Sorry - no pets allowed Suitable for children No smoking at this property Self-catering
Home description
WELCOME TO LE MANOIR DES COUTS!
NEW: Solar pool heating (warms the water by 3 to 5°c ecologically ), UK Sat TV and painting lessons available.
LE MANOIR DES COUTS : Enjoy the charm and authenticity of a rare 16th Century Manor House featuring a period gothic fireplace, some beautiful carved windows with interior stone seats, an arched stone sink, some superb irregular flagstones fitted with great skill and the impressive, huge original beams. We have taken great care in restoring this rare property, according to local tradition and have selected antique furniture to suit its period and style. An article concerning this house's restoration can be found in the January 2006 issue of French Property News.
History, architecture, garden and art lovers (painting lessons available) will much enjoy this little manor house which very ancient roots are confirmed by a local legend involving a Carolingian knight and the fairy of the local spring as well as aerial photographs revealing the presence of a Celtic Enclosure!.. We equally welcome families with children who will find a private, heated pool in a sheltered, enclosed garden and many toys, games, books as well as a cot, high chair, baby bath etc..
Situated in a peaceful hamlet, it is the ideal location to relax and discover the region's well known sites : Poitiers/Futuroscope, the Venise Verte (45mns), La Rochelle/Ile de Ré, the Monkey Valley and the many local medieval towns, villages, neolithic, Gallo-Roman sites and not least, a great market in Lezay and some good restaurants only minutes from the house!..
This house has also been restored to be as ecologically sound as possible, the thick stone walls have been re limed according to local tradition to increase their insulation and have been washed with warm, natural pigments, no need for air conditioning, they keep the property beautifully cool during hot summer days!.. The wooden windows are either double glazed or single glazed with wooden shutters, the uninhabited first floor is insulated (200mm), there is a woodstove and all electric appliances are A rated.
-PAINTING LESSONS : We are professionnal artists, trained at the Royal Academy School, London and Edinburgh College of Arts, with wide teaching experience, should you wish to seek inspiration from the beautiful local surroundings and improve your painting skills, Keith Dunkley, former tutor will be pleased to offer advice and the possiblity of painting lessons, for a few hours or a few days, catering for your level. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more details.. Keith is fully registered with the Maison des Artistes, siret no : 400 663 316 00018.
Front façade with beautiful carved window
Enjoy the private, heated pool!
Where the lady of the Manor used to sleep!..
The very spacious living- room
To see more photos please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/7772
The Poitou-Charentes / Vendee / Deux Sevres region
THE POITOU-CHARENTES REGION :
-POITIERS :Our visitors have been pleasantly surprised by the pleasant atmosphere of the town and have enjoyed its very rich heritage : Gallo Roman remains in its museum, its very rare 4th century Baptistère St Jean, the beautiful romanesque church, Notre Dame la Grande, the Dukes of Aquitaine's Palace and many other medieval and Renaissance buildings, not to mention a good selection of shops and boutiques. Children and adolescents have enjoyed the latest attractions of the Futuroscope.
-LA ROCHELLE : Its wealth acquired through its sea trading is still very visiible through its rich heritage, there is a great choice of restaurants and a great ambiance, don't miss the aquarium!.The trendy ILE DE RE and its lovely sandy beaches should not be missed either..
-THE VENISE VERTE : Enjoy your chance to have fun rowing in the wrong direction, the Marais poitevin in only 45mns away..
-LA VALLEE DES SINGES: :Will you go and see the many species of monkeys including a very happy family of gorillas or will you become the focal point of their attention?... A pleasant outing in a well designed park, only 20mns.away.
-SANXAY : An impressive Gallo-Roman site about 25mns away.
.-COGNAC, its vineyards and cellars are approximately 70mns.
-ROMAN/GALLO ROMAN sites : 10/30mns.
-TENNS,,FISHING: 5mns, RIDING : 15mns. GOLF: 45mns, FRESH WATER LAKE, CANOEING : 25mns, GO KARTING : 15mns.
Melle / Lezay area
-MELLE : A pleasant little town featuring 3 beautiful romanesque churches, one of which is Unesco listed, an ancient silver mine and its carolingian garden.
-LEZAY : It offers one of the largest markets around, much appreciated by all our visitors, on tuesday morning and the usual supermarket and shops. There are plenty of untouched, medieval villages nearby and a choice of good restaurants.
-BOUGON : An impressive NEOLITHIC site featuring several large tumuli and a well designed museum.
Single beds (2), Double beds (2), Cots (1), Dining seating for 6, Lounge seating for 6, Sleeps maximum of 6
Other:
Linen and towels provided. Highchair available.
Outdoors:
Balcony / Terrace, Private garden, BBQ
Access:
Parking space
Further details indoors: ACCOMMODATION : The house is fully detached, its ground floor accommodation 112m2 sleeps 6 and a baby (cot, high chair, baby bath provided), children are welcomed..
-Living room : A very spacious room (43m2), with the gothic fireplace and stove, comfortable sofas and armchairs, a hand painted antique buffet, French and UK SAT. TV, DVD player, a choice of books and many old fashioned wooden games and board games. The large size of this room has allowed us to install a four poster bed with a curtain surround to provide the facility of a third bedroom.
