Loire Valley self catering accommodation
| country: | France |
| location: | The Loire ValleySee map here |
| price: | From €120 per cottage per night or €750 per cottage per week (sleeps 5-7). |
| more info: | Price includes local seasonal welcome pack, electricity, heating, hot water, linen, bedding and towels. Available by weekend, week or longer on self catering or B&B basis |
| offers: | €50 off remaining 2009 availability for stays of 5 nights or more. Easy access via major channel ferries, eurotunnel/TGV to Tours or Ryanair flights to Poitiers or Tours. |
 | View availability here |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
read 1 travellers review
description
19th century stone holiday cottage in the heart of the Loire Valley “Garden of France”.
Picturesque & quiet setting yet only 3km from historic village with chateaux, premier prehistoric era museum & great amenities. Our Saule gîte offers 2 double bedrooms and is part of a traditional stone longère farmhouse entirely renovated in 2007. this accommodation offers a great base to explore from on foot, bike, horse, you choose!
The cottage has been entirely renovated to provide all the traditional features of its era including terracotta floor, stone walls and oak beams. To ensure your holiday happens with ease the cottage is equipped with clean, spacious & comfortable furniture for dining and lounging in. The fully equipped kitchen is ready for real cooking. The shower room & clean spacious bedrooms provide home from home comfort.
Canoeing, horse riding and other outdoor activities such as archaeological dig days are all available locally, or choose from the wide range of days out.
Open Air Markets 5 min - 1 hour: Indulge in the regional specialities including a wealth of locally grown fresh vegetables and fruit, St Maure de Touraine goat cheeses, fresh water fish, snails, melons, wild mushrooms, "rillettes de Poitou" and game.
Chateaux with their beautiful gardens to visit within an hour - 5 min - 1 hour Huge variety of fantastic Loire Valley properties to choose from including Villandry, Chenonceau, Azay-le-Rideau, Amboise, Rigny-Ussé, Chaumont-sur-Loire. Vineyards and their cellars in under one hour including Vouvray, Chinon, Bourgueil.
Areas of natural beauty....take your pick! With the parc naturel de la Brenne with its vast array of sports, leisure and nature spotting riches in 30 mins you will be spoilt for choice! Le Grand Pressigny is just 5 mins away; the premier museum of prehistoric period in the grounds of its château.
Descartes is just 10 mins away - Home of the famous philosopher and a great Sunday market for all things delicious and a cafe culture for watching the world go by! Beautiful public garden with something for everyone. Lesigny is also 10 mins from the cottage, offering great supervised summer river swimming in the Creuse!
Further afield is La Roche Posay, 15 mins away: Spa town founded by Romans, renowned since 15th century for healing waters. Spas offer comprehensive range of treatments. Golf nine & eighteen holes. Hippodrome - horse races throughout the summer. Casino in converted château!
Angles-Sur-L'Anglin (25 min): Has been officially named by the French tourism board as "one of the most beautiful villages in France" - a designation it richly deserves! Dominated by 15th century castle ruins and mill house. Famous for its tradition of fine needlework, still carried on by local women. New visitor centre opened in March 2008. On the first Sunday of August there is a spectacular fireworks display with the castle and the river as a backdrop. The spectacle begins at 10.30 pm and with a festival held in the afternoon a very pleasant day can be had by all.
Walking: We live in this region all year round and are happy to share information on local routes & walks for all ages & standards. There is a wide choice from a stroll down into the town to circular routes from our property to the many marked “randonnee” routes around the region walking in our area is a pleasure with quiet roads and much to see on the way.
Cycling: We provide secure storage for bikes and some bikes for guests to borrow.
Picturesque & quiet setting yet only 3km from historic village with chateaux, premier prehistoric era museum & great amenities. Our Saule gîte offers 2 double bedrooms and is part of a traditional stone longère farmhouse entirely renovated in 2007. this accommodation offers a great base to explore from on foot, bike, horse, you choose!
The cottage has been entirely renovated to provide all the traditional features of its era including terracotta floor, stone walls and oak beams. To ensure your holiday happens with ease the cottage is equipped with clean, spacious & comfortable furniture for dining and lounging in. The fully equipped kitchen is ready for real cooking. The shower room & clean spacious bedrooms provide home from home comfort.
special things to do and see here
Canoeing, horse riding and other outdoor activities such as archaeological dig days are all available locally, or choose from the wide range of days out.Open Air Markets 5 min - 1 hour: Indulge in the regional specialities including a wealth of locally grown fresh vegetables and fruit, St Maure de Touraine goat cheeses, fresh water fish, snails, melons, wild mushrooms, "rillettes de Poitou" and game.
