St Antonin Noble Val holiday home rental, Varen with walking, balcony/terrace, internet access, telephone, rural retreat, TV, DVD

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Le Presbytere (house)

Home description

Le Presbytere is an elegant house retaining many of its period features. Its 3 large bedrooms will easily accommodate 6 adults, with room for two infants as well. In a tiny hamlet 2kms from the medieval village of Varen, with all services, the house is in stunning countryside, with wooded hillsides, river valleys, meadows filled with flowers. For nature lovers it couldn't be better. But for the adventurous the Aveyron gorge has exciting canoeing, all-terrain biking, horse riding.. Within 15kms you have a choice of ancient bastide villages, and only just further afield the towns of Albi, Cahors and Villefranche. History, art and music are on offer throughout the year. And if sophisticated shopping is on the list, Toulouse is just over an hour away.

Le Presbytere	Safe, warm pool
Pool with a view	Airy bedrooms

To see more photos please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/42276

The Midi-Pyrenees / Tarn-et-Garonne region

Varen is at the junction of three departments, Tarn et Garonne, Tarn and Aveyron. Each has its own ambiance, with Tarn et Garonne being the fruit and vegetable producing area, Tarn famous for the Gaillac wine and Aveyron for the meat it produces. Listing foodstuffs reflects the very French preoccupation with food - French cuisine is not renowned for nothing. The bastide towns and villages, such as Cordes-sur-Ciel, Najac and Villefranche de Rouergue, built on a grid of streets around a central square still remind you of the turbulent history: English invasions, Cathar struggles, the religious wars. Nowadays there is usually nothing more than colourful street markets and festivals to disturb the peace. Here you will find beautiful abbeys nestling in wooded valleys, hill-top villages, fascinating old places like St Antonin-Noble-Val, or Bruniquel or Puycelsi - you can keep on exploring for days. Local capital of Tarn, just 40kms away is Albi, famous in history, but with a magnificent cathedral, the Toulouse Lautrec museum and gallery and lovely old streets to wander around.
Most places are easily accessible, as French country roads are really not crowded, and often you can park for free!

St Antonin Noble Val / Varen area

Varen is a commune of about 700 souls, built originally about 900 years ago. By the river Aveyron. It has a superb chateau - today the mairie - an impressive deanery and narrow old streets full of ancient houses. It has all the usual commerces: boulangerie, pharmacy, epicerie, bar, post office, restaurant as well as a doctor's surgery. A lovely riverside walk after the homely market, with a coffee or apero in the bar is a great way to pass Saturday morning.
15 kms away is St Antonn-Noble-Val, the jewel of the spectacular Aveyron gorge. With reputedly more medieval buildings extant than most of England put together it is just fascinating to walk around the ancient streets. But Sunday morning sees the really colourful market, packed with superb home produced food and wine. Sitting for a coffee in the sunny street, or lunching in one of the sidewalk cafes is what France is all about.
This is also the centre of activity for the river, with canoe and bike hire, organised day trips in the canoes, even rock climbing on the sheer white cliffs of the gorge.

How to get there

BY AIR
Varen is very well served by Rodez (Ryanair), Toulouse (Easyjet, BA, Jet2, BMI Baby etc) and Carcassonne (Ryanair) airports . These airlines also offer a choice of UK departure points.There are a number of car hire facilities at both airports .
BY CAR
If driving from the channel ports, follow signs to Paris until you see signs to Bordeaux and then on to Toulouse –this will take you east around Paris. It is a good day's drive from all the channel ports, a bit less from the Brittany ports.

BY TRAIN
Varen has ts own station at Lexos, with a direct link to Toulouse. There is a very useful navette (shuttle) from the airport to the railway station.
There is a direct link to Montauban from Lille which links with Eurostar.

Activities near St Antonin Noble Val

Facilities

Further details indoors:
You enter the house via its carved stone doorway and solid wooden door into the hall with its lovely wooden staircase. The salon is 10 metres long, with a massive stone fireplace. Panelled wooden doors hide modern TV, DVD and CD players (UK satellite box and French free to air stations). Comfortable seating for all the guests, with books and games available, as well as a dining area which will easily seat 6 adults. The spacious kitchen has all modern conveniences in a traditional setting with a very practical kitchen table for breakfast or supper.
The bedrooms are on the second floor, two of them opening onto a balcony which runs the whole length of the house. All the rooms are at least 20m² and the two largest will easily take children's beds or cots. There is a large double bathroom, separate wc with shower rooms and toilets on the other floors.
The cellar, accessible from the rear terrace, has the laundry and lots of storage. The toilet and shower here are ideal for the pool.

Further details outdoors:
The kitchen opens onto an intimate little terrace, ideal for breakfast or dining for 4, and at the lower level is a large terrace ideal for larger groups. This can be used for secure parking via the large iron gates (though you will feel very safe here as crime is still very rare). The small private garden has a large swimming pool, with sun beds. The pool is protected by an opening abri, which meets the strict French safety norms and also keeps the temperature up and the UV rays out - both vital with small children.
There is a separate sunroom, which can be used to sit in and read, or for connecting to the internet via a broadband connection (but bring you own computer!).
There is a barbecue, table tennis table , 2 bikes (hire more from the local villages if you want) and two family friendly canoes moored at the river (again, hire from the many outlets on the river for a more exciting experience).

Further details

+ English and French spoken by the owners, who live just 5 minutes away.
+ Well behaved dogs or cats welcomed
+ The garden is terraced with stone steps, so small children, though welcome, need to be supervised.
+Sorry, no smoking indoors, but lots of room outside.

Conditions

+ A deposit of 25% of the rental required with the booking. Refundable up to six weeks before arrival.
+ Balance due six weeks before arrival.
+ A breakages deposit of 200 euros must be paid with the final payment. It will be refunded if appropriate within 7 days of your leaving.
+ Payment may be made in euros or pounds sterling.

Rental rates

Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
Low season	2 Feb 08	29 Mar 08	395£  395	0-	0-	1 Week
Mid season	29 Mar 08	25 May 08	595£  595	0-	0-	1 Week
High season	25 May 08	20 Jul 08	795£  795	0-	0-	1 Week
Peak season	20 Jul 08	31 Aug 08	995£  995	0-	0-	1 Week
Mid season	31 Aug 08	1 Nov 08	595£  595	0-	0-	1 Week
Low season	1 Nov 08	21 Dec 08	395£  395	0-	0-	1 Week
Christmas	21 Dec 08	28 Dec 08	795£  795	0-	0-	1 Week
New Year	28 Dec 08	4 Jan 09	595£  595	0-	0-	1 Week

NB: Prices may be subject to change at the owner's discretion.
Rental rates are for eight people including children. (Max six adults)
Holidays which overlap two charging periods are charged pro-rata.Bank holidays will be at the next highest rate.
25% deposit required with booking, refundable up to six weeks before arrival.
Special off peak rates may apply to couples. Please ask for details.
No extra charges apply, except heating the pool if required. Give requirements with booking.
Payment by sterling cheque, or if preferred in euros please ask for exchange rate to apply. Sorry, no credit cards.

Availability notes

To see availability please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/42276

Contact owner

To contact this owner please visit: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/42276

Contact details for home 42276 Please mention Holiday Lettings
Name:	Valerie Johnstone
Tel:	+33 563 640673
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Contact Notes: Email
Advertiser joined: 20 Nov 2007 This property added: 20 Nov 2007

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