Condom holiday farmhouse rental with private pool, walking, beach/lake nearby, log fire, internet access, telephone, rural retreat

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Le Courbet (farmhouse)

Home description

There is a long drive to the house,partly dating from 1600, situated in private grounds of 1.6 acres and which is 2kms outside Mas D'Auvignon village surrounded by farmland and a vineyard. There is a fully equipped kitchen with dining table and a comfortable living room with fireplaceand woodburning stove. The house contains a large and varied selection of books. The fixed telephone is available for use with calls to fixed lines in the U.K., Europe, North America and Canada free of charge. The entrance hallway has stairs leading up to an office area with sofas and with a Canon printer/scanner/printer and with an Orange livebox for wifi internet access.
On the ground floor there are 3 double bedrooms all comfortably furnished with wardrobe and drawer space, two with double beds and one with twin beds. A cot is provided together with a small playpen. There is a newly renovated bathroom with w.c. and a separate Italian shower with w.c. which could be ensuite with the twin bedded room. There is a utility area with washing machine, clothes dryer and handbasin with doors leading out to a drying area with washing line.
The Pool is alarmed in accordance with regulations and fenced for extra security. There is a table and chairs for use by the Pool and a further teak table and chairs outside the kitchen overlooking the magnificent view. There is ample shade on the lower lawn in front of the house with further seating. For al fresco dining there is a simple barbeque and a Portugese terracotta oven ideal for Pizzas or delicious wood flavoured meat.
There is a pond in the garden which is often dry in summer or with very little water but, if not, very small children should be supervised.

Front Of the House	The front of the house showing the eating area by the Kitchen
The Eating Area overlooking the Countryside	Private pool

To see more photos please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/53382

The Midi-Pyrenees / Gers region

The Gers is in the S.W. of France and is the country of D'Artagnan and the Musketeers. It is rich in history the English, in the 100 years war, having built many of the Bastide villages. Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine once walked here. Pilgrims crossed the Departement and still do on the Route de Saint Jacques leading to Spain and Santiago de Compostela. Many of those routes are now being restored as are many of the other old routes between villages making it an ideal place for walking. Maps are available in the house.
It is the country of fortified Bastide towns and villages, sunflowers, gastronomy - poultry, ducks, geese, confit, the famous Lectoure melons, pastis gascon (traditional cake), foie gras, cheese from the Pyrenees including brebis (sheep's cheese) which you can buy directly from the shepherds in the mountains, prunes from Agen, wines such as Saint Mont, Madiran, Tarriquet, the aperitif Floc de Gascon, Pousse Rapière from Chateau Monluc at St Puy nearby and of course Armagnac which, to many, is superior to Cognac.
The Pyrenees are within 80 kms and are strikingly clear on some days on the horizon from the house except in summer when it is often too hazy. Many visitors take a day trip into the mountains
Day trips are also possible to both Toulouse and Bordeaux either by car or train. There is an SNCF office in Condom for easy booking.
The rolling countryside with it's sun splashed stone farmhouses dotted on the landscape surrounded by sunflowers in season is stunningly beautiful. Many of the Chateaux are surrounded by vineyards and visits are possible.
The average daytime temperature in July is about 28°C. The evenings are normally very warm and balmy ideal for al fresco dining and swimming.
In summer the villages put on al fresco dinners, vide greniers (car boot sales), fairs and all manner of other entertainment. Visitors are welcomed to all of these. There are night markets (normally in July and August) in addition to the daytime ones, jazz at Marciac with very well known names - see www.jazzinmarciac.com and 3 days of Tempo Latino at Vic Fezensac in late July - see www.tempo-latino.com. There is car racing at Nogaro - see www.circuit-nogaro.com. Agen and Auch both have horse racing tracks mainly used for trotting.
The Spanish influence in the Gers is very apparent with bull rings in many villages and towns from Vic Fezensac south. For those not inclined to see the Corrida you can go to the Course Landaise which is more artistic and the animals are not killed.

Condom area

Mas D'Auvignon itself is a small Bastide village. The now empty chateau (which fascinates many passers by)was built following the design of a Welsh castle in the 1300s. The old bastide walls are still apparent in part as is part of the old moat. There is a village bar which opens when someone feels inclined to open it! Very often on a Sunday lunchtime.

Visit:
Castera Verduzan and Lectoure. Thermal baths. Have a massage. There is a swimming lake with facilities for children at Castera as well as a race course with occasional trotting and flat racing in summer.
Larresingle. A small once moated beautiful village with its 13th century castle known as 'The Little Carcasonne' of the Gers. Visit the museum, shops and creperie.
Fources. The only round bastide in the Gers with its shady 'square' and restaurants and bars and interesting antique/second hand shop.
Condom. Many shops, restaurants, boat trips on the River Baise, Armagnac museum.
La Romieu. Very pretty village. Bar, beautiful gardens just outside the village, church cloisters. Note the stone cats and read the history of this!
Abbaye de Flaran. 12th Century Cistercian monastery, has exhibitions of Art and musical evenings.
Seviac. Remains of 4th Century Gallo-Roman villa.
Eauze. Wonderful Thursday market. Museum well worth a visit includes the finds of a Roman villa discovered there including the most beautiful jewellery.
Auch. The capital of the Gers; See the statue of D'Artagnan, the Cathedral with its stunning carved figures, and the shops and old streets.
There are tourist offices in La Romieu, Condom (behind the Cathedral), Larresingle and elsewhere.
Visit the Chateaux in the area including Monluc at St Puy and have a meal or visit the shop at the Ferme de Terre Blanche on the way to St Puy.

