Brittany self catering accommodation in France
| country: | France |
| location: | BrittanySee map here |
| price: | From £600 - £800 per house, per week (sleeps up to 4) |
| more info: | Price depends on season. Booking requires a non refundable £100 deposit |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
description
"If this building is an exemplar, it isn’t so much about sustainable construction as, perhaps, an example of how we all should be living..." (Kevin McLoud, Grand Designs, Ch4)
This luxurious self-catering eco-holiday home blends 21st century eco-living with traditional craftsmanship and building techniques. The house is earth sheltered and south facing.
It transforms the elements of earth and sun to warm and cool the house passively. The exterior is made of wood, glass and stone while the sensuous interior is plastered with lime. The accommodation benefits from all rooms being light and warm, with doors to the terrace. Comfort and style go hand in hand with the state of the art salvage designer kitchen and luxury bath and shower. There are two ultra efficient woodburners and thick berber and designer rugs cover the floors throughout.
Ecotechnologies and good design deliver power, hot water, rainwater and of course a steady comfortable temperature, but the house mainly functions like any normal house.
Featured on TV show 'Grand Designs 2009', the house is set in an acre of private organic garden, surrounded by mature oak trees. This is then set in a further 4 acres of ancient woodland and massive boulders which drop down to a stream. Many an evening can be spent on the terrace or in the house, watching the sunset and the rich birdlife. It is a true retreat from the busyness of modern life, and a chance to simply be in nature.
Kevin McLoud has rated the accommodation in his top 5 houses in all the 'Grand Designs' series so far, and now you can experience the beauty, individuality and inspiration this house has to offer for yourself.
Other activities:
Horse-riding Canoeing Swimming Foraging Mushrooming Tree-climbing Fishing
This luxurious self-catering eco-holiday home blends 21st century eco-living with traditional craftsmanship and building techniques. The house is earth sheltered and south facing.
It transforms the elements of earth and sun to warm and cool the house passively. The exterior is made of wood, glass and stone while the sensuous interior is plastered with lime. The accommodation benefits from all rooms being light and warm, with doors to the terrace. Comfort and style go hand in hand with the state of the art salvage designer kitchen and luxury bath and shower. There are two ultra efficient woodburners and thick berber and designer rugs cover the floors throughout.
Ecotechnologies and good design deliver power, hot water, rainwater and of course a steady comfortable temperature, but the house mainly functions like any normal house.
Featured on TV show 'Grand Designs 2009', the house is set in an acre of private organic garden, surrounded by mature oak trees. This is then set in a further 4 acres of ancient woodland and massive boulders which drop down to a stream. Many an evening can be spent on the terrace or in the house, watching the sunset and the rich birdlife. It is a true retreat from the busyness of modern life, and a chance to simply be in nature.
Kevin McLoud has rated the accommodation in his top 5 houses in all the 'Grand Designs' series so far, and now you can experience the beauty, individuality and inspiration this house has to offer for yourself.
special things to do and see here
Walking & cycling: Central Brittany is an area of outstanding natural and historical beauty. Ancient megalithic stone placements, castles, waterfalls and churches abound. There are many routes for walking and cycling in the area. We can provide maps and bicycles for cycling and suggestions of where to go.Other activities: rooms, food and facilities
We provide all biodegradable cleaning products. All linen and bathtowels are also given. Only beach towels need to be brought. Washing machine provided. The Roundroom is 6 metres across with a vaulted ceiling, and is a great space for playing, relaxing, meditation or yoga. Broadband is available.
The kitchen is the heart of the house, with its sea worn salvaged oak counter tops and stainless steel gas cooker with electric oven. The kitchen opens out into a living space which includes a glass fronted woodburner and thick Moroccan rug. The soundsystem plays cd’s and has an option for ipod connection.
The Bathroom has rounded walls and fossilised limestone floors and is completed with a luxury award winning stone resin bath and dual shower. The basin is carved solid granite.
The Blue Room is a double bedroom with lime cob walls, earth cement floors and glass bottle inlays round the doorways.
The Long Room is the master bedroom and spans the full depth of the house. It is furnished with a stunning four poster bed from contemporary designers indigo furniture.
The house is set in an acre of organic gardens, and has access to a further 5 acres of woodland behind the house. The organic bakery + produce store is a 10 min walk from the house, and the local bar is also here. The nearest bigger town is a 10 min drive. Guerledan Lake is a 20 min drive for wild swimming and walking in the forest. The rugged coastline is an hours drive. Family friendly: The garden is a perfect place for kids to play we have two grass terraces in front of the house for running, playing ball games or just lounging around.
Baby friendly: The house is all on one level, so is easy for little ones to wander about.
how to find us
By road and ferry: We strongly recommend travelling by ferry. St Malo and Roscoff are the closest car ferry ports at 1.5hrs drive. Caen would take approx 5 hrs drive Callais or Dieppe would take the better part of a days driving to get here. By rail: If travelling by train, the nearest staion is Carhaix- Plougher a 20 min drive from here.
By air: Dinard and Brest are the closest airports, both approx 1.5 hrs drive.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Environment
We are actively managing the land to maintain and encourage the diversity of plant and animal life within it. We are busy constructing a small pond, which will help with this. The terraces are being cleared and planted with organic gardens including fruiting trees and berries to create an edible landscape along permaculture lines. Other indigenous flowers and trees are being planted to support bees, birds, bats, insects and mini-beasts. We are also developing an organic vegetable patch, which we hope to extend each year and begin to sell the produce to guests. Visitors will also have the opportunity in season to garden in exchange for fresh veg. We recycle pretty much all our waste, and produce compost, which we feed back onto the land. As a guest you will become part of this process. We have a herbal tea garden, where guests can pick fresh herbs for their favourite relaxing tea or evening meal. A circular track through the woods invites the walker to explore all parts of the forest and down to the stream. There are many green lanes round the house and in the local area marked for cycling. The Nante a Brest canal, nearby is accessible for fishing, walking and cycling. Community The accommodation is a 10 min walk from our local villiage. It is the French representative of the Cultural Villiage of Europe network. The villiage bakery and organic produce store is an absolute gem. The shop is run as a co-operative and is manned by the growers and producers. Fresh organic croissants, pastries and local cider are to die for! For a taste of villiage life, a visit to the bar is also a must. Our neighbour is a well known local artist and sculptor and a walk through his sculpture garden is an amazing experience. Each year the centre of the villiage is transformed into an open air exhibition space with many local artists displaying their work. The farmers market in Brittany is the place to shop for food and perhaps to have a dance. It’s also a chance to truly explore traditional Breton tastes and life and an opportunity to put something back into this friendly rural community. Other cultural adventures include visits to the many medieval crumbling villiage churches, megalithic standing stones and castles many within a short distance from the house, which all enrich and keep the identity of the Breton people alive. |
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. |