La Bique

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Farmhouse |6 bedrooms |Sleeps 14

Clairac in Aquitaine/Dordogne

from £184 / night

£1282–£2564 / week

3 nights minimum stay

Changeover flexible

5 out of 5

11 reviews | Write a review

Key info  Swimming pool, balcony/terrace, car advised, private garden, may take pets - please enquire

Check availability and book

About the home

Set amongst fruit orchards and sunflowers on the slopes overlooking the Lot Valley, this charming property is close to the mediaeval village of Clairac, with its restaurants, market and shopping and within a short drive of some of the region’s most picturesque bastides.
The spacious interior is cool, airy and light and although traditional in appearance is modern in practicality. Oak beams prevail throughout, with a degree of exposed stonework and floors of oak and terracotta. Windows and doors are large to allow summer breezes to waft through the house and the furniture is an eclectic and tasteful mix of antique and contemporary.
The terraced and fenced pool sits in a subtly landscaped acre of lawns, cypress, olive, lavender, rosemary, vines, wild flowers and woodland, which from Spring to Autumn is a riot of colour and scent.

Facilities

Further details indoors:
All bedrooms are spacious, with ample storage in wardrobes, cupboards and chests of drawers. They are simply decorated with soft lighting, comfortable beds and crisp white linen.
The kitchen is equipped for even the most demanding of chefs and our dining room comfortably sits 14 around a single refectory table. We have an additional dining tablkle that seats a further six. Ideal for kids or casual breakfasts.
The lounge is double height and almost the breadth of the house with an open fireplace and three French windows opening onto a terrace and the garden beyond.

Further details outdoors:
A secluded walled garden to one side of the house has access from the kitchen and is the perfect spot for al fresco dining, be it a casual breakfast or dinner for all. Below this the swimming pool shimmers invitingly and another terrace, accessed by a series of French windows, runs the width of the house, offering views over the garden and the valley below.
To the other side of the house lies a small lawn, sheltered by woodland on one side and an old tobacco drying barn on another, which stands as a reminder of La Bique's history. A downstairs bedroom has French windows opening onto this secluded part of the garden.
La Bique's outdoor furniture tastefully enhances the open air experience, be it dining on the terrace, stargazing on a lounger by the pool, or simply reading a book in the shade of a tree.

Photos

 

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La Bique

 

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The swimming pool is fenced for parents' peace of mind

 

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The outdoor dining area

 

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Our light and airy living room

The Aquitaine / Dordogne / Lot et Garonne region

The sunny South West has a greater variety of scenery than almost anywhere else in France. From the surf beaches, sand dunes and pine forests of Les Landes to the vineyards of Bordeaux; the mountains and pastures of the Pyrenees to the rolling Tuscan countryside, orchards and sunflowers of the Lot; it is truly spectacular. Add to this the world renowned food and wine, great historic cities, mediaeval towns and bastides and you have a region that will captivate and entrance even the most worldly of travellers.

The Clairac area

Clairac is a mediaeval town situated on the River Lot in the heart of Lot et Garonne. La Bique is two kilometres outside town so it is close enough for a brisk morning bread walk or a healthy stroll to one of its excellent restaurants for lunch. The region is well known for its duck, goose and fois gras but we are also in the heart of plum country with the world famous Pruneau d’Agen the local delicacy. They really have to be tasted to be believed. We are surrounded by superb dining options and a list of recommendations and contact numbers is available at the house. As you would expect we are not lacking in great local wines either. From the cheaper yet delicious Buzet and Cote de Duras, to the fine wines of Cahors and the world famous chateaux of Bordeaux. Buy it from the superbly stocked local supermarkets, caves and markets or get out into the countryside to visit the vineyards and chateaux and load up as you go. And as for a digestif how about an Armagnac (France’s oldest brandy) or a Pruneaux, both regional specialities?