Shopping:
Supermarkets at Condom - Intermarché and Champion, Lectoure - Intermarché, Fleurance - Casino and Champion, Auch - LeClerc and others, Agen - Geant and others.

Market days:
A list is in the house; the best is Fleurance on a Tuesday and Eauze on a Thursday. It is best to go in the morning for the atmosphere as some stalls disappear after lunch. The French are early risers!

Activities:
Tennis in village. Ask at the Mairie.
Watersports and boating on the River Baise from Condom, canoing from Beaucaire.
Fishing
Walking
Golf near Eauze (good restaurant)
Horse riding at Valence sur Baise

Restaurants:
There are many good restaurants in the area from Michelin starred (3 within easy driving distance) to simple set menu cafés often extremely good value for money. There are also fermes auberge well worth a visit. Restaurant details will be left in the house.

How to get there

Fly to Toulouse which is then a one and a half hour drive to the property. The Airport is served by B.A., bmi baby, Flybe, Easijet and Air France. It is possible to fly from London Gatwick or Heathrow or some regional airports in the U.K. such as Bristol.
It is also possible to fly to Bordeaux which is a two hour drive to the property.
Hire cars are readily available at both Airports e.g. Europcar

Train: take Eurostar from St. Pancras/Ebbsfleet/Ashford to Paris Nord. Metro or Taxi to Paris Austerlitz TGV to Agen 45 minutes from the property.

Car: Take the ferry to any of the Channel Ports or Euro Tunnel. The driving times vary between 7 hours to 11 hours depending on the Port of arrival the quickest being from St. Malo,served by Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth, via Rennes, Nantes, Bourdeaux and exit 7 at Agen. Or by ferry with Brittany Ferries to Santander or P & O to Bilbao in Spain and then take the Motorway to Biarritz and to the Gers.

Activities near Condom

Facilities

Further details indoors:
Linen and towels are provided but not swimming towels and guests are asked to provide their own.
There is a selection of CDs.
Logs if used may be charged for.
At certain times it may be possible to arrange for babysitting, ironing or cleaning if required.
The fridge is a fridge/freezer with a large fridge capacity and smaller separate freezer above.
The dishwasher has 6 place settings.
There are 4 pool loungers with comfortable covers.
There is good outside lighting for those late night returns.

Further details outdoors:
There is a tiled car port for undercover parking as well as the driveway to the side of the house.
There is a fenced paddock to the rear and a stable; if required for horse use please enquire. There would be an additional charge.

Further details

Although a paradise for children judging from past comments, particularly with the varied wildlife such as red squirrels, buzzards, deer, lizards and wild boar (the latter occasionally seen), please do read the comments about the pond, if not dry at the time, with regard to small children. The owners can take no responsibility.
Smokers are permitted but it would be appreciated if this could be restricted to the external areas and any cigarette ends removed.

Conditions

Prices include facilities as described plus water and electricity.
The property will be cleaned and prepared for arrival with beds made up.

A deposit of 25% is payable on booking and the balance plus £200 security deposit is payable 8 weeks before arrival. The security deposit is to cover any damage to the property, the pool, house or contents and additional telephone calls not included as free (see earlier).

A ,welcome pack will be provided on arrival consisting of a bottle of local wine, butter, bread, coffee, tea, milk and a packet of loo rolls. A few additional items can be purchased for you if ordered in advance and payment will be required for these additional items; if required please discuss with the owners.

Rental rates

Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
June - July 2008	6 Jun 08	4 Jul 08	600£  600	0-	0-	1 Week
July to September 2008	4 Jul 08	6 Sep 08	800£  800	0-	0-	1 Week
September 2008	6 Sep 08	27 Sep 08	600£  600	0-	0-	1 Week

NB: Prices may be subject to change at the owner's discretion.
Payment is preferable by Bank Transfer but can be made by cheque if drawn on a U.K. Bank. If you wish to pay in Euros please discuss with the owners.
Prior to June and after the end of September 2008 the owners are in residence and the property is not available for letting.

Guestbook

We had a perfectly wonderful time in your part of heaven they call Gascony. Thank you for a perfect holiday.
2004. The Collett family.

We really love coming here. Thank you Marion and Edward - and here's to next August.
1999 - 2008 The Lawrence-Smyth family.

Just a short week here on our 6th visit to this fantastic place... Thank you. C'est le Paradiso! It was a stunning week.
2002 The Newman family.

We hope to return to Le Courbet in the future. We note that many previous visitors frequently return and we can see why. There are many sights and we also enjoyed the peace and charm of Le Courbet.
2000. The Harries family.

Availability notes

To see availability please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/53382

Contact owner

To contact this owner please visit: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/53382

Contact details for home 53382 Please mention Holiday Lettings
Name:	Marion Woolley
Tel:	+33 (0)5 62285836
Mobile:	+33 (0)6 30461673
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Languages:
Contact Notes: E-mail or fixed telephone line. 22nd May to 30 Sept. e-mail
Advertiser joined: 1 Apr 2008 This property added: 1 Apr 2008

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