About
This beautiful 400-year-old stone cottage in the quiet hamlet of Les Groleaux in St Astier de Duras is the perfect place to relax from the usual demands of the fast-paced lives we lead. While many of the older features of this two-storey property have been retained, it has been renovated with all the modern conveniences needed to provide a home-from-home experience.
The spacious kitchen and dining room with their beautiful arch divider have all the conveniences of modern life: dishwasher, double cooker, fridge freezer, iron and board, coffee maker, soda maker etc. There is a beautiful veranda surrounding the entire house which captures both sun and shade at different times of the day so you get the sense of the house itself as a living thing. It is lovely to eat outside with the local birds offering background music for your pleasure.
The house has three spacious bedrooms one of which is en suite. Each room has a double bed and there are two single beds in one of the rooms. The house is set on its own grounds with about an acre of well tended land. There are lots of quiet tree-shaded areas under which to sit or laze in a hammock. There is also a beautiful mature lily pond with its gently flowing water teeming with goldfish and the occasional croak of the frog inhabitants, all of which add to the peace and tranquility of the area.
For those of you who like to sit quietly or enjoy some yoga or gentle stretching there is a lovely spacious meditation room which overlooks the lily-pond. This facility will be of special interest to those of you keen to visit Plum Village, the renowned Zen Centre of Thich Nhat Hanh, which is only 7km away.
For the colder days the house is heated throughout with radiators and a cosy wood burning stove. Wifi is available and there is ample parking.
The closest village is St Sernin about 2 km away. It has a small bar/tabac general store and small weekly market. It also has well-maintained tennis courts which are available to rent on an hourly basis (we provide tennis raquets). The beautiful town of Duras is a short drive away and you will recognise it with its imposing Chateau; it has 2 lively weekly markets. The town of Ste Foy La Grande is a 20 minute drive away and it has a bustling Saturday market and lots of restaurants as well the local railway station for trains between Bordeaux and Bergerac. The lovely Bastide town of Eymet is also about a 20 minutes drive away and it too has 2 weekly markets and some lovely restaurants.
If you are an outdoor enthusiast there is lots for you to do. There are many local marked walking routes (randonnées). Bicycles can be hired in Duras and there are opportunities for kayaking, golf and even for the adventure of hot air ballooning.
For wine and history lovers you are not too far away from the UNESCO world heritage site of Saint-Emilion. This is a great way to spend a day exploring the various chateaux and getting a sense of the history of the area. The home of the mediaeval scholar Montaigne is in the same region. As he is the most significant philosopher of the French Renaissance, it is a fascinating way to spend an afternoon roaming his chateau, including his attic writing room and his private chapel, and the gardens.
It goes without saying, given the region, that the food and wine is sublime and there are many restaurants to please the palate.
If you would like to rent our beautiful home, please contact Mary:
- Email: [email protected]
- Tel: 00353 866001935
