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

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Old spinning mill (house)

Home description

The calm of the surroundings and the easy access make this an ideal spot for holidays offering both relaxation and varied activities – whether sporting, sightseeing or gastronomic. The house is just 2 miles from the small medieval town of Saint Antonin Noble Val, in the river Aveyron gorges area. There is plenty to see and do in the surrounding area, including walking, cycling, canoeing, climbing, pot-holing, horse-riding, tennis and golf, as well as the pleasures offered by the local restaurants, vineyards and markets, the beautiful and uncrowded countryside, and by the ancient towns and villages of the region.

The house has its own private pool, set in a large garden. Tables and chairs in the garden, kitchen and conservatory allow convivial group dining in all weathers. The four bedrooms (one of which can easily hold 4 single beds) are light and spacious and, with 1 shared and 2 en-suite bathroom/toilets, provide pleasant and flexible first-floor accommodation - which is completed by a double sofa-bed in one of the ground-floor reception rooms. Spaciousness and flexibility are also a feature of the ground floor, which includes a large kitchen, conservatory, 2 reception rooms and large games-room (with plenty of space to use the bar, table-tennis and snooker table simultaneously!)

house & pool from front garden	front of house from side of parking area
reception 1, next to kitchen	conservatory viewed from reception 1

To see more photos please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/52229

The Midi-Pyrenees / Tarn-et-Garonne region

St. Antonin-Noble-Val is in department 82, Tarn-et-Garonne. This department, the smallest in France, is 1 of 8 which make up the Midi-Pyrénées, the largest French region – larger than Belgium, Switzerland or the Netherlands – but with a population of only about 2,500,000.

St. Antonin and its region share an interesting history. For example, during the 13th century, the Cathar religion spread rapidly throughout the region, including St. Antonin. The Cathars were considered heretics by the Catholic Church, and the Pope and the king of France launched a crusade against them, attacked many Cathar strongholds including St. Antonin (in 1212), and crushed the Cathars only after years of bloodshed. In the 14th century, during the Hundred Years War between France and England, St. Antonin was on the edge of English territory and suffered badly under English occupation (the Roc d’Anglars, which overlooks St. Antonin, takes its name from “English”).

During these turbulent times, many fortified villages and towns - “bastides” - were built, either to defend disputed territory, or as staging posts,along the main roads. Today, the most interesting local bastides include Cordes, Penne, Bruniquel, Puicelcy, Castelneau de Montmiral and Najac - interesting not only for their history but also for their weekly markets, craft and other shops, restaurants and cafés, and their often spectacular natural surroundings.

Also well worth the visit are the larger historical towns a little further from St Antonin - Albi, Cahors, Montauban, Toulouse - and places of special interest such as Saint-Cirq Lapopie, Rocamadour, Gouffre de Padirac.

St Antonin Noble Val area

St. Antonin (pop: about 2000) is a an interesting medieval town in a spectacular setting on the river Aveyron. The short guided walking tours through its picturesque streets in July and August (and for groups all year round by appointment) are well worthwhile. There are sufficient shops for most food shopping, supplemented by the Sunday morning market, where local and regional food and wine are available (such as dried hams and sausages, truffles, foie gras, confits and magrets, cep and other mushrooms, game - boar, venison, hare – and cheeses :- Roquefort, bleu des Causes, hard or soft Cabecou goat’s cheese).

Midi-Pyrénées is also a traditional wine region, probably even older than its renowned Bordeaux neighbour. Its great variety of wines include the following AOCs (appellations d’origine controlé): Bergerac, Buzet, Cahors, Frontonnais, Gaillac, Jurançon, Madiran, Marcillac, Montbazillac ....and wine-tasting begins only 15 miles from St. Antonin!

St Antonin has a good variety of restaurants, and we can recommend many more in the surrounding area, some of which are in the local "bastides" already mentioned.

