Montignac holiday studio rental, Thenon with walking, beach/lake nearby, balcony/terrace, gym, rural retreat, TV, DVD

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Chez Anita (studio)

Home description

This comfortable studio is an ideal base for a couple or two friends who enjoy outdoor activities. On the ground floor of a traditional Perigordian-style house in an acre of wooded garden, the Studio has its own entrance from a garden terrace, a barbecue and garden furniture. Red squirrels, cuckoos, woodpeckers and birds of prey have all been seen or heard from the garden. There are various seating and picnic areas in the garden to entice you to sit and read or enjoy an aperitif at sunset. A welcoming bottle of wine awaits your arrival.

Situated on a designated walk (randonee), which is a pleasant one mile stroll to a lake beach, fishing, and a May-September open air lakeside bar/restaurant with free live concerts (http://guinguetang.com/calendrier.php). It is only a 1km walk to the nearest bakery, and a Tuesday morning market.

Randonee guides are available from Thenon Tourist office, which is open all year round and has an events calendar (www.causses-et-vezere.fr). There are prehistoric caves, ancient churches & medieval chateaux to explore, such as Chateaux de Losse and Hautefort.

Garden access studio	Ample parking
Living area	Corner kitchen

To see more photos please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/78682

The Aquitaine / Dordogne / Dordogne region

The Perigord Noir area of Acquitaine is famous for its forests, chateaux and prehistoric caves such as Lascaux and Les Eyzies, casting a spell over your senses with its beautiful scenery and gourmet food. The gentle hilly landscape is laced with little used roads, and limestone villages, golden in the summer sunshine. It is the land of Richard the Lionheart and The 100 Years War, a time when the English destroyed Thenon Chateau, leaving only one tower which is now incorporated into the church.

Visit intact medieval towns like Sarlat, with its twice weekly markets, selling walnuts, truffles, and foie gras. Spend an afternoon wine-tasting in the vinyards of Bergerac. Pecharmant vinyards are 45 miles away, or you can track down the elusive Cheateau de Thenon wine in the local area...

There are many Limoges pottery shops and showrooms to the north, inbetween St Yrieux and Limoges, some in beautiful settings with lakeside restaurants nearby.

You will be bewitched and beguiled by the living history around you, from the paintings and cave homes of prehistoric man, through villages touched by the 100 Years War, to the Roman churches and temple ruins. The regional capital of Perigueux sums it up with its medieval and Roman towns merging into one. All this in a climate that is usually mild, with warmer, drier and longer summers than in England (climate change permitting).

Montignac / Thenon area

The Dordogne is known as the "land of a 1000 chateaux". The nearest ones to the Studio are Chateau de Losse (11 miles) and Chateau de Hautefort (15 miles), and the fairytale Chateau de Jumilhac is approximately 30 miles to the north - on the way to the Limoges pottery showrooms...

Thenon is in the Causses et Vezere area, famous for its WILD ORCHIDS, TRUFFLES and RED SQUIRRELS. You can book yourself on a fact-finding session about truffles, or search for the varied orchids or mushrooms (in season)... or just sit in the garden reading a book. The two-hour lunch thrives, and if you over do it, there's a HAMMAM (Turkish baths) up in the hills where you can book a massage or linger in the jacuzzi, or enjoy the view and the tea

MONTIGNAC is 8 miles away (9 miles to the Lascaux prehistoric caves) and has a Wednesday and Saturday market. Try a kayak or canoe on the River Vezere from Montignac to the Chateau de Losse, St Leon-sur-Vezere or beyond. It hosts a wonderful Festival of Music and Dance towards the end of July, when dancing in the streets happens every day. At other times there's a wide choice of eating places, including romantic riverside restaurants, and an Irish Bar. Mini-golf is available near the river Vezere. On your way from Thenon you can even stop off for a game of croquet, just outside the bar in AURIAC-EN-PERIGORD.

