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Cottage |2 bedrooms |Sleeps 5

Vals le Chastel in Brioude

From £225 per week

Short stays welcome

Changeover flexible

4 out of 5

1 review | Write a review

Key info  Car essential, private garden, pets welcome

About the home

The cottage is of typical Auvergnat construction, with thick walls to keep it cool in the summer. Outside, the garden offers a wonderful view over the castle, and from here it is only a very short walk to the banks of the Doulon river, a beautiful spot where you can paddle and picnic. Better swimming is available in Vielle Brioude at La Bageasse - take a picnic !

Facilities

Further details indoors:
On the ground floor of the house is a large livingdining area with TV, with basic satellite channels, DVD and video, a hi-fi, comfortable sofa and chairs, and a wood burning stove built into the stone fireplace. There is a well equipped kitchen with dual-fuel cooker, microwave, fridge and freezer. Off the kitchen is a bathroom with shower cubicle, and a washing machine, and also a separate toilet.

On the first floor are two very large bedrooms. The main room has a king size bed; the other room has 2 small double beds with plenty of room for another roll-away single bed to be added if needed.

The furnishings are simple but comfortable!

Further details outdoors:
Outside, the L-shaped garden is south-west facing and gets the sun almost all day. Table and chairs are provided, along with a barbecue for guests to use.

Further details

NOTE: The house doesn't have central heating so if you are looking to rent during the winter and early spring months, it will not be warm in the house as some people may be used to! There is a woodburning stove in the lounge and some portable heaters are available too.

Cycles are available to hire locally - please advise requirements when booking

Conditions

Although smokers are welcome to stay at the house, we do ask that you smoke outside !

Photos

 

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The cottage

 

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Partial view of the kitchen

 

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Master bedroom

 

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A view of the "chastel" from the house

The Limousin / Auvergne / Haute-Loire region

The Auvergne, which encompasses much of the Massif Central, is perhaps one of the lesser known regions of France. With two large national parks - the dramatic Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne and its tamer neighbour the Parc Naturel Régional des Livradois-Forez - it is almost entirely unspoiled and is the largest environmentally protected area of France. The many extinct volcanoes that dimple the landscape make the region a strange, but enigmatically beautiful place. There are also spectacular gorges, lakes, streams, rivers and vast forests.

The Haute-Loire has a continental climate, with hot summers and cold winters. Spring and Autumn are also very pleasant times to visit with reasonably warm and sunny weather, starting in late April and lasting through to mid-October (although do be prepared for some rain during these periods!).

The Brioude / Vals le Chastel area

Cycling, both road and off road (or ‘VTT’ in France) is excellent, with many existing trails close by. Similarly to rambling, off road cycling means almost anywhere within reason as long as it’s done sensibly and with consideration to other people’s property. Road racing is of course very popular in France and the local winding roads which climb high into the hills are ideal for this. Needless to say the descents are pretty exhilarating too!

The area also provides wonderful walking country – the general rule is that you can ramble anywhere that isn’t specifically signposted as private. There are scores of walk leaflets and books on the shelves in the house, with suggested routes varying in distance and difficulty, and for the most part ‘balisage’ (waymarking) is pretty good. Canoeing is available from just outside Brioude and also in Lavoute Chilhac.

For the less active, there are many places close by to visit, such as Lavaudieu (officially classified as one of France’s most beautiful villages) with it’s Abbey and museum, the moving Museum of French Resistance and the magnificent ruins of Domeyrat castle which each summer holds jousting festivals. In the village itself are feudal ruins and 15th century secular frescoes in its chapel (although not generally open the key is available from the house next door to the chapel!).

Slightly further afield are Chaise-Dieu with it’s summer music festival, and the old city of Le Puy en Velay with it’s buildings set atop the lava cores of ancient volcanoes. Clermont Ferrand and of course all the surrounding Puys, the thermal spa town of Chatel-Guyon and the source of Volvic are all about an hour away.

The Gorges d’Allier is within a very short drive, with rock-climbing and white-water canoeing on offer. For the less adventurous, the tourist train from Langeac takes the scenic route along the gorge.