Several of Lot et Garonne’s forty bastides (the most in France) are visible on the ridges to either side of the Lot Valley. These fortified hilltop towns were the “New towns” of their day and were constructed to a specific model centring not on the church or town hall but on the market place. The majority of them were built just before or during the Hundred Years War, between 1222 and 1307. They are all worth a visit for the architecture and views alone but many of them house superb restaurants and great markets. A list of the local bastides, their market days and restaurants is available on our website www.,labique.com.
With its rolling hills and valleys, the countryside here has been compared to that of Tuscany. Mediaeval villages, fantastic views, quiet shaded roads, fields of sunflowers, fruit orchards and rivers make travelling here a pleasure and you’ll need no reason to get out and about. Choose between car, bicycle, boat or foot and get out and explore. You never know what’s around the next corner.

Within a reasonable distance of La Bique we have Fishing, Golf, Horse riding, Boating, Canoeing, Ballooning, Walking, Cycling, Tennis, Wine tasting, Shopping, Antiques, Museums and Theme Parks. Details of all of these activities are available on our website, www.labique.com. Alternatively drop us a line with any enquiry and we’ll be pleased to help.

At La Bique itself we have the pool, table tennis, boules, board games, cards, DVDs and books.
For more regional information and activities check out the Lot et Garonne Conseil General website; it is superb: www.europa47.org/anglais

How to get there

La Bique What's nearby: Attractions Restaurants Click map icons for more information

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Air

Airport to La Bique Airlines
Agen 45 mins Aerocondor flys from Orly Sud (Paris) 3x daily
Bergerac 70 mins Ryan Air, Flybe
Bordeaux 90 mins Air France, Aer Lingus, bmibaby, British Airways
Toulouse 100 mins Air France, Aer Lingus, BMI, bmibaby, BA, Flybe, Easyjet

Train

Station to La Bique Line
Tonneins 11 mins Local train from Bordeaux to Agen
Marmande 30 mins Local train from Bordeaux to Agen
Agen 45 mins TGV from Bordeaux
Bordeaux 90 mins TGV from Paris

Ferry

Port to La Bique
Calais 10 hrs
Boulogne 9 ½ hrs
Cherbourg 8 ½ hrs
Le Havre 8 hrs
Caen 7 ¾ hrs
St Malo 7 hrs

If bringing your car we recommend Brittany Ferries overnight sailing from Portsmouth to St Malo but make sure you book a cabin. You’ll wake up in St Malo fresh, well fed and ready for an early start and you’ll be at La Bique by mid afternoon.

Car Rental

We’ve always found Europcar to be the cheapest and most convenient but rental brokers tigercarrental.net, holidaycars.org and francecarrental.com have recently come to our attention and they appear to offer discounted rates on Budget, Europcar, and Avis rentals from destinations not necessarily covered by those companies. They have rentals from all of the airports and stations listed below.

Travel Links

www.mappy.com
www.voyages-sncf.com
www.aerocondor.fr
www.tigercarrental.com
www.francecarrental.net
www.renault-rent.com
www.holidaycars.org

Activities near Clairac

Reviews

Review: 1 to 3 of 11

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19 Aug 2012

“TRULY AN AMAZING PROPERTY. EVERYTHING YOU COULD WISH FOR!” We all thoroughly enjoyed our week stay at this beautiful property. All rooms were to a very high standard and the bedlinen and towels were hotel quality. As a large group (6 adults and 5 children)... more

27 Jul 2012

“La Bique was amazing, we had a wonderful time.” From the pool to the pétanque pitch and the bikes, the kitchen to the spacious living room and private setting, the house had everything we needed, wanted and more. We had such a lovely time,... more

03 Jan 2012

“New Year's Eve at La Bique with friends” We really enjoyed our stay at La Bique. We were with friends (14 adults and 7 children) : the house offers all we need. We spent a lot of time in front of fireplace. It was perfect !

