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Key
Facts :
| Location
: |
Castelanau-d'Auzan
(nr Eauze and Condom) |
| Type
of location : |
Tranquil
Gascon
countryside |
No.
of bedrooms : |
3
- 3x doubles, two with additional single bed |
| Sleeping
capacity : |
6-8
|
| No.
of bathrooms : |
3
en-suites each with bath, shower and WC. Plus a ground floor
cloakroom . There's also a pool shower |
| Style
of property : |
Charming
half-timbered farmhouse typical of the region, situated
in extensive grounds |
Quality
guide : |
GOOD
QUALITY - what
does this mean?
The property is charming and full of original features.
N.B. Some clients will consider the bathrooms and kitchens
to be a little dated in appearance as they are 'French country
style' |
| Prices : |
|
| » Check availability & prices for this property GO |
Rental price includes: Spare set of linen for 2+ weeks bookings. Beds made for arrival. Bathroom towels & tea towels. Water, gas, electricity.
Compulsory extras: Winter heating EUR 100/wk Oct through Apr.
Optional extras: Cleaning EUR 15/hr. Exit clean EUR 150 - pre-book. Babysitting EUR 15/ht
Refundable security deposit: £300
cheque (or €450), payable to the owner prior to arrival.
The cheque is not cashed unless necessary and is returned
to you within 10 days of departure unless there are damages
to settle or extra cleaning charges to be deducted
» Read important information about security deposits & insurance |
Linen
arrangements : |
Beds
are made for arrival. A spare set of linen is provided for
guests to change over. Bathroom and pool towels also provided.
|
Cleaning
arrangements : |
The property is cleaned at each handover.
» Read important information about cleaning
|
Arrivals
& departure : |
Arrive
Saturday 4-6pm and depart Saturday by 10am. There is some
flexibility in the off season
»
Read important information about
arrivals & departures |
| Nearest
beach : |
The
resorts of Sud Landes - a good 2½ hour drive. This
is not really the choice of property for beach-lovers! |
| Nearest
boulangerie : |
3kms
- Castelanau-d'Auzan.
There is also a bar & restaurant here plus a small weekly
market. Eauze 12 kms and Condom 24 kms are larger centres. Restaurant recommendation: Les Caprices d'Antan, place de la Mairie, Lannepax - about 30kms south of Tarrit. This restaurant was the winner of the The Guardian's Readers' Tips: France on the Cheap. |
| Nearest
airport : |
Pau
1¼ hr; Bordeaux 1½ hrs; Toulouse and Biarritz
2 hrs - all approx |
| Nearest
ferry port : |
St
Malo 9 hours - approx |
| Swimming
pool : |
Stunning pool, highly secluded with wonderful views of the countryside. A real oasis!
Protected by alarm. Kidney-shaped with depth ranging from
1.0m to 3.0m so quite deep. There are Roman steps to the
shallow end. Pool open from May until end of September |
Facilities
& Equipment : |
Washing
machine; dryer; microwave; dishwasher; 40" TV with
free-to-view English channels; DVD player and VCR with substantial
DVD library; CD stereo; BBQ; pool table; 4.5" refracting telescope - perfect for viewing the stars in clear unpolluted night skies |
| Suitability
for children : |
Lots
of outdoor space (19 acres in fact!), swimming pool and
pool table |
Suitability
for infants : |
Plenty
of outdoor space but beware that the boundary is some distance
from the property. There is no cot or high chair available |
| Things
to see & do : |
Lots!
Walking, cycling, horse-riding, canoeing. Many medieval
towns, châteaux and armagnac vineyards nearby. Spa
in Casteljaloux. Many music festivals nearby (Marciac, Nerac,
Mirande Vic Fezensac). City-culture day trips to Bordeaux
and Toulouse, La Côte Basque (Biarritz, St Jean de
Luz), even Spain (Pamplona, San Sebastian), plus mountains
and wildlife of the Pyrénées |
| House
rules : |
No
smoking and no pets |
|
| Location
: Map
Ref D5
This is a
landscape of rolling hills compared sometimes to Tuscany.
Situated
half way between Bordeaux and Toulouse (100km),
this charming rural area offers access to some of the best food,
wine, liqueurs and historical sites in south west France.
The property is a couple of miles east of Castelanau-d'Auzan
and 24 kms west of Condom.