Chateaux with their beautiful gardens to visit within an hour - 5 min - 1 hour Huge variety of fantastic Loire Valley properties to choose from including Villandry, Chenonceau, Azay-le-Rideau, Amboise, Rigny-Ussé, Chaumont-sur-Loire. Vineyards and their cellars in under one hour including Vouvray, Chinon, Bourgueil.
Areas of natural beauty....take your pick! With the parc naturel de la Brenne with its vast array of sports, leisure and nature spotting riches in 30 mins you will be spoilt for choice! Le Grand Pressigny is just 5 mins away; the premier museum of prehistoric period in the grounds of its château.
Descartes is just 10 mins away - Home of the famous philosopher and a great Sunday market for all things delicious and a cafe culture for watching the world go by! Beautiful public garden with something for everyone. Lesigny is also 10 mins from the cottage, offering great supervised summer river swimming in the Creuse!
Further afield is La Roche Posay, 15 mins away: Spa town founded by Romans, renowned since 15th century for healing waters. Spas offer comprehensive range of treatments. Golf nine & eighteen holes. Hippodrome - horse races throughout the summer. Casino in converted château!
Angles-Sur-L'Anglin (25 min): Has been officially named by the French tourism board as "one of the most beautiful villages in France" - a designation it richly deserves! Dominated by 15th century castle ruins and mill house. Famous for its tradition of fine needlework, still carried on by local women. New visitor centre opened in March 2008. On the first Sunday of August there is a spectacular fireworks display with the castle and the river as a backdrop. The spectacle begins at 10.30 pm and with a festival held in the afternoon a very pleasant day can be had by all.
Walking: We live in this region all year round and are happy to share information on local routes & walks for all ages & standards. There is a wide choice from a stroll down into the town to circular routes from our property to the many marked “randonnee” routes around the region walking in our area is a pleasure with quiet roads and much to see on the way.
Cycling: We provide secure storage for bikes and some bikes for guests to borrow.
travellers' tales
We loved being surrounded by historic French villages; staying in a beautiful rustic (but VERY comfortable) 19th century stone cottage; the warmth and approachability of our hosts Nicole and Alex Crawford; and being spoilt for choice when arranging our daily activities. (more)
rooms, food and facilities
Downstairs offers you a spacious open plan living area, comfortable seating, woodburning stove, CD & DVD player. A dining area & fully equipped kitchen with oven, hob, microwave, fridge, dishwasher, and a comprehensive stock of utensils and crockery to cater for all your culinary needs during your stay.
Bedroom one with double bed, window overlooking courtyard & storage for clothes is just off the hallway. From the hallway, stairs take you to the oak beamed master bedroom with double bed, full length window & storage for clothes. From the landing the all new and well proportioned shower room has uninterrupted views across farmland, on the landing area there is a single bed and more clothes storage.
Private enclosed patio garden, seating & BBQ. Space to park close to your front door. Shared use of courtyard, covered barn, additional BBQ, table & seating, outdoor games & bikes available to use.
Family friendly: We offer a great place to stay for a family and want your holiday with your children to happen with ease. Our land provides a fantastic place to explore and play. We offer equipment and diversions for children of all ages. From nature spotting cards, pick you own in the fruit & veg garden, to trampoline, splash pool and swings in the summer months plus baby foot and a stock of board games and DVDs in winter or wet weather. We have some child bikes, child tow bars, scooters and rollers skates as
well as footballs, swing ball, boules etc. We offer a communal washing machine
with bio-friendly detergents.
Baby friendly: We have up to date, clean and fully functioning highchairs, cots, stroller & swings. We also have child/cot bedding, cutlery and plates to save overloading on packing. We have a sandtable, paddling pool, baby and small child swings and games at your disposal. In order to ensure you enjoy a relaxing holiday we are happy and have successfully offered extra travel cots for use as playpens for those moments when you need to take your eyes of a crawler on the loose! Outside the front door of each cottage there is an expanse of short flat grass in an enclosed courtyard, many a small child has been let loose to roam relatively unguarded and had a great holiday exploring!
Please note: our buildings are traditionally built from stone and are not suitable for the reliable fixing of stair gates.
Pet friendly: Though we do not accommodate pets however our nearest neighbours business (two minutes away on foot) offers kennels for guests dogs.
