Gite With Fabulous Views, Large Garden And Pool
Rural Location In View Of The Mountains, Close To The Bastide Town Of Mirepoix
Sleeps 4 (2 Bedrooms)
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La Borde de l'Hercule is a comfortably refurbished two bedroom cottage, adjacent to our own house. With 2 bedrooms, Living Room, Balcony, Dining Room, modern Kitchen, bathroom and outdoor patio & terrace for outdoor eating and relaxing.
It is completely private with its own entrances, and access to the 10X4m pool, which is shared only with us.
The kitchen and bathroom are both well equipped, and the Living Room has English satellite TV, DVD, stereo, comfortable sofas and a highly efficient woodburner for the cooler months. We are just on the edge of the village, with neighbouring houses some distance away and not overlooking the property in any way. Our large garden, which regularly wins the Aude Fleurie competition in the Gite category, is open for you to explore. We have a large orchard with a host of varied fruit trees (cherries/peaches/plums/apples etc) you can pick from in season as long as you don't let the chickens out! The house is on a quiet lane with only occasional cars.
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| Rental Period | Per Night | Per Week | Per Month | Min. Stay (Nights) |
| 6 May 2012 - 9 June 2012 | £375 | - | ||
| 15 September 2012 - 29 September 2012 | £400 | - | ||
| 29 September 2012 - 3 November 2012 | £350 | - |
Notes on prices
Please contact owner.
Changeover day
During July/August/September Changeover Day is Saturday. We ask guests to vacate the gite, leaving it as tidy as possible, by 10.30am. Arriving guests are asked to come between 4 - 7pm. In other months we are open to other arrival days, so please ask.
Accommodation
| Bedrooms: | Both bedrooms are on the top floor. Each has great views north & south, and are private from each other. Towels for Bathroom and Pool are provided, as is all linen, changed weekly. There is a fan in each room, storage for your clothes, bedside lights etc. |
| Bathrooms: | The bathroom is on the floor below the bedrooms, and is adjacent to the Living Room and balcony. It has shower, bath and WC. and a view west that often catches beautiful sunsets. There is an electric shaving point, mirrors and heated towel rail. |
| Kitchen: | The kitchen is next to the dining room, with a rear door out to the terrace. It has a Cooker with electric oven and electric & gas hobs. There is a good size fridge/freezer, dishwasher, double sink, microwave and plenty of plates, bowls, cooking pots etc. |
| Utility Room: | There is an Utility room accessible from our terrace next door. We will arrange with you on using the washing machine, and you'll find the rotary washing line tucked away in the garden. |
| Living Rooms: | The living room is on the first floor, with windows facing south to the mountains. It has a large sofa and easy chairs, British TV and DVD player. There's a large map of the area, bookshelf, stereo, access to the Balcony and Bathroom and stairs up to beds |
| Other: | The Balcony has a splendid view over the pool, garden and the range of hills behind us. There is a small table and chairs, and the early morning and evening sun are especially beautiful. |
| Cleaning/towels/ linen/maid service: |
You will find the Gite spotlessly clean on arrival. All bedlinen is provided and replaced weekly or when necessary, as are all towels. |
| Amenities/Facilities: | hob/stove oven fridge/freezer fridge microwave dishwasher washing machine iron/ironing board satellite tv tv room fans barbecue shared pool |
| Location Type: |
Notes on accommodation
The Pool is shared only with us and we tend to swim early & late, occasionally having friends to swim also. We fit around guests use of the pool and find that they regard the pool as almost private. We maintain the pool's condition almost daily, and the Deck with its' loungers and parasol. We are on a low ridge, and we are not bothered with mosquitoes at all, with often a gentle breeze in the heat of the Summer. The Gite is next door to our house, but completely private. We are able to help with suggestions for lots of activities and places to visit and the occasional medical emergency.
Accessibility
La Borde de L'Hercule is not so good for people with mobility problems, as there are steps into the house and between floors.
Outside
We have a large garden which is well maintained with regional flowers - Iris, roses, day lilies, sages, sunflowers etc and has won regional prizes in its category. The garden extends down to a fruit filled orchard. Immediately outside the Kitchen door is a large terrace with table and chairs, a barbecue and shade for the heat of the day. The 10X4m pool is a few steps across the lawn, and is in full view of the gite. It is not heated, but reaches 30C in the summer and cools as the weather becomes less 'swimming weather'. The pool has steps into a shallow end and a deep end, about 2M deep. At the front of the gite are steps up to the large double entrance, with a vine across the door and a small seating area that come into its own in spring and autumn when it is not too hot to sit and view the mountains, or as the older local people do in the evening, watch the hourly car go by. Guests' cars are parked across the road from the gite in a large open grassy area.
Coast/Beach
The many and varied beaches on the Mediterranean are about an hour's drive away.
Skiing
The ski resorts of Monts D'Olmes and Schioula are about 45 minutes away, and the more demanding Bonascre, above the lovely Spa town of Ax-les-Thermes is a little further. All have webcams for snow monitoring.
Travel
Carcassonne airport is 40 minutes away. Toulouse is an easy 80 minutes drive, and further away are Montpelier (2hours) Perpignan (2 hours) or the busy hub of Girona in Spain (3 hours).