-Kitchen: : Newly equipped with a Smeg stainless steel gas cooker, microwawe; fridge freezer, dishwasher, electric coffee machine, toaster, kettle etc.. A glazed door lead to the pretty, enclosed garden.
-Dining Room: With the impressive stone arched sink and an antique Henry II buffet with its table and 6 chairs.
-Utility room : Washing machine, hoover, iron ironing table, clothes- rack, clothes cupboard and cleaning utensils.
-Double Bedroom : One double bed, a cot, one wardrobe and one chest of drawers
-Twin Bedroom : Two single beds and one chest of drawers.
Further details outdoors: THE GARDEN: We are keen gardeners and have enjoyed re- designing the garden to suit the house's ancient character, with a 16th c style herb garden, (help yourself for the barbecue or mint tea!..) two wooden pergolas covered by ancient vines, sheltering a picnic table and a bench. Relax in the deck chars and enjoy the scent of lilly of the valley, lilac, old roses, lavender, eucalyptus! jasmin etc..A solar heated wooden pool is available for your exclusoive use.
Further details
-Changeover day : Saturday.
-A non refundable deposit of 25% is required to secure a booking. Bookings are confirmed only upon receipt of payment. The balance is payable eight weeks before arrival date
-A security deposit of £150 is required as a separate cheque with the final balance, it will be refunded within two weeks of your departure subject to satisfactory property inspection.
Conditions
For stays over two weeks, out of season, please contact us for rates.
Rental rates
Rental prices originally quoted in: British £
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28 Sep 08
1 Nov 08
450£ 450
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3 Jan 09
28 Mar 09
395£ 395
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28 Mar 09
30 May 09
495£ 495
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30 May 09
27 Jun 09
595£ 595
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27 Jun 09
18 Jul 09
695£ 695
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18 Jul 09
29 Aug 09
850£ 850
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29 Aug 09
26 Sep 09
600£ 600
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26 Sep 09
3 Oct 09
495£ 495
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NB: Prices may be subject to change at the owner's discretion.
All prices are per week, they include gas, water, 12kw of electricity per day (heating will be charged according to meter reading..).
Guestbook
Alun and Kate, Reigate, Surrey, England. We are delighted to be the first guests to write in your book! Our stay at the Manoir has been everything we wanted from our holiday and more. The beautiful house and garden is a testament to all your hard work and creativity. We hope that your future guests love it as much as we did, a week is too short a stay! We will certainly be recommending the Manoir to our friends and we hope to see you all again soon ourselves. Thanks again to you all, particularly Francine- for all your efforts in making us feel at home. The wine and roses were the very least we could do! All the best for the future
Terence, Sally, Helena and Teddy, Buckinghamshire, England. Thank you for a lovely stay in your manoir, we have enjoyed ourselves hugely and there has been masses to do without going too far. Thank you particularly for our painting lessons which have inspired me to get started again and which the children enjoyed too. Our best meal was at the brasserie at the hostellerie de l’Abbaye at Celles-sur-Belle which was full of French families. We also loved the valley of the donkeys and the tumuli at Bougon- also one on the road near St Soline, the Abbey gardens at Celles, the beautiful churches in Melle and of course Futuroscope where there were no queues, may because it was a grey day! Two weeks goes too quickly! My mum missed the kayaking and canoeing at Lambon. Great fun! We also went go-karting at Poitiers, an amazing area with so much to do. Thanks a lot, Teddy, age 12.
"Colin, Fionnuala and the girls, Enfield, England. Thank you for letting us have two weeks in your lovely house, le manoir has been a quiet and charming base for our exploration of Poitou Charente. We have enjoyed the pool during the heatwave!.
Michelle, Remi, Susie, Jamie and Liliane, London. Wow ! What a lovely house, what a lovely time. We especially enjoyed the lovely herb garden! To anyone else visiting, Cognac is especially worth a visit, go the scenic route..
Sharon and Henry, Hereford England. A really peaceful and characterful property, just the place to unwind. Also great hospitality by Keith and Francine. Spent a lot of the week trying to visualise how the village would have looked in the 17th and 18th century. Visits included : Champdeniers : Lovely unspoilt church, don’t miss going down the crypt. Parthenay : Historic town with large “old quarter”. .Coulon : Small but very pretty. Don’t miss the 90mns boatride along the little waterways . Bougon : The Tumuli are a “must see”. There are 10 or so, stone built, many you cango inside. Most impressive and 4/5000 BC. Lezay : The Tuesday market is very big. Everything including tractors and horse riding gear..
Ian, Susan and Libby, Tadcaster, England "What a fantastic week we've had here. We've had a very lazy time - helped by the great weather and the pool! The house is amazing and had everything we needed - even for an 8 months old baby. Tuesdays market at Lezay was a favourite, lots of lovely tasty local produce. Wish we were staying longer!"
Availability notes
To see availability please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/7772
Click to view availability for this property.
Contact owner
To contact this owner please visit: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/7772
Contact details for home 7772
Please mention Holiday Lettings
Name:
Francine Dunkley
Tel:
+33 (0)5 49297232
Fax:
+33 (0)5 49297232
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Contact Notes: E mail or phone up to 20h
Advertiser joined: 10 Nov 2005 This property added: 10 Nov 2005
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