Bedroom one with double bed, window overlooking courtyard & storage for clothes is just off the hallway. From the hallway, stairs take you to the oak beamed master bedroom with double bed, full length window & storage for clothes. From the landing the all new and well proportioned shower room has uninterrupted views across farmland, on the landing area there is a single bed and more clothes storage.
Private enclosed patio garden, seating & BBQ. Space to park close to your front door. Shared use of courtyard, covered barn, additional BBQ, table & seating, outdoor games & bikes available to use. Family friendly: We offer a great place to stay for a family and want your holiday with your children to happen with ease. Our land provides a fantastic place to explore and play. We offer equipment and diversions for children of all ages. From nature spotting cards, pick you own in the fruit & veg garden, to trampoline, splash pool and swings in the summer months plus baby foot and a stock of board games and DVDs in winter or wet weather. We have some child bikes, child tow bars, scooters and rollers skates as
well as footballs, swing ball, boules etc. We offer a communal washing machine
with bio-friendly detergents.
Baby friendly: We have up to date, clean and fully functioning highchairs, cots, stroller & swings. We also have child/cot bedding, cutlery and plates to save overloading on packing. We have a sandtable, paddling pool, baby and small child swings and games at your disposal. In order to ensure you enjoy a relaxing holiday we are happy and have successfully offered extra travel cots for use as playpens for those moments when you need to take your eyes of a crawler on the loose! Outside the front door of each cottage there is an expanse of short flat grass in an enclosed courtyard, many a small child has been let loose to roam relatively unguarded and had a great holiday exploring! Please note: our buildings are traditionally built from stone and are not suitable for the reliable fixing of stair gates.
Pet friendly: Though we do not accommodate pets however our nearest neighbours business (two minutes away on foot) offers kennels for guests dogs.
how to find us
Train via Eurostar to Paris then onwards via TGV to Tours – option for collection or bus to le Grand Pressigny. The nearest port is Le Havre, 500km away. The nearest airport is 60km away – either Poitiers or Tours. Via car we are less than one hour south of Tours via the A10 and N10.
how this holiday makes a difference
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We recycle all recyclable materials, compost all organic waste, & are in process of re-planting our land with locally sourced trees & plants which thrive. This year it was cherry trees and plums to add to our apple, apricot, cherry, peach, walnut & hazlenuts. We heat our buildings with wood taken from our land or local sustainable sources. We have insulated to better than recommended levels to ensure excellent heat retention during winter months (reducing the need for heating) thus also ensuring a cooler environment during summer months.
All labour & materials used in the renovations were locally sourced & with respect to local traditions. We have double glazed all our windows & doors, & use low energy light bulbs wherever possible. We collect rainwater for garden use and a project for this autumn is to try & reinstate the use of well water for garden use. We also are in process of researching the use of alternative energy sources e.g wind, solar, geothermal & are committed to becoming more energy self sufficient within 5 years. Wind power being the current favourite, watch this space! We encourage all our guests to buy food stuffs locally to support the local economy, (predominantly made up of small/medium scale farms). In our small farm road alone you will find a veritable “route gastronomique”! with farms producing goats cheese, yoghurt, milk, charolai beef, apples, & foie gras all within 1-5km. Guests are welcome help themselves to the well stocked veg & herb garden on site, fresh eggs are also available from time to time depending on the performance of our resident chickens! We encourage our guests to recycle by providing clearly marked bins for sorting, to save energy & water. We recycle up to 60% of our waste. All vegetable kitchen waste is fed to the chickens. Anything that is left, and grass clippings are used for compost. We have a fosse (non-mains) sewerage filter system on site, which via a well-managed process of naturally occurring bacteria is filtered & ultimately runs clean water into our adjoining field. This waste system focuses us on the use of only bio-friendly products in our garden and home. We support & recommend to our guests local bars, restaurants, markets & events; the majority of our guests utilise our immediate local amenities on a regular basis. We have a large selection of brochures for local attractions & events (not just the obvious ones but also those which are less well marketed) we actively encourage the guest’s participation. We are acutely aware of the need to respect and understand the traditions and values of the region. We encourage our guests to adopt a similar approach to their holiday. We are closely integrated with our local community; our children attend the local school in le Grand Pressigny and we provide support both financially and with our time, helping out at local events. We strive to use email in our business practices, to keep our office as paper-free as possible. We own one car and by careful planning of our work/leisure/school run requirements we manage to minimise the number of trips made. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |