Nearest Airport
: Paris Orly
at 200
Kilometres
Nearest Ferry
: Calais
at 500
Kilometres
Nearest Train
: Cosne Cour sur Loire
at 30
Kilometres
Nearest Motorway
: A77 (Cosne exit)
at 25
Kilometres
Nearest Barpub
: Donzy
at 15
Kilometres
Nearest Golf
: Sancerre
at 40
Kilometres
Nearest Restaurant
: Donzy
at 15
Kilometres
Car: necessary
The Nièvre department is within the Burgundy region, located in the centre of France. It is an area with beautiful verdant countryside with rolling hills, perfect both for gentle and for more challenging cycling expeditions. It enjoys a relaxed pace of life, with many charming villages to explore and restaurants to discover. Burgundy is world-famous for its wines and also for its food, including some wonderful cheeses (including the famous Crottin de Chavignol - a goat’s cheese from Nievre) and charcuterie (including terrines, ham from the Morvan region and Clamecy andouillettes). The Charolaise meat from the region is renowned all over the world.
Our converted barn and farmhouse is located in the heart of a small hamlet, behind the local 'lavoir' at the source of the stream (where the women of the community used to wash their clothes). The nearest amenities (boulangerie, small supermarket, pharmacy, tennis courts etc) are 4 km away and 15km away is the small town of Donzy, which is charming to wander around with its roads of quaint old houses and church, lovely local restaurant and walnut oil-producing mill, or for using the open-air swimming pool. Cosne sur Loire, a further 15km beyond Donzy, has many shops and larger facilities, and just outside Cosne is La Ferme du Port d'Aubry - a working goat farm (with many other animals, including ponies on which during the summer months they can take rides) which the children will love to wander around (for free) with a farm shop, which sells local produce including (naturally) goats cheese, preserves, wines and beer. The towns of Sancerre and Pouilly sur Loire are a 30 minutes drive where you can sample the many world-famous wines, both within these lovely towns or by meandering through the vineyard-covered countryside around. To the east is the beautiful Morvan forest region and slightly more north-easterly the gastronomic town of Vezelay is worth the 50km drive, both for its restaurants and beautiful abbey, one of the most important starting points for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Another recommended destination is the Château du Saint Fargeau with its beautiful farm, through which the animals roam at will and love to be fed by the visitors. On the way to Saint Fargeau, just 15 minutes or so past Donzy, is the lovely town of St Armand en Puisaye, famous for its pottery - lovely for wandering around the dozens of potteries and stopping off in a restaurant or café.
Around the hamlet lie miles of quiet roads with local bars and cafés in the villages along the way; perfect for biking or wandering, whilst looking out for the local wildlife including buzzards, wild boar and deer.
