Overview
- 8
- 4
- 4
- Delightfully converted 19th-century farmhouse
- Private heated swimming pool
- Bikes, table football, table tennis and small football pitch
- Fishing in river alongside
- Simpson family extras available
Those who love getting out and about have a natural playground on their doorstep in the unspoilt Bocage Vendéen landscape, whilst this converted 19th-century farmhouse offers all the peace and privacy you’d like to come home to.
Set in landscaped grounds, separated by a secure fence from a small river, the quaint, ivy-covered exterior encloses light, open-plan living areas, spacious and high ceilinged, with views out to pretty gardens and the heated swimming pool. The rooms have been well thought out, with bedrooms upstairs and down to give guests plenty of space – ideal if several couples are travelling together or you’ve brought grandparents along. The well-equipped kitchen opens out onto a side terrace, so you can rustle up a coffee and croissant in the morning and slip outside without disturbing anyone.
Once you’ve exhausted activities around the farmhouse – as well as excellent fishing in the river, there’s boules, a fitness room, sauna, table football, badminton and bikes – there are walking and cycling tracks just a short distance away. At the end of the garden a gate leads on to a small private football pitch (for guests only). Or a few minutes in the car will take you to a dedicated leisure lake for sailing and canoeing. Just a 10-minute drive away you'll find the vast new (2022) aquatic centre at Chantonnay, complete with three indoor pools for both serious swimming and family fun, plus various play areas, a sauna, hammam and a salt cave, ideal for a dull weather day and open all year round.
If a cultural fix is required, make the four-kilometre drive to Bazoges-en-Pareds, a beautifully preserved medieval village. Or venture beyond to the picturesque village of Vouvant, one of the ‘Plus Beaux Villages de France’, just 20 kilometres away.
To stock up on provisions, there are shops, supermarkets and a Saturday market in Chantonnay, 10 kilometres away, or you can choose a restaurant there and leave the cooking for another day. For those food essentials at the start of your holiday, the little village of La Jaudonnière has a few shops to tide you over until you feel like venturing further afield.
The local area
Over half of the 250km Atlantic coastline of the Vendée is broad sandy beaches; you will find yourself basking in the sun, settling down for a nice lunch overlooking the waves, and enjoying the seaside ambience with plenty of room to spread out. The coastal towns are delightful, with the old fishing village of Les Sables-d’Olonne full of old world seaside charm, its broad beach lined with restaurants and cafés. It is famous as the starting point for the gruelling Vendée Globe sailing race. St-Jean-de-Monts is known as the biggest sandpit in western France, although La-Tranche-sur-Mer actually tops it with 13km of sandy beach. St-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is the oldest port in the Vendée and if you like grilled sardines this is the place to go. Offshore, the islands of L’Ile-d’Yeu, with its wild coastline facing the Atlantic, and Noirmoutier, reached by its exceptional causeway the Passage du Gois (check the tide tables), are wonderful spots for day outings. Inland, the Marais Poitevin, known as the ‘Green Venice’, is an area of 90,000 hectares of canals and marshes, forests and abbeys, teeming with bird and aquatic life where the sea and fresh water meet. You can hire a small boat and drift lazily through the timeless waterworld.
View holiday Booking Information
