Les Cloches is in the small hamlet of Sainte Marie, just 5 minutes drive or 20 minutes walk from La Coquille. The town has a bank, two supermarkets, a butcher, bakers and a patisserie, a post office, hairdressers, several bars and an excellent restaurant at Les Voyagers Hotel, a Take Away or Eat In Pizzeria and an interesting antique/bric a brac shop. Market day is every Thursday morning.

There is a vet in the hamlet who is completely used to the Pet Travel Scheme for pet owners. If you take a 3 minute stroll from Les Cloches, you will find yourself at the beautiful La Barde lake, which you can walk around and if you like fishing you could purchase a holiday fishing permit from the local tabac and spend some very relaxing hours beside the lake. The area is rich in wildlife with many deer, birds, butterflies, dragonflies and, if you are lucky, you may even see a wild boar. A little further afield you have the market town of Thiviers (15 minutes), the lovely old village of St Jean de Cole, Brantome which is known as the Venice of Perigord, Jumilhac le Grand with its impressive Chateau, St Yriex la Perche with shops selling very reasonably priced Limoges porcelain.

THE GITE
Les Cloches has an open plan living/dining room with TV/DVD, CD/Cassette player and plenty of DVDs, CDs and books for you to enjoy, a fully equipped kitchen, which includes a coffee maker, kettle and toaster, as well as an oven, microwave, fridge and washing machine. The gite also has WiFi high speed Internet connection and a hairdryer is provided.

There is a double bedroom and a shower room with toilet, handbasin and walk-in storage cupboard. There is also a private outdoor kitchen/dining area looking towards lovely views, which is fully equipped and furnished for outside cooking, barbecuing and dining. A great place for all your meals.

The pool is large (12mx6m) accessed by Roman steps and around the pool are sun loungers , plus loungers for floating on in the pool, perfect for relaxing, reading or cooling off. We have put outside tables and seats in several different parts of the garden. We enjoy gardening and are sure that you will gain a lot of pleasure from your surroundings.

The Area
La Coquille has tennis courts and there are many walking and cycling routes in the immediate area. Horses can be hired and treks arranged at the stables in the village of Jumilhac le Grand and there is good fishing in the local lake and rivers, only 3 minutes walk from the gite.

We are in an area with many chateaux and you can follow the route of Richard the Lion Heart taking you to many interesting chateaux that are open to the public. The Dordogne is famous for its prehistoric caves of which Lascaux is the best known, but there are many others to visit in this unique area.

We are not far from the Haute Vienne border in the Limousin, which is very similar in countryside to this area and during the summer months, there are a succession of musical events. There is also a mime festivial in Perigueux each August, an excellent alternative circus in Nexon (no animals) and many other events throughout the summer with weekend fetes continuing through to the autumn.

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After a day exploring the area, travelling or just relaxing, why not join Richard, Jan and other guests around the table d’hôtes for a mouth-watering four-course meal, based on classical dishes and freshly prepared from local ingredients and seasonal fruit and vegetables from the garden. La Chouette is known locally to be the best place to dine for miles around, but is exclusively for those staying overnight. Guests return time after time to sample Richard’s latest menus, pick up cooking tips, and of course, enjoy dinner conversations with other guests!

At breakfast you can sample home made bread and jams, enjoy freshly baked croissants, fresh fruit and cereals, and if the fancy takes you, a newly laid egg or two from Richard and Jan’s chickens

Situated just half an hour from the A20 autoroute and three quarters of an hour from Limoges airport, La Chouette is easily accessible yet set in a peaceful countryside spot, overlooking fields and woods.

Additional Photos (click to enlarge & for slideshow)