Villemartin

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Farmhouse |4 bedrooms |Sleeps 10

St Bonnet des Bruyers in St Igny de Vers

From £500 per week |  From £100 per night

4 nights minimum stay

Changeover flexible

4 out of 5

1 review | Write a review

Key info  Car essential, private garden, may take pets - please enquire

About the home

Villemartin, a picturesque hamlet in the mountains of Haut Beaujolais, is 2000ft up Mont St Rigaud.
Explore Cluny, La Clayette (M. Dufoux's chocolates, Chateau Dree). Swim in the lake at St Point and visit village markets, restaurants, chateaux, vineyards and churches in the area.

There are many activities for children: ponies, apiaries, watercolour painting, available and excellent swimming facilities for all ages at Matour. Peaceful, quiet, an area of exceptional beauty, wonderful walks. Excellent bird watching

Facilities

Further details indoors:
Fully equipped large kitchen with a table that sits 14
A large sitting room with wood burning stove, sofas and a grand piano
Two twin rooms and two doubles.
Extra singles or a cot can be put in the doubles on request
The bathrooms each have a shower over the bath and a third shower room on the ground floor is available for some of the year. Hopefully by the summer of 2011 it will be permanently available as part of the house.

Further details outdoors:
Gazebo, garden tables and chairs are available. Garden with scented roses, peonies, lavender, small trees.
Inflatable paddling pool. Portable barbecue.

Further details

(During the winter improvements are being made to the house and garden) In front of the house a paved courtyard is being made and a seating area is being levelled. A separate access for the barn is being created so when the owner is in residence it is not necessary to share the garden with her when she is staying in the attached barn.

Conditions

Available April- October and Christmas

Photos

 

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The property from the road

 

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The Kitchen table seats twelve people

 

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The garden

 

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The very efficient woodburning stove

The Burgundy / Saone-et-Loire region

The house is in the mountains above the Beaujolais vineyards, very close to the southernmost Burgundy, Maconais and Charolais vineyards. Every where you walk or drive there are Spectacular views over green fields, goats, charollais cattle and little streams meandering and tumbling through them.. Gentle mountains are covered in deciduous trees and higher up, forests of Douglas firs have wild boar and chevroy (small wild deer) in them.

Swallows, housemartins, owls and long eared bats take their turns above the house and every valley seems to have its buzzards hovering overhead The sound of water is never far away. Lichens cover the wooden gates and fences. The clean air is amazing. In spring time the fields and road sides are covered in wild flowers, in the summer we love to look for glow worms as the night falls and the autumn colours are a blaze of reds oranges and vermillion. In winter the hoare frosts turn every tree and blade of grass to glass, the little stream is frozen and dead leaves crunch under foot......It is a charmed landscape.

Winter is very cold at night but days can be sparkling, the sun becomes quite warm and you can look down on the freezing fog in the valley. The weather is very changeable...sometimes it snows at Easter, but I have eaten outside at the end of February for a friends sunny birthday. Usually it is very hot for four or five weeks in July and August. In August there are short but very spectacular, localized thunderstorms that can wreak havoc in the vineyards with their hail. Often it can be raining in one valley and you go ten minutes to the next one where the sun is shining in a blue sky.

The St Igny de Vers / St Bonnet des Bruyers area

Cluny is a small, picturesque town. It is charming to walk about and explore the old houses, small shops, visit the remains of the famous Abbey and eat and buy some delicious food.

Mâcon is the largest local town. There is a good selection of shops and restaurants as well as a large church. It very dramatic views over the river Saône.

Azé and Blanot are west of Cluny, they have spectacular caves that are being excavated. There is a long history of human occupation, a museum and guided tours are available..

Beaujeu , the heart of the beaujolais, is an attractive little town, a perfect place to start exploring the vineyards. The region is very beautiful, there are innumerable vineyards with caves (cellars) where you can taste and purchase wine.

Fleury, one of the highest vineyards,is blessed by a small chapel at its highest point, it also has a restaurant
'Le Cep' considered by the New York Times as 'one of the best restaurants in the world'

Mont St Rigaud is the tallest mountain in the area. As you drive over the pass to Monsols there is a road to the right. This leads to a car park from where there is a steep but short walk to the summit. An observation tower has been built, giving a panoramic view of the landscape.

Col de Crie, (take the road south from Monsols) is a small tourist centre for the area. It has a selection of local produce as well as maps for local walks and advertising the numerous celebrations that are held in each village throughout the summer. It is open Wednesday to Sunday from March to October.