Sports and activities include walking, along the many marked hiking paths from Saint-Antonin (two of which pass by the house); cycling, whether on marked VTT trails or on rural roads with little or no traffic; canoe and kayak trips through the spectacular scenery of the river Aveyron gorges; horse-riding along numerous trails; climbing on the rocks and cliffs of the Aveyron gorges (some 600 climbs in all); potholing in the many caverns and galleries of this limestone area; hang-gliding and paragliding from the Roc d'Anglars which overlooks St. Antonin; fishing in the nearby Aveyron, Bonnette and other local rivers; golf at the excellent golf courses within an hour’s drive of the house, near Toulouse, Albi, and Gaillac; and tennis on the 2 all-weather courts in St.Antonin (collect keys from local café!).

How to get there

1) By plane from UK (or from Paris):

(Times below are drive times from airport of arrival to the house)

Toulouse – 1 hour 15 minutes (flights from Paris, London Gatwick, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Brussels, Geneva….).

Rodez – 1 hour 15 minutes (flights from London Stansted, Paris)

Bergerac – 2 hours (flights from Exeter, London Stansted, London Gatwick, Liverpool, East Midlands, Southampton, , Leeds…)

Carcassonne – 2 hours (flights from Brussels Charleroi, Liverpool, Nottingham, London Stansted)

2) By car from Paris on motorways A10, A71 and A20 = 625 kms, about 6 hours (this is all on the motorway except for the last 25 kms) .

Activities near St Antonin Noble Val

Facilities

Further details indoors:
A virtual visit with more photos, and floor layout plans of the house, are available on owner's own website - contact owner for details.

Further details outdoors:
At the front of the house is a parking area sufficient for 5-6 cars; a swimming pool 11 x 5 metres with steps area for children, with a generous tiled surround and parasols and sun-loungers; and the main garden of about 1 acre with shrubs and trees and a shaded dining area with table and chairs and bbq.

At the secluded rear of the house is a conservatory for relaxing or for informal dining, which gives on to a terrace and overlooks the back garden.

Two rambler paths are directly accessible from the house.

Further details

* Welcome pack can be provided on arrival, by prior request.
* Swimming pool available May-September, depending on weather.
* English-speaking local person on hand to answer questions and resolve any pool or other minor problems.

Conditions

*A well-behaved dog may be allowed if kept outside the house, but sorry, no other pets.
*Strictly no smoking except outside the house, and then in a prudent and tidy manner.
*25% of rental fee due within 10 days of owner's acceptance of reservation to secure booking, balance plus €300 breakages deposit payable 60 days before arrival.
*Breakages deposit of €300 to be refunded within two weeks of receipt of house telephone bill (subject to satisfactory property inspection).
*Inventory to be checked on arrival.
*Property has a pool at front and former mill-race at back (with water in depending on weather), so small children and other non-swimmers must be properly supervised.

Rental rates

Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
Mid season	13 Sep 08	8 Nov 08	1500£  1,210	0-	0-	1 Week
Low season	8 Nov 08	20 Dec 08	1250£  1,008	0-	0-	1 Week
High season	20 Dec 08	3 Jan 09	3000£  2,419	0-	0-	1 Week
Low season	3 Jan 09	14 Feb 09	1250£  1,008	0-	0-	1 Week
Mid season	14 Feb 09	28 Feb 09	1500£  1,210	0-	0-	1 Week
Low season	28 Feb 09	4 Apr 09	1250£  1,008	0-	0-	1 Week
High season	4 Apr 09	18 Apr 09	3000£  2,419	0-	0-	1 Week
Mid season	18 Apr 09	4 Jul 09	1500£  1,210	0-	0-	1 Week
High season	4 Jul 09	29 Aug 09	3000£  2,419	0-	0-	1 Week
Mid season	29 Aug 09	7 Nov 09	1500£  1,210	0-	0-	1 Week
Low season	7 Nov 09	19 Dec 09	1250£  1,008	0-	0-	1 Week

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

*Refundable €500 security deposit required with final payment

*We can accept payment by cheque or bank transfer in EUR or GBP equivalent

Guestbook

This property has not previously been let

Availability notes

To see availability please visit http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/52229

Contact owner

To contact this owner please visit: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/52229

Contact details for home 52229 Please mention Holiday Lettings
Name:	Barry Wojcik
Mobile:	+32 475426523
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Contact Notes: Email or mobile phone, any time
Advertiser joined: 20 Mar 2008 This property added: 20 Mar 2008

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