The region is well served by airports - Pau, Toulouse
and Bordeaux are all easily accessible.
|
Accommodation
:
Tarri de Bas has been in the hands of the same English family
for a decade now and they frequently visit. As such, the property
is furnished and equipped to be 'lived in' and does not really
feel like a holiday home - we consider this a big attraction.
The long private track leading to Tarrit is a remider of holidays in Tuscany and sets the scene for what will be relaxing break in the countryside. In all, Tarrit offers 19 acres of land bordered by farms, fields and vines! you will certainly have that feeling of tranquility and relaxation.
Ground Floor
The main entrance leads into an open-plan living area divided
into dining area and outstanding lounge.
Both areas are heavily beamed with the lounge benefiting from
triple French doors to the terrace. Lounge facilities include
huge TV, DVD (plus an excellent DVD collection), vcr and a large
fireplace.
Leading from the dining area is an old-fashioned country kitchen which was upgraded with new units and a granite work-top during Winter 2010.
There's also a handy downstairs cloakroom / WC
close to the front door.
Two of the three bedrooms are downstairs:
» Master bedroom with king-size
bed, large dressing room and views south over farmland. This room
has direct access to the terrace. The en-suite bathroom is also
very spacious and offers bath, separate shower, WC and basin.
» Double bedroom with additional single
bed and separate dressing area. The en-suite includes bath with
shower fitting and basin. The WC is in a separate room. Doors
to the terrace.
First Floor
A staircase from the far end of the lounge leads to a mezzanine
landing accessing the third bedroom - double
bed, additional single bed and separate dressing area.The en-suite
includes bath with shower fitting and basin. The WC is in a separate
room.
Outside
Guests are likely to spend most of their time out of doors at
Tarrit and it's easy to see why. Surrounding the property is a
mixture of formal gardens, terraces, a barn (with pool table)
plus the pool at the rear of the property. There's also a covered
terrace and plenty of sun-loungers and parasols.
The gardens to the front of the house offer plenty of space for kids to enjoy ball games.
The swimming pool is deserving of special mention as it really is a bit special. For one thing, it's not a bland rectangle, but is kidney-shaped and large too. Its siting is idyllic as it overlooks lovely secluded countryside. You really do feel as though you are swimming in a little oasis. In our opinion the pool is a real draw for this property.
There is parking for several cars.
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Local
Guide :
Alternative
Aquitaine's Guide to Gascony
Castelnau d'Auzan
Reputed for the best boulangerie in the area – winner of many prizes. The town also has a small supermarket – where most things can be purchased - plus a doctor, pharmacy and bar/restaurant. Market day is on Tuesday. On the edge of the village is a tennis centre, superb lido and 'leisure lake' - a lovely spot on a summer's day.
The Area
Sublime,
hearty food and red wine, armagnac and rural tranquillity. It's
little wonder that Gascons enjoy the highest life expectancy
in all of France!
The land is gently undulating, punctuated by the occasional
picturesque bastide town and barely
changed from centuries ago. And the land is still relatively
free of tourists too. This is what French refer to as "la
France profonde".
The
next village along the D15 is Montréal,
about 10 kms away. It's an English-built bastide founded in
the late 13th century. Further east are Larressingle
with its fort and moat, and Condom which claims
to be the 'capital' of the unofficial Armagnac region and is
home to the Musée de l'Armagnac. Condom's market is a
foodie's paradise but a duck's worst nightmare.
This
area is little known, outside of France, for its wine despite a number of highly rated labels including Tursan and Madiran appelations. It is armagnac that southern Gascony is famous for and there are plenty of
places where you can taste a drop. Many
Armagnac producers locally are open to the public or you can
visit Ecomusee de l'Armagnac near Labastide d'Armagnac,
another medieval bastide renowned for its exceptional arcaded
square.
Eauze is a very pleasant market town which bursts into life every Thursday
morning. There's some nice examples of half-timbered architecture
too. To be honest though, it's the market that brings you there.
It
is an easy ride by car to historic Nérac,
a quiet, attractive town on the Baïse river. The old town
is a maze of narrow streets lined with 16th and 17th century
houses. There is also a lovely park (La Garenne) with several
fountains, which was laid out by Henri IV's father in the 15th
century, and a good selection of pleasant shops and restaurants.