How to get there

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Vals le Chastel is an easy 2½ hour drive from the airports at both Rodez and Lyon. Clermont Ferrand is less than an hour away, and serviced by Flybe from Southampton,

It is approximately an 8 hour drive from the English Channel, mostly on autoroutes. This makes it driveable in a day from anywhere in south-east England. Alternatively, there are very many pleasant areas en route in which to stopover should you prefer to break the journey

Activities near Brioude

Reviews

Review: 1 to 1 of 1

10 Sep 2011

“A Great Little Spot To Forget The World” Having recently returned from this lovely house,i thought it only fair to let others know of it's merits.Firstly,the house itself has a well stocked kitchen,with all the implements you should need.I believe the fridge is now larger than in the photos,with space for plenty of groceries and drink.The seperate loo and shower room is very handy,as is the washing machine,.The English speaking tv channels were mostly news(BBC world etc),but we just took some boxsets for the occasions we fancied something to watch,which was generally to escape the heat of the day for a while.The sofa is big and comfy by the way.The house keeps relatively cool compared to the outside,but i took a fan,which came in handy,particularly at night. Outside,the garden isn't huge,but does the job fine.It has the sun all day,and then come the evening is ideal for the BBQ to roll out.There are 2 tables,so ample space for all.Across the lane,about 75 yards away,is a stream and sizeable grassed area,We used it for a kick around,bit of cricket and French boules,before getting into the water for a cooldown.It was that simple pleasure that really made us feel like kids again.I like to think that if you are bringing children with you, they will love clambering through the stream,splashing about with mum and dad (oh god,i'm getting all idealistic and romantic now),but then that's how it made me feel.The neighbours were very friendly,as well as being helpful when required,Thankfully,one of us spoke French,which helped greatly. Away from the village,Brioude is a very nice place,with the old town full of little bars and speciality shops.Bringing the tone down a bit,for footie obsessives like us,there is a bar called St.Laurent (90% sure thats right) on the main road that has English premier league games.There's also a supermarket here for all the groceries you need.Do make sure you fill up with fuel here,as it is much more expensive on the motorways.As an example, diesel was 1.30 euros at the supermarket,and as much as 1.44 euros on the motorway. Another must see would be the village of Lavaudieu.You can imagine them filming The Three Musketeers in the quirky,cobbled alleys of this village.We dined at a lovely little restaurant called L'abbey,just off the square.They had a simple 3 course dinner for 17 euros,though they had more expensive options.We also popped there during the day for a beer on the square,watching life pass by,before looking around the old village abbey-wonderful.We also went out to la Creche hotel in the village of La Chomette,not too far away,for a lovely meal (chicken liver salad was a particular favourite).Don't tell ya wife,but if you ask them nicely,they will allow you to stay on and watch the footie (Champions league this time) with your coffee. There was an awful lot that we didn't do,but the weather was just so good,around 40 degrees,with one bad day out of seven.Anyway, there's always next time.

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Rental prices

Prices for group size 5
Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
29 Oct 11 - 06 Apr 12	7 Jan 12	31 Mar 12	225£ 225	0-	0-	1 Week
	31 Mar 12	21 Jul 12	275£ 275	0-	0-	1 Week
	21 Jul 12	1 Sep 12	325£ 325	0-	0-	1 Week
	1 Sep 12	3 Nov 12	275£ 275	0-	0-	1 Week
	3 Nov 12	29 Dec 12	225£ 225	0-	0-	1 Week

NB: Prices may be subject to change at the advertiser's discretion.

* * * 10% DISCOUNT ON ALL NEW BOOKINGS MADE FOR SPRING OR AUTUMN BREAKS !!! * * *

*~*~* Shorter bookings can be made - please ask about prices and availability *~*~*

The price includes logs, electricity and the cleaning fee, as well as bedlinen and towels. Additional linens are available at a small fee.

A non-refundable deposit of 25% of the total cost is to be paid on acceptance of the booking, with the remainder to be paid at least 6 weeks prior to the commencement of the holiday. We accept payments by Paypal, Sterling cheque or bank transfer in Euros

Availability

See below for next 9 months' availability - to see the next 24 months click here

Contact the owner

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1 years listed You are contacting Julia & Danny Corr Landline n/a Mobile n/a Languages spoken The owner is based in the United Kingdom and has advertised with Holiday Lettings since 2010. This cottage has received 1 review from previous guests.