Review: 1 to 3 of 11

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Review: 4 to 6 of 11

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29 Sep 2011

“Excellent family farmhouse” We travelled with extended family and had a fabulous time. kids loved the den. Monique and Jean-claude who live next door are always there to help , They will even cook a meal for you ( we had a fab paella). Would recommend to famillies with children. The kids loved the pool. Can't wait to go back

10 Sep 2011

“The relaxing break as a family that we really needed... and got!” The weather may have been changeable but this did not effect our stay at Labique at all. We would recommend it to anyone wanting to chill out and relax. When not exploring the area, most of our time was spent in the fab pool or in the games room (we forgot how much fun table tennis, foosball & darts were to play!)! Claude & Monique at the farm next door were there if you needed anything (they are great cooks!) but respected our privacy which was appreciated. The house has so much character, tastefully decorated and everything you need is there. We were sad to leave it!

29 Aug 2011

“Wonderfull stay -” All the 14 member family enjoyed this one week together in La bique. Garden with flowers, good , clean and properly protected for kids ( 1 -9 yrs) swimming pool, a character property, several terraces, nice house large enough for us even on one rainy day. Barn's room with games for adults and "boule" area. Nice welcome from Jean Claude and Monique, who also solved any question and prepared and delivered local good cuisine on several occcasions

Review: 4 to 6 of 11

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Review: 7 to 9 of 11

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23 Aug 2011

“A great place to relax in the sun” We had a fantastic trip to LaBique and the neighbours were extremely helpful and cooked an amazing meal for us the night we arrived. The pool is lovely and most welcome during the hot lazy days. The local restaurants are great, especially Le Panorama nearby with it's fantastic views. - well worth a visit. Canoeing down the rivers is a must and the nearby town of Villneuve sur Lot was brilliant. A great holiday

23 Aug 2011

“Rural France” We had a great time at 'La Bique', it was great for all our family, the small children had a great time playing in the pool. The weather was very hot and a lot of sunbathing was done. The adults enjoyed a game of Petanque every evening with a serious knock out competition going on. Games room was also a bonus. The Kitchen is quite small but very well equipped for cooking and we cooked every evening plus barbequed. Monique and Jean Claude cooked for us, we did have a little difficulty deciding on a menu as they speak no English at all, even though we speak a little french eventually we decided on mixed salads (which were beautiful with great dressing) road duck, with green beans, and french fries with a beautiful mustard dressing which Monique was going to show us how to make but unfortunately we never got round to it. Followed by pruneaux tarte. The little lane to the rear of 'La Bique' takes you to Clairac along the scenic route which we did by bike every day - lovely little lane passing farms and then joining the river. We enjoyed the little beach area at Clairac and swam in the river - We found the river in other places not so clean. The restaurant/cafe at the beach serves good burgers and frites and is very reasonably priced. HIGHLIGHT - visiting the creperie in Clairac - a little gem. We all thought the best creperie we had every been to. Clairac has a small farmers market on the Thursday and we managed to purchase meet and vegetable for two meals which was very good. Fantastic Aubergines from Monique and Jean Claude plus courgettes, tomatoes, plums (of course). We ventured further afield to the Dordgone for a canoeing trp having done it before we decided we prefered the Dordogne to the Lot, but about one and a half hour trip so worth going for a day trip.

11 Aug 2011

“the perfect holiday” we had a wonderful stay at la Bique, with plenty of space(we were 6 adults and lots of kids). Compared to previous rental experiences everything was a much higher standard, wonderful beds and linen, a well equipped kitchen, lovely furniture, library, the list could go on for ever. In one the outbuildings is a lovely games room for the kids, next to the pool. The neighbors (Jean Claude and Monique) are farmers who own the land around the house, and will be happy to supply you with all sorts of incredibly delicious fresh produce(strawberries, plums, courgettes, tomatoes, salads....), and are a great source of information about the area, which is beautiful with lots to do. We will definitely come back for another action packed family holiday!

