of Cahors
Below Cahors, the valley of the Lot belongs to the vignerons and the vineyards of the black wine of Cahors, châteaux-country in fact, but in times gone by it also belonged to the bishops of Cahors, who worked and played but mostly – in that great Christian tradition – fought along its banks.
Downstream of Luzech, the really wild cliffs you see to the east of Cahors become a thing of the past, replaced by gentler, graceful slopes, albeit with a certain grandeur to them, that, even though they may end in cliffs, are less formidable and are called cévennes. The river idles its way through the countryside in deep loops, or cingles, and was used as a major artery for transporting goods from the thirteenth century.
Along its banks grow the vines, and it was mostly the wine from these vineyards which used to be sailed downstream to the Garonne and Bordeaux and from thence to the world. The wine of Cahors may have had its ups and down in more recent times, but the Romans were making wine here in the third century and it had something of a reputation even then, so this river trade is very ancient. Finally, though, and in spite of the efforts of competitive Bordeaux wine-makers, it was phylloxera which put paid to the wine, and thus the trade, in the 1880s. By the time it had revived again, there were better means of transport. But even when the river was at the height of its usefulness, transportation was not always guaranteed. You would be surprised to know how many times the Lot froze right over in winter; the end of the eighteenth century was a particularly critical time – in 1766 it was frozen solid for two and a half months.
In the early nineteenth century, on a river much improved with the passage of time by locks and aids to navigation, 300,000 tonnes of freight was carried down it each year, including an astonishing 90 million bottles of wine – three times the number produced today. However, just as it was phylloxera that killed the river’s wine trade, so it was the coming of the railway that killed the river as a serious form of transport. In more recent years, though, it is coming to life again as leisure craft ply their way up and down, no doubt bringing new problems of pollution.
The villages along this western stretch of the river, unsurprisingly enough, are notable for their wine-producers’ houses – usually big and square with bolets or pigeonniers and sometimes both. You will notice, also, the use of decorative brickwork, the bricks being produced along the valley.
Rather than hop back and forth from bank to bank, backtracking, we shall descend on the north bank and return on the south, although there are several river crossings, such as between Douelle and Cessac, for example. You are of course free to do it in any way you please, though the north bank is probably the more interesting one. There is also a ‘Vineyard Gardens’ circuit of AOC wine châteaux – details from any local tourist office.

The château of Lagrézette may be unwittingly familiar to you. This is the magnificent home of the afore-mentioned Alain-Dominique Perrin, the French tobacco-industry millionaire and now-retired director of the luxury goods brand Richemont, which includes Cartier. Tony Blair visited the château in August 2002 for a meeting with Jean-Pierre Raffarin and it was splashed across the television news on the day. Allegedly, there have been private visits, too, and M. Perrin was an occasional guest at Downing Street.
Perrin (or ADP, as he’s known) has played a visible part in the revival of the Cahors appellation since Georges Vigouroux pioneered the idea, though many locals seem to deplore both Perrin’s methods and his person……
There is a local irritation among some Cahors vignerons that these ‘haut de gamme’ producers are playing around with Cahors, turning it into an easier wine, rather than concentrating on a ‘purer’ product – the black, heavily tannic wine in which its origins lie. But one also has to take into account an ingrained provincialism that one can come across in country areas. It is the children of these producers who go away to study oenology; their fathers often have their roots simply in the land, a land, however, that they know intimately and love…… Wine in the Lot (is) ceasing to be a local family affair; big business( has) arrived, though it (comes)with as much passion.
But you can find a few brave people who speak up for Perrin, saying that the appellation needed a bit of a kick up the backside; that poorer land should be dumped and that constantly aiming to improve the quality (and the price) of Cahors is the correct strategy; that Perrin had indeed done this, had raised the profile of Cahors and that overall the wine is better now. Many of these people believe that sooner or later the reclassification of the appellation – identifying the best land (zones de cru) and selling the wine produced on it at a premium, as well as uprooting the poorest altogether – is inevitable…..