Avenas is a little village on the edge of the mountains with a remarkable small church. It has an excellent accoustic and occasionally there are chamber concerts there. Near Avenas is La Terrasse, a restaurant from where there are stunning views over the vineyards and the Saône valley to the Alps rising up in the distance. On a clear day you can see Mont Blanc.

La Clayette is a small town with a large lake and a château. Situated at one end of the lake is an area with outdoor activities, including a pool, crazy golf and boats. A highlight here is the shop of M. Dufoux one of the top chocolate makers in France. His shop is a pleasure to visit, not only because of his wonderful creations but because he is such an enthusiast about his art. It is possible to attend tasting sessions or a chocolate making course.

Beautiful Chateau Dree and its gardens are just outside La Clayette as is the famous 'Laine Plassard' where wools are spun for the couturiers. They can be bought. at the factory

Possible day trips include Charolles, Lyon, Genève and Mont Blanc. .

Excellent facilities for swimming are available at Matour (12 minutes away) and La Clayette (20 minutes) and in the lake at St Point. (30 minutes) It should be noted that to enter a swimming pool men have to wear Speedo style trunks rather than any form of shorts.

Other activities in the area include walking, riding, water colour painting and visiting apiaries. Cycling is also very popular (although hard work).

How to get there

Villemartin What's nearby: Attractions Restaurants Click map icons for more information

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By Train. The nearest train stations are in Macon. From Macon Loche TGV it is possible to be in Paris in less than 1h35. Macon Ville has TGV and local services.


By Air. The nearest airport is Lyon, with services from London, Manchester and Birmingham.


It is possible to hire cars in Macon and at Lyon airport


By Car. To drive to Villemartin from Calais takes about 8 hours, including breaks.

Good motorway links from Calais, Paris & Geneva

Fly to St Exupéry - Lyon
TGV to Macon Loche

Car hire available at both.

Activities near St Igny de Vers

Reviews

Review: 1 to 1 of 1

10 Nov 2011

“Lovely house, beautiful area. Everyone had a good time.” The house is spacious and very comfortable to stay in. We used the piano, books, boardgames, table tennis and brought some DVDs with us. Kitchen is great - we cooked most evenings. My kids liked the... more

Review: 1 to 1 of 1

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Guestbook for Villemartin

“Lovely house, beautiful area. Everyone had a good time.”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed November 10, 2011

The house is spacious and very comfortable to stay in. We used the piano, books, boardgames, table tennis and brought some DVDs with us. Kitchen is great - we cooked most evenings. My kids liked the tree-adventure park at Avenas best. My in-laws liked the local walks and vineyards. I liked the restaurant at St Bonnet, where you go in and simply eat whatever is on offer that lunchtime. Cycling the Voie Verte is easy for the whole family. We all cycled from Cluny to Taize and felt very pleased with ourselves.

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

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'Thank you for letting us stay in your beautiful house, we loved playing the piano and making music in the sitting room, we had a marvellous week' NJ

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We had a lovely time and all the children want to come again. (music course in 2010, already booked for 2011)

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Rental prices

Prices for group size 10
Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
	23 Dec 11	8 Jan 12	750£ 750	150150	150150	4 Nights
	31 Mar 12	29 Apr 12	500£ 500	100100	100100	4 Nights
	29 Apr 12	27 May 12	525£ 525	100100	100100	4 Nights
	27 May 12	8 Jul 12	600£ 600	100100	100100	4 Nights
	8 Jul 12	29 Jul 12	650£ 650	125125	125125	4 Nights
	29 Jul 12	2 Sep 12	800£ 800	140140	140140	4 Nights
	2 Sep 12	30 Sep 12	630£ 630	120120	120120	4 Nights
	30 Sep 12	4 Nov 12	525£ 525	100100	100100	4 Nights

The property's weekend rates apply to: Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights

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

Availability

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

Contact the owner

* Required fields Please check the following errors: First name * Last name * Email *   Did you mean ""? Yes / No Phone number Arrival date Departure date   Ignore calendar - enquire anway No. of adults No. of children Message * Email me special offers and holiday ideas T&Cs

3 years listed You are contacting Faith Whiteley Landline n/a Mobile +44 07843 618253 Web Visit site Languages spoken The owner is based in the United Kingdom and has advertised with Holiday Lettings since 2009. This farmhouse has received 1 review from previous guests.