Review: 7 to 9 of 11

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Review: 10 to 11 of 11

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28 Jul 2011

“Great place, great holiday, just great!” Everyone really like the house, and esp. the pool and garden. Had some great bbqs and the managers who live next door were genuinely friendly and helpful - and their farm produce couldn't have been fresher. They cooked for us on the last night and frankly I wish they'd done the whole week - great local stuff and good value. We enjoyed the riverside walks into town and the evenings playing boules - even challenged the neighbours one night, but of course they won. We go somewhere different every year, but I think we'll give it a couple of years and be back. and the kids loved the games room - kept them busy most evenings, which was a result

11 Jul 2011

“Fantastic house for both young and old, relaxing or exploring” La Bique met our expectations and more. We went as a group of 3 families, each with 2 children with ages ranging from 2 to 7 and none of them wanted to come home. The house is fully set up for catering for both kids and adults with the pool, petanque and games room pretty much in constant use on the days we chose to just stay at the house and laze around. Our kids all spent so much time in the lovely warm pool that they should be like little Clairac prunes (delicacy of the region) by now. With a boulangerie (infact 2) and an adequate supermarket only 2kms away the morning patisserie run is also a doddle. After a prior years holiday that required a 2hr round trip to get to the supermarket and back this was a major selling point for us. The kitchen, although on the small side, is fully equipped with everything you could need and the webber gas bbq in the garden provides the opportunity to cook al fresco for eating at the two large outdoor tables. We only ate one meal inside in the 2 weeks we were there. The indoor decor is lovely with a great living area ample size for our 3 families. For anyone coming with older family, the ground floor bedroom with shower room adjacent would be ideal for easier access. The linen was better quality than many places we've stayed before and the large towels for the poolside were put to constant use. Andrew (the owner) and Jean-Claude and Monique (the next door neighbours who look after all the day to day requirements) were both brilliantly responsive to any queries, requests or arrangements - can't fault them at all. Clairac itself appears to be taking a bit of a hit from the recession, as are lots of areas of the world, with some of the museums and restaurants having shut down and some others appearing to operate on slightly unpredictable hours. Having said that, there are so many lovely places close by it didn't really matter. The boulangerie and supermarket were sufficient for us and we alternated days lazing about at La Bique and taking day trips to the surrounding areas recommended in the house manual - all of which were under 1hr drive away and many much less. Ended it all with highly competitive petanque-off accompanied by some nice wine - perfect

Review: 10 to 11 of 11

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Rental prices

Prices for group size 14
Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
	4 May 13	1 Jun 13	2000€ 2000	400€ 400	400€ 400	3 Nights
	1 Jun 13	6 Jul 13	2500€ 2500	500€ 500	500€ 500	3 Nights
	6 Jul 13	31 Aug 13	3000€ 3000	-	-	1 Week
	31 Aug 13	28 Sep 13	2500€ 2500	500€ 500	500€ 500	3 Nights
	28 Sep 13	21 Dec 13	1500€ 1500	300€ 300	300€ 300	3 Nights
	21 Dec 13	5 Jan 14	2500€ 2500	500€ 500	500€ 500	3 Nights
	5 Jan 14	3 May 14	1500€ 1500	300€ 300	300€ 300	3 Nights
	3 May 14	31 May 14	2000€ 2000	400€ 400	400€ 400	3 Nights
	31 May 14	5 Jul 14	2500€ 2500	500€ 500	500€ 500	3 Nights
	5 Jul 14	30 Aug 14	3000€ 3000	-	-	1 Week
	30 Aug 14	27 Sep 14	2500€ 2500	500€ 500	500€ 500	3 Nights
	27 Sep 14	20 Dec 14	1500€ 1500	300€ 300	300€ 300	3 Nights
	20 Dec 14	3 Jan 15	2500€ 2500	500€ 500	500€ 500	3 Nights

The property does not have weekend tariffs.

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

Availability

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

Contact the owner

* Required fields Please check the following errors: First name * Last name * Email *   Did you mean ""? Yes / No Phone number Arrival date Departure date   Ignore calendar - enquire anyway No. of adults No. of children Message * Send me ideas on where to stay

1 year listed You are contacting Andrew Cawte Landline n/a Mobile n/a Web Visit site Payment accepted Credit cards accepted Languages spoken The owner is based in Hong Kong and has advertised with Holiday Lettings since 2012. This farmhouse has received 11 reviews from previous guests.

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