Poitou Charentes

A British-owned gite/B&B near Cognac offering calm and tranquility is to be discovered  at Cherac near Cognac (17 Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes) within easy reach of the A10 autoroute north of Bordeaux.
Just 11km from Cognac the region offers everything from the obvious attractions of Cognac (and Pineau des Charentes) production to ancient Roman and pre-historic artefacts, coast and countryside.

Our Bed and Breakfast is a traditional French lime stone farm house and was built in 1890 set in a tranquil 2 acre garden surrounded by forest and vineyards near Cognac SW France. With spacious en-suite double bedrooms and a large family suite to make your stay comfortable and relaxed. All the rooms are decorated in a mix of old French and modern furniture. The lounge/salon is a large comfortable informal room with double doors leading out to the front garden. A continental breakfast can be served either inside or outside. We are centrally located between Cognac and Saintes in the heart of the Cognac brandy region. There are four local airports driving times between 45mins to one and half hours drive, La Rochelle, Angouleme, Poitiers and Bordeaux. There are many tourist attractions in the Charente Maritime area and beautiful villages including, Cognac the home to, Hennessy, Remy Martin, Courvoisier, Camus, Martell where you can take an informative tour of Cognac making and of course be able to taste all the different vintages and buy directly. Just 15 mins drive are two very good golf courses located in Cognac and Saintes and the beautiful Charente river is a cycle ride away.

Within easy driving distance is the small Cognac house of Maison Deau ner Gemozac. which whilst offering an insight and tasting of local Cognacs, also boasts an impressive botanical garden and conservatory – all on a more human and less-touristy scale which is more relaxing and informative- and their Cognacs and Pineau is of superb quality.

Nearby  at Saint Cesaire is the newly opened Neolithic interactive centre, Paleosite and the Trout farm Pisciculture where you can go and catch your very own trout on a large lake in beautiful surroundings, cook your very own fish and eat it at the prepared outside restaurant.

For more info about the gite or B&B  use the enquiry form below:

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For info on the region see www.visitcharente.com

For more about Pineau des Charentes see www.cognacnet.com/pineau/ and for Cognac see www.cognacnet.com

Conveniently situated a kilometre or so off the main RN10 route (heading for Bordeaux, Aquitaine and the Basque country) near Limalonges (79 Deux Sevres, Poitou-Charentes) is an English run Chambres d’Hote run by Josie and Dave Duffield.
Situated in the heart of Poitou Charentes (roughly mid-way between Poitiers and Angouleme) bordering the Charente and Vienne departments, the area has a gentle climate and varied countryside “reputed to have the most sunshine hours away from the Mediterranean coast.”

When I can I prefer to use routes such as the N10 down to Bordeaux or the Dordogne – good quality roads, generally light traffic (away from the main towns),less frenetic (and cheaper) than the autoroute, and plenty of opportunity to break the journey with a little detour into a “centre ville” for a coffee or croissant, and a stroll around the shops to stock up for the picnic lunch. It does however take longer, but you are likely to arrive less hassled and more in tune with France.

The comfortable accommodation offered includes 3 large en-suite bedrooms (2 doubles, 1 of which can be made into a family room) and 1 twin) – each room has natural stone walls and wooden beams. Prices which include breakfast start at €30 for a single, or €45 for a double. An ideal overnight stop, a base for visiting the region (the Marais Poitevin, la Rochelle and Cognac are all within range) and perhaps a chance tp explore another region which too many of us hurtle through rather than savour. And of course, your hosts will be able to offer good advice on where to go, where to eat or the name of a good notaire if you are looking to buy property in the region.

They also welcome caravans and motorhomes for a night stop-over on the journey south (or north) which could be a welcome change from commercial campsites or motorway “aires”.
See our customised Google Map of Poitou-Charentes
For more info, availability and bookings use the form below:-

cforms contact form by delicious:days

The Independent (6 September 2008) reports on a legal battle which has been joined over a Whisky which is finished in France, but nevertheless is marketed under the title “Scotch Whisky”.
The Bercloux Brewery in the village of Bercloux (17 Charente-Maritime) between Cognac and St Jean d’Angely has a bit of a history of producing somewhat off-beat concoctions.
This Whisky is actually made with whisky distilled in Scotland, but then matured in France in casks which have been used to make Pineau des Charentes – an sweetish aperitif made from Cognac and unfermented grape juice.
The big problem (other than the taste, for which I cannot vouch) is the use of the term “Scotch Whisky” which has the Scottish Whisky producers fuming – an infringement of their “brand”. In truth, the whole presentation is distinctly different to anything I would recognise as Scotch, but then when you recall the vigour with which the makers of Champagne pursue even the slightest hint a transgression, then perhaps the Scots are right.