Caïx is next and the home of yet another Lot grandee. The château stands above the village, commanding a view of the river of which it was once a fierce defender. In bygone days it was the residence of Lefranc de Pompignan, an eighteenth-century poet who showed an early interest in poetry and, although he was born in Montauban, an early interest in the Lot, too, writing a Latin dissertation on its antiquities.
De Pompignan was a firm exponent of the Luzech-for-Uxellodunum argument. ……
Nowadays, however, Caïx is the summer home of the Queen of Denmark. Queen Margrethe is married to a member of an old Lot family, the Monpezat, which had colonial links with Vietnam. Count André left the Far East and returned to Cahors in 1955 and it was his eldest son, Henri, who married the Queen and took the title Prince Henrik of Denmark. They bought the château in 1975 and straight away became involved in the old Monpezat family tradition of wine-growing. In 1993, with the château restored (and once again it is a fairy tale of a place), the prince and his wife replanted the vines around and built a new winery. The château is private, but you can have a dégustation of Prince Henrik’s wine and see round a small wine museum.
Caïx was also the home of the natural father of Olympe de Gouges, or Marie Gouze as she was born. Although Jean-Jacques Lefranc de Caïx never recognised his daughter, she went on to become a feminist playwright and journalist, who was a strong advocate of human rights and equal opportunity for women, writing her Declaration for the rights of women and the female citizen in 1791. She also supported divorce and sex outside marriage for women. Way before her time, she wrote an anti-slavery play, L’Esclavages des Nègres, in 1774, but struggled to get it performed. Her famous comment, “a woman has the right to mount the scaffold,” came back to haunt her in 1793 when she was guillotined for her revolutionary ideas. It was only in 2007 that Segolène Royal suggested de Gouges’ remains be removed to the Panthéon. In fact, like many corpses of the Reign of Terror, her remains are long lost.
The church in Caïx is twelfth-century and inside there is some remaining Romanesque decoration. There is also a strange cross by the door of a doll-like figure weighing what could be souls. Caïx is also one of the places along this stretch of the river where you can hire canoes, as you can at the next port of call, too……

Continue on eastwards past the old brickworks of Castelfranc until you reach Albas, piled up above its weir in a stunning position and, along with St-Vincent and Luzech, one of the places that enjoyed a short interlude of prosperity in bygone days thanks to its vineyards. The streets of Albas are very steep and full of steps. Seen from the north side of the river it looks pretty, with the church and town sitting on a cliff above the Lot, but once there, there is that slightly down-at-heel air that many of the river-towns have.
But Albas is a lively town and most particularly in its famous May bacchanal, La Fête du Vin de Cahors, which starts with Mass and ends with onion soup, with a lot of wine and spectacles, lunches and dinners in between. Over-40s should go into training before participating…..

Helen Martin - Lot: Travels Through a Limestone Landscape in SouthWest France
See our maps of the Lot, Lot-et-Garonne and Aveyron départements.
If you are looking to explore the upper Lot Valley then you could stay at some Sweet French Cottages in the Aveyron (self-catering)

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Book 2 nights and get 2 free or book 1 week and get another whole week free! - offer closes 17th May. Available on 8 Pierre & Vacances residences - CLICk FOR DETAILS

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Our apartment was selected for its location in the heart of the city on the fashionable Rue des Remparts. This pedestrianised street is situated between the prestigious shopping street “Cours de l’Intendance” and the city’s fine Cathedral “St. André”. Rue des Remparts offers a smart selection of bistro restaurants, cafés, boutique clothes and jewellery shops, delicatessen and specialised gift shops.

The apartment is on the second floor of a bourgeois ‘pierre du taille’ (cut local stone) 19th. century building. This beautiful apartment has been beautifully renovated and finished with all-new furnishings, fixtures and fittings.

Offering a beautiful and light, open plan living space of more than 50m². With original wooden floors, high ceilings, marble fireplace and 3 exquisite cast iron ‘Juliette’ balconies overlooking the street.To the rear of the main room a corridor connects to two separate comfortable double bedrooms and a modern shower room. The apartment is fully furnished and equipped to a very high standard, tastefully presented and modern, but in keeping with its period.