THENON offers a traditional Tuesday market, a daily farmers' market in season, and a variety of shops, restaurants, bars and all amenities, including estate agents for house-hunters. It also has its own ancient forest with tree top walks, swings and pulleys (www.appel-de-la-foret.com). It is approximately 23 miles from Brive, Perigueux and Sarlat, where there are cultural activities all year round.

CYCLING ROUTES are signposted from the town hall. There are 22 RAMBLING ROUTES between 3km - 18km, a total of 213km to walk in and around Thenon and its 12 villages and hamlets. Thenon Tourist Office website (www.causses-et-vezere.fr) outlines the history of all the villages and the area, as well as giving a calendar of local events. The staff in the office are charming and helpful, and speak English.

Relax at the many VILLAGE FETES and fairs, including Thenon's Agricultural Fair in August. There's a market every day in one village or another, as well as an amazing half-mile long market at Sarlat on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Sunday markets at Rouffignac and St Genies. Try your bartering skills at vide greniers (car boots) and brocante fairs.

Thenon's history can be traced back to pre-Roman times. The oldest part of the village is around the church; it is only a short stroll from the church to a picnic viewpoint, where you can see the lake below or admire the distant views. There's a lakeside beach and an open-air restaurant/bar(May-September), where you can have a meal or a drink and enjoy a free concert.(www.guinguetang.com/index.php), Holidaymaker fishing permits are obtainable, in season, and there are public tennis courts just opposite l'Appel de la Foret.

Within walking distance, Thenon village offers several restaurants such as the Bambou Pizza and Ice Cream Parlour, Chez Marie or Le Relais des Chasseurs, where traditional local menus are offered. Le Denicheur has a separate bar, as well as restaurant, where bar snacks and light meals are available as well as some musical evenings. The Ti' Bar (was The Prune) is in the middle of the Tuesday market and a meeting place for both farmers and tourists. Thenon is a working agricultural village with its own farmer's co-operative where you can buy local wine and produce, as well as everything you might need in the countryside.

On the practical side there is a mini-supermarket, garage, Post Office and bank, as well as a ladies clothes shop, gift shop, a craft shop, a semi-retired clogmaker, traditional bakers,a newsagents, hairdressers, chemists and three estate agents (Also doctors, dentists and vets for emergencies!).

How to get there

BY AIR
Ryanair and Flybee fly to Bergerac Roumaniere Airport(49 miles) and Limoges Bellegarde Airport (69 miles). BMI Baby and Easyjet fly to Bordeaux Airport(105 miles).

BY ROAD
Thenon has its own motorway junction on the A89 Bordeaux to Brive motorway. It is called the Thenon junction, but is 5 miles from Thenon village(!) We usually drive from Boulogne via Rouen, Chartres, Orleans, Limoges, then cross-country to Thenon. The tolls cost €20 using this route, but it is a prettier and nearer drive from Caen.

BY TRAIN
The simplest direct train route from England is by Eurostar to Lille, then you only have to change platforms to catch the train from Lille to Brive-la-Gaillard(one direct service each way daily, but other one-change journeys). If you look on the TGV website a couple of months before you travel, you can usually find bargain tickets called "Prems". (I've just booked 1st class tickets for December 2009 at €50 each way Brive-Lille.)

Thenon is on the Bordeaux-Perigueux-Brive train line. There are trains to Paris from both Brive and Perigueux(a 4 hour journey).

WITHOUT A CAR
It's lovely cycling countryside, and cyclists are usually well respected on the roads. Otherwise, you would have to plan sightseeing around the railway stations (Thenon station is 2.5 miles from the gite), and an infrequent local bus service that runs from Perigueux to Sarlat via Thenon. Taxis are not the same service as in the UK; they double as amburlances for non-urgent cases, and usually have to be booked well in advance.

