GITE, LARGE PRIVATE POOL (12x6), INCREDIBLE VIEW

Enjoy perfect tranquillity and breathtaking views of the 12th century Tours de Merle from our spectacular gîte, with a large swimming pool and set in 40 acres of your very own woods and meadows. Located in the in the beautiful Dordogne River Valley in the department of Corrèze, Crozat Haut is to be found on a hillside above the Maronne river and is blessed with fantastic views across the landscape. The beautiful and romantic Tours de Merle are directly below us, visible from Le Four Cottage and the terrace; your very own castle ruins at the bottom of the garden! A long private drive leads to the gîte, set in the middle of 40 acres of our own woods and wild flower meadows, offering perfect seclusion. The countryside surrounding the house is full of wildlife: expect to see deer, foxes and a wide variety of birds. On a clear night the sky is simply amazing, and you are bound to hear lots of owls and see the bats which live in the castle towers! The gîte itself was originally the bread oven for the neighbouring farm house and has been sympathetically converted to comfortable accommodation. The downstairs is open plan, with comfortable sofa and armchairs, dining table and a modern, fully-equipped kitchen area with gas cooker and dishwasher. The bathroom is on the ground floor and has a decent shower with lots of hot water. The separate toilet is next door to the bathroom. The stairs lead you directly into the first bedroom, which leads into the second. One room has a double bed and one has three singles, but we can arrange it so that one has twin beds and the other a double and a single (according to your needs). The large 12m x 6m pool sits in a sun trap just across from the cottage and faces south, receiving sunshine all day long. If your children need supervision, it is reassuring to know that the pool is visible from the gîte. To comply with safety requirements, the pool is surrounded by a lockable security fence. The shallow end is 0.9m deep and extends about a third of the way across the pool, and the deep end is a maximum of 2.5m deep. There is also a 0.9m deep ledge all round the perimeter of the pool so children can safely stand at the edges. The other gîte, the original farmhouse, is next door, and we offer a discount to rent both properties together. You can find details here on Airbnb or by clicking on my profile picture. GETTING HERE By car - 5 hours from Paris, 8 hours from Calais, 7 hours from Dieppe By plane: London Stansted to Brive la Gaillarde with RyanAir. London City Airport to Brive la Gaillarde with City Jet. (Brive is just over an hour's drive away from the gîte.) From many UK and European airports: Ryan Air/Easyjet/Flybe to Limoges, Bergerac, Rodez or Toulouse. Driving time from airports to gîte: Limoges (2 hrs), Brive la Gaillarde (70 mins), Rodez (1.45hrs), Bergerac (2hrs), Toulouse (3hrs). You will have the pool to yourselves. You are free to walk our 40 acres of land, and kids are free to go camping in the grounds, build dens and explore! The spacious games room, in a separate building, has a table tennis table with bats and plenty of balls for you to use. We will be there to meet you on arrival and only a phone call away after that. We recommend the Contes de Bruyères restaurant, run by Marina in nearby Servières-le-Château, for an excellent for lunch or dinner. We are happy to call to reserve a table for you. Our nearest village is St-Cirgues-la-Loutre, a 5-minute drive, where you will find a decent restaurant and a quaint café / bar which also serves food (sometimes!). St Privat is our nearest town, a 15-minute drive away, and has all the amenities you will need. The town has a decent sized supermarket, a small Friday market, as well as lively cafés and some excellent eateries. There is a small and lovely (unsupervised) swimming lake at the camping ground which also has a children's play area. The nearby Lac de Feyt is excellent for swimming and canoeing, and children will love the beach. Argentat is a picturesque town, well known for its old-style cobbled riverside quay with its traditional wooden galleried houses and its historical town centre. The town was once a port on the Dordogne, and from here you can hire canoes or kayaks for memorable trips down the river. There is a market here every Thursday. Escapade Nature Pays d'Argentat is an adventure company which has an office in the town and from here you can organise outdoor activities. Their multi-activities day is for 8 to 17 year olds and the day-long programme includes canoeing, stand-up paddling, wall-climbing and tree-climbing, with each activity lasting two hours. The stretch of the Dordogne river from Argentat to Beaulieu, and the Maronne itself, are famed for their trout and grayling and are popular with anglers. Just outside Argentat on the banks of the Dordogne is "Le Splash" water park. It is great for a day out and also has sports facilities, tennis, gym, bowling and fitness trails if you are feeling energetic, and a bar if you are not! We are lucky to have more than our fair share of 'Les plus beaux villages de France' nearby, and it is possible to take in three of them - Curemonte, Collonges-la-Rouge and Turenne - in one day trip. The gîte itself is surrounded by some lovely countryside and there are lots of walks which start right on the doorstep. Maps of these are available in the gîte. Our favourite will take you to the Tours de Carbonnières via the ruins of a deserted village. A 15-minute walk down a wooded track will take you to the Tours de Merle themselves. It's well worth a visit, offering great views of Crozat Haut from the towers! There is a lovely picnic site beside the river and during the summer months, the castle hosts many events such as nighttime bat watching, medieval re-enactments, gold panning and archery. Nearby the castle, our English-speaking neighbours Gavin and Isabelle welcome you to their Bio Farm of Bois de Merle for a meal, a snack or just to visit their organic gardens. There is on-site sale of seasonal fruits and vegetables, and home made jams and syrups. There is lots going on locally, especially during the summer months. We have a information pack in the gîte which has details of local markets but keep a look out locally for signs advertising one-off events. The Tourist Office in St Privat also has good information. We have links to many of the things to do locally in our 'Guidebook' section. Unless you are a very keen cyclist, a car is essential. A cleaning charge is not included in our price, therefore we kindly ask you to leave the gîte clean and tidy on your departure.