For more about the area - see map

For more info use the enquiry form below:-

cforms contact form by delicious:days

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While walking in South-west France, cook and journalist Orlando Murrin dreamed up the adventure of a lifetime: why not wave goodbye to the rat race and come to live in this rural paradise, where the only traffic is the boulangerie van delivering baguettes? His book tells the story of how he set up a boutique b&b and includes 100 amazing recipes. …. they set about transforming the dignified old manor house into a phenomenally successful boutique b&b with its own magnificent kitchen garden. A Table in the Tarn charts the discovery, acquisition and renovation of the property. Along the way, we learn about the local food scene, with its astonishingly rich heritage of ingredients and dishes, about working in France and coping with the famous French bureaucracy, and about the unforeseen delight of working with the locals.Four years on, with countless plaudits and a coveted entry in the classy Mr and Mrs Smith directory, the business attracts visitors from around the world and continues to be a gastronomic destination for anyone seeking peace, tranquillity and above all fantastic food.

As former editor of the BBC Good Food Magazine and Olive Magazine, the owners know something about food and the recipes sound very enticing - Roast Pigeon breasts in Armagnac!
So now you can read the book, try the recipes and stay in the Manoir! The Manoir des Raynaudes is near Carmaux (81 Tarn, Midi-Pyrenees) - see our map of the Tarn and its attractions
A Table in the Tarn: Living, Eating and Cooking in South-west France

Le Manoir de Raynaudes, 81640 Monestiès T: 0033 563 36 91 90 F:0033 563 36 92 09
www.raynaudes.com

In the vicinity you’ll find the delights of the cathedral city of Albi (home of the Albigensian crusades against the Cathar “heretics”, a Toulouse-Lautrec museum - and you could pop in and taste the wines of one of the best Gaillac AC wine producers (red, white, sparkling and rosé) at Domaine de Labarthe at Castanet.

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Allez Vins! used to import wines from this domaine when it was run by its previous owners, but now it is being run organically under the title “Wild Earth Vineyards” by the enthusiastic and innovative new owners, Sean and Caroline Feely.

The Grape Escape, our well-equipped 4-person gite (self-catering holiday house) is surrounded by organic vineyards and offers fabulous views across the Dordogne valley. It is semi-detached from the main farmhouse facing onto the courtyard on one side and onto the vines on the two sides built out over the vineyard.

As our guests, you are very welcome to spend time with us to learn about our wine and winemaking, taste our wines and perhaps even take part in vineyard or winery activity depending on the time of year and your energy!

No chance for me to taste their wine yet - they produce red, rosé and white Bergerac AC wines and semi-sweet and botytised dessert Saussignac AC wines. (If you want to try them they will be showing their wines at the Real Food Festival at Earls Court, London from 24-27 April 2008).

For more info on the gite, wines and other offerings contact Chateau Haut Garrigue

See map and more info on the area 

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For somewhere a little different to stay in Picardie you could try the Belle Dune self-catering Holiday Village.

Belle Dune is one of Pierre & Vacances’ most popular self catering holiday villages in France. Built in the 20th Century style of the Picardy region, the village nestles in a preserved natural area of sand dunes, is surrounded by a large lake and flanked by one of France’s finest golf courses. On-site activities are numerous, the beach is accessible by train plus a mini-market and an English pub.

For more info and special offers see P&V

Book your cross-channel ferry online -

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The owners are a Californian couple , Lance and Rain Odeja who have embraced the French way of life with great enthusiasm and will offer you a warm welcome and give you plenty of advice on what to do and where to go in this region.

See our customised map of the Aveyron 

Sweet French Cottages weekly or longer term rental properties include:
La Gourdinerie, a south facing cottage that was previously a wine-producing house, that accommodates up to 5 guests with 2 double bedrooms and 1 single bedroom and 2 bathrooms. This cottage offers a private drive, secluded pool, balcony, log burning stove, stone terrace and breathtaking views.
La Maisonette is a romantic getaway for two, nestled between an 11th c. chateau and a restored chapel in a historic hamlet, with one large ensuite double bedroom. This cottage features a log burning stove, balcony, terrace, outdoor shower and new kitchen and bathroom with modern conveniences and old world charm.
L’Ecole Ancienne, previously an ancient schoolhouse for the hamlet, accommodates up to 2 guests with one double ensuite bathroom, and is situated on 10 privately owned acres with walking paths and a stream. The ancient schoolhouse features a log burning stove, central heating, a terrace with forest and meadow views and new upscale kitchen and bathroom with modern conveniences and old world charm.

See map
For more info on the region see www.tourisme-aveyron.com
For more info and to book contact the owners using the enquiry form at the bottom of this page.

For more info and to book see contact the owners (below)

cforms contact form by delicious:days

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