GITES DE FAGES
Rustic Self-catering Accommodation
in the Heart of the Dordogne,
South West France
ABOUT US
We bought this property in the summer of 2015 after falling in love with the pretty village of Saint Genies and the surrounding area in the heart of the Dordogne. We love the lifestyle and the laid back culture that France has to offer. We spent the whole of the following year travelling to and fro our home in England to spend time in "our French house" carrying out as much refurbishment to the cottage and converted part of the barn as we could during our short stays. We spent endless hours chopping down the overgrown bushes and trees in the small-but-perfectly-formed garden, not least of which involved "pollarding" the enormous lime tree which had been left to grow to a disproportionate size and completely dominated the garden. Initially we had thought to take it down completely but, on the advice of neighbours and friends, decided it should stay. This proved to be a great decision as it now provides an invaluable source of shade on a hot summer's day!
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The garden area is now a beautiful and tranquil space with plenty of areas to sit and enjoy a glass or two of wine with some cheese and fresh bread whilst taking in the superb view of the surrounding countryside and watching the sun set. It is so peaceful, with rarely a car passing by, you really do find yourself unwinding quite easily from the stresses of work and daily life back home. Given the quiet location in the peaceful hamlet of Fages, children are able to enjoy running around and playing without the worry of traffic.
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We still have plans to convert the larger part of the barn at some point to provide a larger living area and extra bedrooms to form one larger gite and to install a childrens' play area on the adjoining piece of grass.
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We have spent as much time as we can exploring the area both during our stays at the cottage and previous holidays to this truly exceptional destination. Our long-term favourite will always be the medieval market town of Sarlat. Being a mere 15 minutes by car, it has vast array of family-friendly cafe bars and shops selling gifts and regional produce, not to mention the weekly markets.
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OUR GITES
There are two gites located at the property, "Le Cottage" and "Le Petit Gîte". These can be booked either individually or together.
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Le Cottage
This offers three-bedroom, rustic accommodation. The master bedroom is situated on the first floor and has a kingsize bed, built-in shower and wash-hand basin. There two further bedrooms on this floor, a double and a twin and there is also separate toilet. The main bathroom is situated on the ground floor and has a large bath with a shower over, toilet and wash-hand basin.
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The cottage boasts a large, well-equipped kitchen with log burner, sitting room with exposed stone walls and a separate dining room with French doors leading out onto a patio area overlooking the garden.
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Le Petit Gîte
This property forms part of the barn and has been converted to provide a lovely two-bedroom gite. On the first floor, the master bedroom has a double bed and modern en-suite shower room. The second bedroom has twin beds and there is further separate shower room.
Downstairs is an airy, open plan living area with log burner, fully-equipped kitchen and dining space.
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Whichever combination of accommodation you choose, your party will have sole use of the pool.
FACILITIES
Le Cottage
(sleeps 6)
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Bedroom 1: kingsize bed, shower, wash-hand basin
Bedroom 2: double bed
Bedroom 3: two single beds
Separate toilet
Bathroom with toilet and bath with shower over
Large kitchen: dishwasher, 5 burner gas hob, built-in electric fan oven, built-in fridge, additional fridge, microwave
Separate dining room
Sitting room: with free view satellite TV (English)
Pool
In-ground 8 m x 4 m pool with stunning countryside view
Decked sun terrace area with sun loungers and parasol
Le Petit Gîte
(sleeps 4)
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Bedroom 1: double bed and en-suite shower room
Bedroom 2: two single beds
Shower room
Large open plan living area with:
Kitchen area: dishwasher, washing machine, four-burner gas hob, built-in electric fan oven, large fridge freezer, microwave
Sitting area: free view satellite TV (English), Bose sound dock
Dining area with seating for four
Garden
Walled gravel garden with tiled terrace and separate patio area perfect for alfresco dining
BBQs, patio furniture and parasols
GALLERY
(click to enlarge)
THINGS TO SEE AND DO
The Dordogne is a truly wonderful area of France. With so many things to see and do the options are plentiful so the following provides just a flavour of what's on offer.
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The nearest town, Salignac-Eyvigues, is about 2 miles away and has a bakery, butchers, bank and an Intermarche supermarket which sell a very good selection of produce - you can buy pretty much all your essentials there. Fages is ideally situated between Montignac and Sarlat and is about a 15 minute drive from either.
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Montignac is well worth a visit as it has pretty little narrow streets and squares and offers a wide selection of bars and restaurants. The Vezere River runs through it and you can hire canoes/kayaks from here as well. Not far from there, and about 20 mins drive from the property, are the Lascaux caves where prehistoric cave paintings were discovered. We've not yet seen them ourselves but apparently it's well-worth a visit www.lascaux.culture.fr.
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Sarlat is a beautiful and medieval town (www.sarlat-tourisme.com) that stays bustling pretty much all year round and is another "must-see" place.
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There are absolutely loads of other places to visit - chateaux, market towns, gardens and it's also a great area for cycling, canoeing and walking. The Sarlat Voie Verte, is a paved cycle route that has been converted from a disused railway track. Bikes can be rented locally too or there is a company (Velo du Lot) that will deliver bikes directly to you.
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HOW TO FIND US
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Getting there
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Driving
The property is located in the hamlet of Fages, St Genies (post code 24590). It is approximately 7.5 hours from the ferry ports of Calais, Cherbourg and Roscoff .
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Flying
Brive La Gaillarde airport is only a 30-minute drive from Fages and the airports of both Bergerac and Limoges are about 1.5 hours away. Car hire is easy to arrange from any of these.
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The local taxi firm (Taxi Salignacois: 00 33 06 82 44 40 63), based in Salignac-Eyvigues, offers airport transfers to any of these airports . However, we would strongly recommend bringing your own car or hiring one to take full advantage of things the area has to offer.
TARIFFS for 2018
Low season Mid season High season
Cottage £450 £650 £750
Petit Gite £350 £500 £600
Both £700 £1000 £1200
Low season: April , May and October
Mid season: June and September
High season: July and August
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Prices are per week inclusive of bed linen, towels, water, electricity and gas.
From May to September the changeover day is generally a Saturday but this is flexible for the rest of the year.
Booking process:
- A 25% deposit is to be made to confirm your booking.
- Remainder to be paid 4 weeks before arrival.
- A damage deposit of £300 is requested to be paid by bank transfer before arrival which will be refunded at the end of your stay by bank transfer.
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