If you're near Nérac, then try and visit the four-tower
mill of Barbaste, a landmark in Lot-et-Garonne.
It's next to a romanesque bridge on a pre-Roman causeway leading
from the Pyrenees to Perigueux. Slightly further on is the
walled village of Vianne founded in 1284 when
English and French started to fight over Aquitaine. Vianne has
charming handicraft shops, glass factory and a lively night-market.
To the north, Casteljaloux, about 45 km away,
has a wide selection of shops, restaurants and spa; market days
there are Tuesday and Saturday.
The nearest
main town west is Mont-de-Marsan which has
a summer party lasting two weeks at the end of June. This is
a good time to watch corridas or sample the local and less blood-thirsty
version of bull-fighting, courses landaise.
There is plenty of history and heritage to explore. In the Gers
is Fources, an extraordinary example of one
of the region's many bastides (planned medieval towns founded
in the 13th and 14th centuries) and known for its annual flower
show in May. Close by is Seviac, a site of
Gallo-Roman villas of some luxury for their time.
If music
is your thing, there is much to enjoy: for two weeks in August
Marciac (approx 50 mins' drive away) hosts
an internationally-known jazz festival; Vic Fezensac
(approx. 30 mins' drive) hosts a latino festival in
the last week of July; Mirande (approx
50 mins' drive) holds a country festival in the second
week of July; there is a classical festival in the towns surrounding
Nérac from June to August.
Somewhat bizarrely, the area around Labastide d'Armagnac
does a nice line in sports-themed churches:
Notre-dame-du-Rugby in Grenade-sur-l’Adour; Notre-dame-du-Courses-Landaises
in Bascons and Notre-dame-des-Cyclistes in Lasbastide d'Armagnac!
Striking a similarly bizarre note is the delightful Gascon village
of la Romieu (lying just east of Condom). It's
peculiarity is that it boasts a colony of stone cats! It's all
to do with an old legend that saw the number of cats in the
town reduced to two. See if you can hunt down all 15 stone cats
that now reside in the village! True or not, the village is
worth a visit - the 14th century collegiate chapel is quite
a sight - and the Armagnac pruneaux ice cream delicious!
The lack of large towns makes this area an ideal retreat for
nature and countryside lovers. There are many
cycling and walking tracks
both in the forests and in the gentle country of Armagnac
and Chalosse. Mushroom hunting
and bird-watching are popular pastimes and
there are also good venues for fishing and
horse-riding.
At the delightfully maintained village of Barbotan-les-Thermes, you can enjoy a day's pamering at the town's thermal spa station.
Why not enjoy the area by river and take a boat trip
along Le Val de Baïse. Between Valence-sur-Baïse
and Condom you will pass rolling countryside, castles and fortified
villages.
If you are feeling active, there is an 18-hole golf
course close by at Eauzue plus two others within three quarters
of an hour's drive at Mont-de-Marsan and Barbaste.
Day trips
Within 2-3 hrs by car you will find some
of the top places of interest in France, including:
- Cordes/Ciel, a hill top medieval village
- Pujols overlooking Villeneuve/Lot, one of the 100 most beautiful villages
in France, a must for a Sunday morning.
- Albi with its Toulouse-Lautrec
museum and superb painted cathedral
- All the châteaux of the Bordeaux wine
region
- The two South West pilgrimage sites of Lourdes
and Rocamadour
- The prehistoric caves with 30,000 year paintings:
Pech Merle, Les Eyzies, Lascaux,
- The Atlantic Coast with the Belle Epoque
towns of Biarritz, Arcachon
- The Pyrénées mountains with
the fabled Cirque de Gavarnie, Pic du Midi and characterful
Basque villages
- Spain is very reachable too: St Sebastian's
cafe culture, Bilbao with the Guggenheim museum,
Pamplona…Get two countries for the price
of one!
- Auch
for its famous cathedral
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The
virtually unknown yet beautiful city of Pau is a rewarding day-trip with its boutique shops, cafés
and tea shops plus the spectacular backdrop of the Pyrénées
For further information try the links below. Please note that
we are not responsible for the content of third party sites.
»Tourism
Guide to the Chalosse region
»Discover
the wines of south west France
»Gers
Tourism Guide
»Lot-et-Garonne
Tourism Guide
»Les
Landes Tourism Guide
»UK
Tourist Office for France
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