Unfortunately, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), the trade body which spends £1.5m each year on legal action to protect its product from an increasing cabal of international imitators and counterfeiters, sees this attempt at a whisky-fuelled entente cordiale somewhat differently. Yesterday, it warned the Brasserie de Bercloux, the producers of the French “Scotch”, that it was sending in the lawyers with an implicit demand to remove all Scottish associations from their whisky.
Under British and European law, a whisky can only be called Scotch when it has been made and aged entirely in Scotland.

The Brasserie de Bercloux also also produces a Cognac Beer! (produce artisanal beers and especially a Cognac Beer – “Its unique recipe offers a subtle and harmonious blend with incomparable taste.We are sure that this beer can be appreciated worldwide for its freshness and refinment.”

For more about Pineau des Charentes see www.frenchduck.co.uk/deau.html

Despite already having a well-developed high speed train (TGV) network, the French have plans to double the length of the special TGV lines by 2020 from the current 1750km. Trains a Grand Vitesse (TGVs) do run on on many major routes, but not all the line is a dedicated TGV track which permits speeds of up to 320km/hr  (200mph) – e.g. the TGV Atlantique to Bordeaux is only high speed track as far as Tours.

Several major extensions of the network include:-

Tours to Bordeaux via Poitiers and Angouleme, bringing Bordeaux within 2 hours of Paris. Utlimately the high speed line will extend south to Bayonne and into Spain!

Le Mans to Rennes in Brittany – bringing Brest within 3 hours of Paris!

Bordeaux to Toulouse in South West France, reducing the travel time to 1 hour!

Marseille to Nice will complete the line to Provence and the Côte d’Azur

Montpellier to Perpignan and on to Barcelona in Spain!

It’s a great example of why domestic air travel in France becomes less and less viable with city centre to city centre times such as these in the offing – speedy and green!
You can book any train journey to and within France including Eurostar, TGV and local lines through RailEurope

The town of Cognac (16 Charente, Poitou-Charentes) becomes an even more attractive place to visit in July 2008 with the Blues Passions Festival (22–27 July 2008).

With more than 120 concerts, 80 of which are free, the range of music on offer is vast – i.e from Status Quo to Joan Baez and most music styles in between which an emphasis on Afro-American music.

For more info on the festival see www.bluespassions.com
The big Cognac houses (Martell, Remy-Martin, Hennesy) all have well-organised trips around their distilleries and tastings of their brandies. However, these are inevitably a bit “touristy” – there are plenty of smaller, family-run estates which also welcome visitors and provide a rather more individualised welcome – e.g Maison Deau at Gemozac, which also has a Botanic Garden to visit!

Another French icon, the Solex motorised bicycle used to be a common sight throughout France – although in earlier times it was powered by a noisy smelly little 2-stroke petrol engine. Something like 80 million Solexs were produced as a cheap form of transport after the Second World War.The original production line closed at the end of the 1980s, but now it has been re-invented as the E-Solex an environmentally-friendly way of getting around town using battery high efficeincy power to boost your pedalling.

You can now enjoy a one of these very French machines by hiring one for a day or half-day in St Omer (62 Pas-de-Calais, Nord Pas-de-Calais).

Les Belles Echappees also hire out Citroen 2CVs, tandems and trikes and offer a number of packages which can include route suggestions, restaurant and hotel combinations etc.

Les Belles Echappées invite you to a journey off the beaten track in search of simple pleasures connected with emotion and collective memory.

You can find a video showing the 2CVs in action on You Tube Les Belles Echappees translates as a good time or break!

Les Belles Echappees, Chemin des murs, Ferme de l’Abbaye – 62500 CLAIRMARAIS
Tél : 03.21.98.11.72

There are other options for raking to the road “a la francaise” – e.g. the 2CV tours of Paris with 4 roues sous un Parapluie (4 wheels under 1 umbrella); Or hire a classic Citroen TA in the Loire Valley with Quart de Tours (37 Indre-et-Loire, Centre)

Further south Joffreny Tours offer classic and modern British cars (and others) for touring the French countryside from their base near Chalus (87 Haut Vienne, Limousin) – although helpfully they have an office in the UK

Lots to do and see – Hire a classic standard MGB Roadster, a V8 MGB Roadster, a BMW Z3 Roadster or a Triumph Stag (soft-top or hard-top) and take off on a sightseeing tour of the Limousin, Charente and Dordogne, in west central France, with all of its historic towns and picturesque chateaux, and sample some of the fine food and wine along the way. This is beautiful touring country and there are very few cars on the road…