Distances
The beautiful and busy Bastide town of Mirepoix (just inside the Midi-Pyrenees) is 9kms away. Our nearest bar is in Moulin Neuf (2kms) and other interesting, active palces are Leran (6kms) or Chalabre (9kms). We are 3kms fro the village of Camon, listed in the 'Most Beautiful Villages in France' and with a spectacular Rose festival in late May. The historic town of Carcassonne with its ancient Cité is about 40kms away. It is also great to have a day out in Toulouse, about 80 minutes away.
Further details
This area is well known for its Cathar castles, and Montsegur, possibly the most famous shimmers in the middle distance as you look towards the mountains. Other major ones such as Peyrepertuse & Queribus are a little further away and minor ones such as Puivert and the ruin of Lagarde, which is just across the valley, are close by. Mirepoix is the main attraction in this area, with its Monday market, weekly Festivals(marionettes/ceramics/jazz/apple etc) and lots of good restaurants or pizza places. There is a big supermarché on the outskirts, and cafés to sit and watch the world go by. Other good markets are in Lavelanet very local - Friday) and Limoux also Friday). Towards the mountains are several highly visit-able cave systems, with paintings at Niaux or underground rivers at several others; we have the info ready for you. This is an excellent area for walking and other outdoor activities, with horse-riding, white water rafting and cycling being very popular. The Tour de France always seems to come through this region as it leaves the Pyrenees, usually in mid July. We have come to understand why this is such a spectacle for the French, and have enjoyed seeing the rising British cycle stars take on the torturous climbs. Good bikes are available for hire, and the 30km Voie Verte (a converted railway line) passes our door as it goes from Mirepoix, via Chalabre to Lavelanet. The bike hire place is close to Lac Montbel, a large lake where there's good swimming, boating and walking. A little to the north is the canal du Midi which goes from Toulouse via Carcassonne to the Med. There's a large canal basin at Castelnaudary, and the opportunity to eat Cassoulet at source, though maybe not in summer! However, we have often found that guests just want to laze in the garden or by the pool.
Booking notes
We ask guests to confirm their booking with a 25% Non Refundable Deposit. This secures the dates, and 2 months before your arrival we will ask you for the balance payment which can be made in sterling or euros.
Guest comments
A wonderful sunny week in this fabulous, clean and well equipped home. We've visited beautiful places and eaten delicious food. Our batteries are fully re-charged!"
Wendy, Ian, James & Ben. (Hertfordshire UK)
"The week has passed much too quickly! The gite has been wonderful, comfortable, tasteful with everything we needed. I particularly liked all the outside spaces: balcony, terraces - there was a perfect place for each time of day."
Mary, Matthias, Katie & Anika (Germany)
"If you are reading this then you have found one of the treasures of the Languedoc. Every window offers a fantastic ever changing view, the gite is a delight and the garden has a discovery from every angle."
Jude & Barre (Pays de Galles)
"Our 3 & 5 year olds loved climbing Montsegur: Carcassonne was lovely, Mirepoix great for all our needs and it was thrilling to leave the sun-soaked patio for a snowball fight at the top of the cable car at Ax-les-Thermes"
Katie, Richard, Leo & Adam (Bucks UK)
Owner profile
Following the 2011 Tour de France
About the owner
Andy & Ros Morley moved to La Borde de L'Hercule almost 6 years ago. Our home and the gite are two houses standing together on a ridge that gives us great views of the Pyrenees.
Ros Morley paints watercolours, with a small studio in a barn where she also runs a weekly painting session.
The gite has its own terraces front and back, and a clear view of the swimming pool, and of the acre of garden and grounds open to guests holidaying. Guests can be completely private, but have someone on hand to ask for information or help.
Out of the main summer season, we hope that enjoying the walking and other delights of this area is what guests will do. We are quite close to the mountains and not too far from the sea, with lots of interesting places to visit.
Year purchased: 2006
Why the owner chose a home in this location
We live on the border of the Langued'oc and the Midi-Pyrenees, also the border of the Aude and Ariège.
It's a fairly sparsely populated area, and roads are quiet, even in Summer. While there might be prettier parts of France, this area is beautiful to us because there is so much going on locally, and with so much to see a short drive away; the mountains are fabulous, and if we want the beach (which is rare) it's not too far.
Because we are quite close to the mountains the summer weather is not stiflingly hot, and in winter we look at snow clad mountains and occasionally get some snow ourselves. We are just about on the watershed between the Atlantic and the Med - rivers starting near us flowing into one sea or the other and this Atlantic influence gives us a greener countryside.
Unique benefits of the property
We think it has proven useful many times to be on hand, not only to ensure that the preparation of the gite for your arrival is done properly, but to help if problems occur. While many guests have simply enjoyed the gite and pool, we have lots of information on the area and about the many things that are happening while you are here. The gite is available for people while they are looking for a property in the area, and we can make helpful suggestions on this, depending upon your preferences.
For booking and further information
Property Ref FR9449
Contact Name:
andy morley
(FRANCE) +33 0468206501
Owners Website: Click here
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Property Ref FR9449
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