Recently Renovated 17thC Cottage In Quiet Country Location Providing Everything For Babies/Toddlers
Surrounded By Large Walled And Gated Gardens, In Ancient Hamlet, But Only 3km From Historic Civray
Sleeps 4/5 (2 Bedrooms)
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Our pretty cottage nestles in large secure gardens with a purpose-built children's play area. Shady terraces give a choice of outdoor eating areas
The child-safe swimming pool is solar-heated for toddler comfort. Our hamlet is surrounded by the lush countryside, woods and rivers of the Poitou-Charente, with its many footpaths and cycleways (selection of bikes, with toddlers seats available at the cottage). The river Charente flows sedately through the historic market town of Civray, which has a large outdoor pool situated on an island in the river. The Romanesque church and other historic buildings make the streets of Civray very pleasant to wander through. The market is full of delicious local produce and wonderful seafood, that make self-catering a pleasure; but, for the occasional day-off from cooking, there is a good choice of restaurants in the locality or try our 5-course table d'hote. A life-guarded swimming lake with a beach, water slide (and bar) is 5min away.
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| Rental Period | Per Night | Per Week | Per Month | Min. Stay (Nights) |
| 1 March 2011 - 28 May 2011 | £360 | 1 | ||
| 29 May 2011 - 10 September 2011 | £665 | 1 | ||
| 11 September 2011 - 31 December 2011 | £360 | 1 | ||
| 1 January 2012 - 25 May 2012 | £390 | 1 | ||
| 26 May 2012 - 30 June 2012 | £455 | 1 | ||
| 30 June 2012 - 7 September 2012 | £700 | 1 | ||
| 8 September 2012 - 31 December 2012 | £390 | 1 |
Notes on prices
Prices are for 2 adults and up to 3 children. An under occupancy discount is available for couples or families with fewer children. The cottage is sometimes available by the night, from £45 low season; £75 high season. Price quoted for 15 September to 26 May includes low-season Special Offer- Pay for 6 nights and get 7th free!
2012 booking made before 31/1/12 are held at 2011 prices!
Changeover day
Changeover day is flexible. The cottage is normally available from 4pm on arrival day and should be vacated by 10.30am on departure day. Although the owners don't expect departing guests to 'Spring Clean', it is expected that the cottage is left clean.
Accommodation
| Bedrooms: | Bedroom 1 has a double bed, 3 single beds and a wooden cot (with bumper and good quality cot linen) are located on a large mezzanine; there is a sofabed in the living area. All beds are made up, ready for your arrival, and linen is included. |
| Bathrooms: | Modern bathroom with hydrotherapy shower cabin and integral seat for child. A bath is available, for small children, in the nearby laundry room. Bathroom towels, bathrobes and hairdryer and hotbrush provided. A babybath can be provided on request. |
| Kitchen: | Brand new, fully equipped with gas hob, electric oven, extractor hood, microwave, fridge/freezer, kettle, coffee machine, toaster. Plenty of saucepans, dishes, cutlery etc. FREE WELCOME HAMPER, including tea, coffee, milk and other essentials. |
| Utility Room: | Separate laundry room with washer, dryer, iron and ironing board, clothes horse, outdoor washing line and clothes pegs. A cold box and ice packs and some picnic equipment, beach chairs and parasol are available. Full-sized bath available here - useful! |
| Living Rooms: | Open-plan living accommodation has a double sofa-bed, dining table and chairs. Sky TV/DVD/CD player provided. A choice of CDs and DVDs available to borrow. Books, toys and games available. Electric fan provided. WiFi; net access and phone at owners house. |
| Other: | A modern (safe) spiral staircase leads to the mezzanine with a further seating area with a pretty Juliet balcony overlooking the garden; perfect for keeping an eye on your children whilst enjoying the complimentary bottle of wine on your arrival! |
| Cleaning/towels/ linen/maid service: |
Bedlinen, bathrobes and bathroom towels, teatowels and kitchen towels are provided. Final cleaning and/or daily cleaning service available on request. |
| Amenities/Facilities: | hob/stove oven fridge/freezer microwave washing machine tumble dryer iron/ironing board satellite tv tv telephone internet access central heating air conditioning room fans cot high chair barbecue private pool (for sole use of guests) pool heating |
| Suitability: | pets accepted |
| Location Type: |
Notes on accommodation
Electricity and gas (and heating in the cooler months) are included in the rental. A 5 course dinner (Anglo-French cuisine) with aperitifs and amuses bouches served in the garden beforehand, with carefully chosen wine, coffee and digestives included; cooked to your requirements and served on the terrace, is available with advance notice (€25 per adult) - perfect for families with young children - the children sleep (a baby alarm is available) and the parents wine and dine without lifting a finger; dinner prices for children vary from €0-€12 according to their age and appetite. Sample menus of our cuisine are available by email; Our own organic produce provides the keystone for the delicious meals prepared in the adjacent farmhouse kitchen. Vegetarians will be well catered for! An adult, English-speaking baby sitting service is available, on request. This is a no smoking cottage although guests are welcome to smoke in any of the outdoor areas. Dogs are accepted at the owners discretion!
