Le Jasmin — Puybrun, 46130 Bretenoux

This cottage has excellent views on three sides over the gardens, meadows and woodland.

The large living room with its good-size kitchen/dining area and very comfortable sitting area is on the ground floor and leads onto a tiled patio with table, chairs, parasol and barbecue and commanding superb views over the gardens and fields. It has two bedrooms (one with double bed and one with two single beds) and a bathroom with bath, shower, bidet and wash-hand basin on the first floor plus a separate toilet. If required the bedroom with two single beds has sufficient room for an additional Z-bed or cot (Therefore can sleep 4-5). 'Le Jasmin' also has a wood-burning stove for use outside the summer season.

‘Le Sud’ is situated on the northern boundary of the Lot department close to the River Dordogne (500 metres) with a variety of different and interesting countryside in all directions. The nearest village is Puybrun (1 km), a quiet bastide settlement which contains a church, a hotel with restaurant, a pizzeria, two bars, two bakeries, two butchers, a small supermarket, a post office, a tabac and a pharmacy. There are good supermarkets, banks, various shops etc. at Bretenoux-Biars (5 km) and Bretenoux has a small market twice a week in the old town square.'

'Le Sud' is a delightful 19th century Quercy farmhouse and barns set in 15 acres of gardens, meadows and fields which abound with wild flowers (ten varieties of orchid can be found in its boundaries), birds (including the woodpecker, hoopoe, golden oriole and red kite) and animals such as roe deer. The well-maintained cultivated gardens are a colourful blaze against the attractive stone buildings and from the earliest snowdrops to the autumnal hues of the woodlands there is plenty to delight the avid nature lover or those just wishing to relax in solitude.

'Le Sud' is within easy reach of some of the most spectacular sites that France has to offer - Rocamadour (35 minutes), Le Gouffre de Padirac (20 minutes) and La Grotte de Lacave (40 minutes) etc. One is able to visit these easily and then return to the peace and tranquillity of ‘Le Sud,’ walk in the grounds or laze by the pool.

The saline swimming pool is available during the mid/high season for the use of residents as is the unlimited access to the meadows and woodland for recreation. There is table-tennis, boules/pétanque, children's swings, a Wendy House and a sandpit to ensure that even the youngest residents are never at a loose end. The 12 x 6 metre saline pool (no chlorine, no stinging eyes, nasty taste or smell) has loungers and parasols for your comfort, pool-side lights and under-water illumination. Close to all the cottages a small barn has been converted into a laundry room with automatic washing machines, irons, ironing boards and a freezer for the free use of guests.

Whatever the season in which you choose to visit there is so much to offer while on holiday here in France. Spring and Summer bring glorious days in which to explore the landscape and the hot days of summer are forever popular with sun-worshippers and water–lovers.

For more information see website www.gites-le-sud.com