Pretty, 17th Cent., 'roses round the door' cottage

Shady terrace for outdoor dining

Our pretty, lime-washed, cottage nestles in large walled and gated gardens with an orchard and wood. Shady terraces give a choice of outdoor eating areas. A 3m splash pool is provided for cooling off. Our hamlet is surrounded by the lush countryside, woods and rivers of the Poitou-Charente, with its many footpaths and cycleways (selection of bikes 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, full of delicious local produce and wonderful seafood, 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 and waterslide is 5min away.

New, fully equipped kitchen

Sunloungers under one of our oak trees

 

Prices Currency Conversion

 

Notes on prices
Children under 2 years Free! The cottage is sometimes available by the night, from £45 low season; £75 high season. Price quoted for 15 September - 28 May includes low-season special offer. Pay for 6 nights and get 7th free!

Changeover day
Changeover day is flexible, as are arrival/departure times.

Accommodation

 

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 digestifs included; cooked to your requirements and served on the terrace, is available with advance notice (€22 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!

Amenities/Facilities provided

 

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 birdlife, 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 binocculars are available. A 3m splash pool for cooling off is available for your use; there is a large, netted trampoline, table tennis and a sandpit for the little ones. Mountain bikes are available for your use, in all sizes (including stabilisers), together with a child seat 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.

Further details
A full range of baby and toddler equipment is available free of charge, including pushchair, high chair, cot and bedding, lots of toys, baby alarm, baby walker, baby swing, paddling pool, toddler slide, see-saw and sandpit.

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 childrens 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, canooing, 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.

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

 

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This advertiser joined Owners Direct in April 2007,
and has advertised this property with us since April 2007.

Property Ref FR2192
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