Accessibility
The double bedroom and bathroom are downstairs and would be OK for anyone finding stairs difficult.
Outside
There are large gardens and a private wood. There are sunny and shady eating areas provided in various parts of the garden. The large garden is walled and gated with several terraces (one of which is covered) to provide outdoor eating and barbecue areas. Lots of outdoor dining furniture, parasols and sunloungers are provided together with a large barbecue. 1/2 acre of the garden is grass, trees and flowerbeds. A further 1/2 acre is orchard and vegetable garden. Another 1 acre is wood and field. There is abundant bird life, with many species that are rare or absent from the UK being relatively common here. We had Golden Orioles in the wood last summer! A telescope and binoculars are available. A heated pool is available for your use; there is a large, netted trampoline and table tennis, with a sandpit, slide etc and Wendy house for the little ones. Mountain bikes are available for your use, in all sizes (including stabilisers), together with child seats and a bike rack for the car.
Coast/Beach
The coast from Royan to La Rochelle is easily available for a day out (about 90 mins on good roads). These are both lively resorts with stylish shopping. Many pretty little fishing villages, shady pine forests and warm sandy coves can be found between the two. There are lots of lakeside and riverside beaches closer to the cottage - the nearest is 5 mins away.
Travel
Convenient for N10 (toll-free) motorway - a detailed route from the channel ports can be provided, including minutely detailed instructions of the route round Rouen or Paris. The nearest ferryport is Caen (283 mins). It is a 6-hour drive from the channel ports to the cottage. The cottage is located conveniently for Limoges, Angoulême or Poitiers airports which are all served by Low-Cost airlines. Although a car is recommended for seeing the most of the area, airport pick-up can be arranged.
Distances
3 km to Civray (shops, market, banks, supermarkets) and 1 km to Blanzay (bakery) although fresh bread is delivered most days by bakers van. 40 mins to Futuroscope in Poitiers. 15 mins to La vallée des Singes.
Further details
A full range of baby and toddler equipment is available free of charge, including pushchair, high chair, cot and bedding, playpen, bottle steriliser, lots of toys, baby alarm, baby walker, baby swing. There is a purpose-built play area for little ones with a paddling pool, toddler slide, see-saw and sandpit and mini-trampoline. There's a wooden chalet/wendy house with lots of toys for girls and boys, together with a huge, partially shaded play area for the very hot days. For older children and adults, there is the solar-heated swimming pool, a 3 metre safety-netted trampoline, table tennis and swingball.
Nearby attractions are the infamous WW2 Martyr Village of Oradour sur Glane, Futuroscope theme park at Poitiers, La Vallée de Singes (monkey sanctuary) 5km, Venise Verte and the Marais Poitevin and various chateaux open to the public. For younger visitors, there are several children's play parks in the vicinity of the cottage, a shallow lake with beach, and two very good zoos not too far away; a visit to Monkey Valley is a 'must' for children. Many sites of historical interest also happen to be very pretty and have excellent restaurants nearby and we are always happy to let people know our personal favourites! Learn to fish courses for children and young people are run regularly throughout the summer and take place 5 minutes away. Leisure activities available locally include, cycling, walking, swimming, fishing, canoeing, horse-riding, bird-watching and tennis. Ice skating is only a 40 min drive away. There is a cinema in the area which shows English films. A series of prehistoric caves that border the Charente river has recently been opened to the public. Antique and bric-a-brac markets are a regular feature of weekends from Easter to All Saints.
All picnic equipment is available for days out, including a cold box and table and chairs.
Booking notes
For bookings of more than 4 nights, please arrange payment of 20% deposit (non-refundable). The booking will be confirmed on receipt of deposit. Deposits can be paid by UK or French cheque or by direct transfer into our UK bank account. We regret that we are unable to take card payments due to the high charges that these incur. The balance payable by cheque or direct transfer 8 weeks before your holiday. €100 damage deposit (refundable) is payable on arrival.
Guest comments
"Our first visit to the region, house hunting. The experience was way above our expectations, and this was due to Joy and how welcome we were made; Very comfortable accommodation and the food and wine were superb!! A definite re-visit for us." Lyn and Steve from Cheshire
AN UPDATE: Steve and Lyn bought a house in a nearby village last year!
Richard and Sue said, 'Cottage is wonderful, cosy but had everything we needed and the meal was excellent'
Rebecca (aged 11) said, 'we were given a fantastic welcome. The cottage exceeded our expectations; it was clean and spacious. Whilst Tom (aged 13) said 'it was great, with lots to do'.
Rob and Sandra wrote 'Food out of this world! gite very, very comfortable and clean'
UPDATE: Rob and Sandra came back, stayed with us again and have now bought a house in our hamlet!
Ed and Pauline only planned on staying 5 nights, but stayed on an extra night and wrote 'thank you for the comfortable accommodation, wonderful food and good local knowledge'
For booking and further information
Property Ref FR2192
Joy Allen
Tel: (France) + 33 549 879 085
Mob: (France) + 33 689 110 690
Owners Website: Click here
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and has advertised this property with us since April 2007.
Property Ref FR2192
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