LA PETITE BERGERIE

Our family of five had a great time at La Petite Bergerie - there was loads of space for the children to play, both indoors and out, a lovely pool and a safe environment, in the peaceful Charente-Maritime countryside.

We wanted for nothing in the gite, and Catherine and Terry were on hand should we have any questions about the area, restaurants, etc. They also suggested some short bike rides we could take which were flat enough, and safe enough, for our five and seven year old boys.

The River Charente is just a few minutes walk from the gite and you can swim in the river at the picturesque Port d'Envaux, a short bike/car ride away. We were lucky enough to be part of a local festival at Port d'Envaux, with dancing, fireworks and a children's lantern parade around the village - an unexpected surprise!

We also unexpectedly happened upon some fantastic cliff carvings just outside Crazannes which the children loved. In fact, the gite, pool and the surrounding countryside were so great, we hardly ventured further afield. However, we did manage trips to the Roman amphitheatre at Saintes, Talmont sur Gironde and nearby beaches. This is our first trip to the Charente-Maritime, but we shall definately return and hopefully this lovely gite will be available!

Everything you read about La Bergerie is accurate, if anything Catherine and Terry are modest and the pictures don't show you what an outstanding conversions they have done to this fabulous building - this is a stand-out place to stay and is a worthy Gold (well it is 2012 after all!). We have stayed in over 7 'Gites' and this is certainly one if not the best. The pool is perfect - immaculate and great for a rest, swim, soak up the sun, play or to seek peace and shade.

The owners are present but very discrete, friendly and able to help or guide depending on your needs in this fabulous area of France - when we stayed Catherine told us of an opera in the local Chateau gardens - we are not even opera buffs but who could not enjoy a picnic in the grounds followed by a fabulous evening of Rossini's best. We would recommend the Charente Maritime for its proximity to beautiful towns and countryside (excellent cycling territory for cyclists of all types on safe roads with flat and some gentle rises - no hill climbs that's for sure!). We were delighted to spend two weeks here, did not exhaust the potential and our two girls (17 and 18) loved the place and the area. There are two very good restaurants within a short drive and the local town St Savinien is very pretty and Saintes a very elegant visit with Roman antecedents.

A younger family staying seemed to love the other property too. The village is pretty and is a welcome experience to being more isolated - you can walk to the post office or charcuterie for example, the boulangerie is a short cycle ride. We would not hesitate to return or to recommend to family and friends.

Visits to La Rochelle and Rochefort should go on your list - take a look at the Hermione - a completely new build 1700s warship with everything made by hand over the last 15 years or so. The rope and maritime museums are excellent too as is the amphitheatre at Saintes. Try to find out when the market days are and plan visits around those too.

We loved our stay - shame we could not stay longer...

We stayed at La Petite Bergerie this year for a week, June 2nd, as we were attending a wedding nearby. As soon as we arrived it had a lovely feel to it and we could tell we were going to very happy here. My wife and I had travelled down with our Son, Daughter in law and our new grand-daughter who was 3 mths old. We were greeted as we arrived by Catherine who welcomed us as if we were old friends and made us feel very welcome and basically told us to enjoy 'our' gite as if it were our own, and it did feel like that as soon as she opened the front door. It looked lovely from the outside but when she let us in we were delighted with what we saw. Very tastefully renovated, home from home farmhouse feel that just made you sigh with pleasure that it was exactly what had been described and more. We were given the keys a nice bottle of wine, some milk, bread and home made jam which after a long journey was very welcome. We then explored. All the rooms were very nicely done and very clean with the 2 bathrooms just how you would want them. To me though the kitchen was the best, nice long family table all the implements you could need and just a nice family atmosphere about the place, which we did take full advantage of with the many visitors we had. The gardens were lovely and the pool was great fun with very good loungers. Everything was perfect from the hospitality, to the gite itself, to the pool, to the gardens, to the area outside for bbq's and we would highly recommend this gite to anyone. Great area to explore as well with a boulangerie not 2 mins away and a very good charcuterie 5 mins away.(my French spelling might not be perfect I am afraid). We also had our daughter, her husband and two friends in the adjoining gite making 10 adults altogether but it never seemed crowded or small as there was plenty of space, plenty of fun, and just the occaisional beer or wine enjoyed to make it just perfect. Many thanks to Catherine for a very memorable stay. Ross&Helen Ricketts and family.