Activities near Montignac

Facilities

Further details indoors:
+ The 27 m.sq ground-floor studio has a corner kitchenette, and partially divided off sleeping area.
+ Furnished with pine dresser, drawers, dining table and chairs, oak wardrobe,
+ Comfortable sofa, and standard double (140cm) bed
+ The shower room was totally refurbished in 2008.
+ Washing machine near the boiler room where walking/cycling kit can be dried.
+ Cycles or fishing tackle can be locked in the garage.

Further details outdoors:
* Various seating areas around the garden, plus your own patio furniture
* The gym is next door to the studio (cycle, rowing machine, multi-gym, weights, dartboard, etc.)
* Parking near the studio in a gated and fully fenced garden.
* Possible to manage without a car, station 2.5 miles, several trains daily to Perigueux, Brive and beyond.

Further details

· Welcome pack provided on arrival
· Garden is shared with the owners of the house, who have small dogs
· English owners/French speakers

CHILDREN: Supervised children possible. The site is hilly, and we have small dogs, who love visitors. The orchard is great for imaginative games, with lots of hiding places, but it is steep in places. Cot available. Please discuss your needs and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Conditions

· Own pet possible but extra €50 euros damage/cleaning deposit required
· English-speaking owners on hand to answer any questions, and to help with your French.
· Cot available, but children must be supervised because of sloping site
· Some aids for the infirm in shower room, (doors 31"-33” wide + patio doors from terrace).
· Not fully adapted for wheelchairs, but the bed can be turned to allow more access from side.
· Fairly level access from terrace into studio, but step up into shower room/small ramp possible

Rental rates

Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
LOW SEASON	16 Nov 09	1 May 10	180£ 164	0-	0-	5 Nights
MID-SEASON	1 May 10	3 Jul 10	220£ 200	0-	0-	5 Nights
HIGH SEASON	3 Jul 10	29 Aug 10	275£ 250	0-	0-	1 Week
AUTUMN 2010	29 Aug 10	30 Oct 10	225£ 205	0-	0-	5 Nights

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

*** our rates are inclusive of electricity and gas

* See tick box converter above prices for sterling and euros conversions

* DISCOUNT OF 10% off 2nd week of any 2-week booking

* 5-DAY rate is weekly price less 15% eg 5 days in May €220-€33 = €187 euros

* We can accept payments by cheque or bank transfer in GBP or Euros

* £50 sterling cheque or €50 euro cheque deposit for provisional booking

* Remainder payable one calendar month before arrival in EUROS confirms booking

PAYMENTS IN FRANCE

· Refundable Security deposit €100 or €150 if you are bringing a pet - please discuss first

(returnable within 2 weeks if no deductions)

· €35 cleaning cost per booking if studio is not clean by 10 am on day of departure

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-o0o- EASTER 2010 Thurs 1st April - Tuesday 6 April(5 nights), only £150 -o0o-

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Guestbook for Chez Anita

"What can I say: views, food, rest, history, awesome." (EP, New Zealand)

“Merci pour tout. Cette semaines c’est fantastique!!!” Brisa & Quique (Spain)

“Thank you, we had such a lovely time exploring, swimming , going to markets and relaxing. We will return home calm and sunkissed.” Nicole, David & Hani ( Sussex)

“Had a very nice stay in this beautiful countryside, and very good hosts.” Marie-Jeanne & John (Cheshire)

“Lovely warm welcome, great gite and has all one could need. Delightful setting.” James & Sian (Devon)

Can’t fault: lovely, peaceful, relaxing home, and Anita and John were so welcoming. We fell in love with Boston too! Tim & Lucy (Norfolk)

Availability

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

Availability notes:

Send Enquiry

To contact this advertiser please visit: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/78682

Contact details for the advertiser of home 78682
Name:	Anita Layland
Tel:	+33 553 061466
Be aware of time-zones Please mention Holiday Lettings when contacting this advertiser
Languages:
Contact Notes: email or evening phone call
Holidaymaker FAQs
Advertiser joined: Jan 2009

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