Holidays in the Dordogne Valley, France.

 The House and Garden.


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The Area Around Le Roc Things to do in Dordogne and Lot Availability and Prices 

THE HOUSE

The House from the drive.

The house is a "village farmhouse" around 200 years old. Originally the downstairs would have been used to house the animals and store the farm tools and the family would have lived in one half of the first floor with the other half being used to store food and seed. The farmhouse is shown on the "Plan Napoleon".

Built using the local limestone, the walls are some two feet thick which helps to keep the house relatively cool in summer.
At some time in the past, a modern roof has been added, most probably because the roof timbers were unable to support the old stone tiles that are a feature of the area. A picture taken around 1910 hanging in the living room does show the original roof.

The house is approached by a drive from the "route touristique" from Souillac to Cahors and is set well away from the road in around one third of an acre of enclosed garden, laid mainly to grass with fruit and other trees. There are views of the surrounding wooded hills. There is plenty of parking space within the grounds.

The Centre of Le Roc.
The Dordogne Valley in this area flooded every winter until the 1950’s. A series of 5 dams were then built further upstream and these dams now control the flow of water down the river. Conequently flooding is now a rare occurance although we have seen the river in flood and the water level has risen some 12 feet above the level of the river bank. The regular flooding meant that many houses were built with the main living accommodation on the first floor but now that the dams are in place many houses, including our own, have now extended the living accommodation to the ground floor to take advantage of its relative coolness during the summer. As can be seen from the plan below, we have created a self contained “suite”. Although the two parts are never let separately this arrangement does provide a number of benefits:
 
  • Although there are four bedrooms with beds to sleep eleven (although eight is more comfortable), you never feel as if you are rattling around if there are less than eight in your party.
  • The two living rooms as well as the layout of the garden mean that you can easily find a “space of your own” during your holiday.
  • The lower accommodation is ideal where grandparents or people with limited mobility may be joining the family for the holiday.

The Ground Floor.

The Ground Floor Layout
The Ground Floor Bedroom

On the ground floor there is a large living room with two sofas, two armchairs, a dining table and chairs. Large patio windows open onto the garden.


The kitchen / utility room is equipped with a gas cooker, washing machine and a fridge/freezer. As well as enabling people using the ground floor bedroom to make an early cup of tea the facilities make it ideal for preparing food for outdoor meals or the barbeque and for keeping cold drinks handy for the garden!


There is also a shower room with lavatory and wash basin.

Bedroom four on the ground floor has one double and one single bed and a small sitting area with french windows.

The workshop is private but provides an exit via the emergency stairs from  bedroom one at the furthest end of the first floor. 

There is no internal staircase between the ground and upper floor; we have an external covered stone staircase connecting the two floors.

First Floor Layout

First Floor Layout
Living/Dining Area from Kitchen

Living / dining area viewed from the kitchen.

 Kitchen from Living Room

Kitchen viewed from the living / dining area.
On the first floor we have a living room with three piece suite, dining table and chairs and a high chair and CD music centre. There are two television sets, one to receive French television (great for checking the weather forcast at around 7:50 pm in the evening on TF1 or Antenne 2) and the other to receive English television! Leading off the living room is a well equipped kitchen with a gas hob and electric ring, electric oven, microwave, dishwasher, fridge/freezer, food processor and an English toaster and kettle. 

Bedroom one has a king size double bed and cot, bedroom two has two single beds and full size bunk beds and bedroom three has two single beds. All bedrooms have bedside tables and lamps, hanging and drawer or shelf space.

There is also a modern bathroom with bath and shower, basin and lavatory.

THE GARDEN

There are garden tables, chairs, parasols and sun loungers. There is a built-in barbecue for your outdoor meals and plenty of enclosed garden for youngsters to run around in. The trees provide shade for those days when it gets too hot in between cooling off in the pool. There is a "bouledrome" and boules to use on it and a badminton net with four racquets - serious players might want to bring their own!

Although the house is in the centre of the village it is relatively private. During the day, there is an abundance of wild life, especially birds. At some times of the year we have counted as many as nineteen buzzards and black kites circling above. We also have red squirrels, hedgehogs, rabbits, glow worms and it is rumoured that there are wild boar in the hills above the village! On a clear moonless night, amateur astronomers can have a spectacular view of the stars because of the relatively low levels of light pollution.

The pool is 8m x 4m and about 1m deep at the shallow end and about 2 m deep at the deep end. A 1.2m high fence conforming to French legal requirements provides added protection for young children and your peace of mind. The pool is cleaned regularly and the water kept clear by the filtration system and appropriate chemicals. Poolside and underwater lighting enable you to enjoy a evenings beside the pool and perhaps a dip before retiring to bed.  During the day we often see swallows skimming the pool to drink the water. In an evening you will often see bats doing the same thing. Rest assured that the bats will keep well clear of you but it can be interesting to watch them.

Saftey Notes: The garden is enclosed and, provided the entrance gate and the pool gate are kept closed should be reasonably secure for small children. Please check yourself though just in case  your children can find a way of getting through! The pool house is kept locked and is out of bounds because pool chemicals in undiluted form can be very dangerous. In front of the house there is an old well. It is covered with a heavy steel plate and is not easy to move. The water in the well is not safe to drink.
The 4m x 8m Private Swimming Pool

The 4 x 8 m swimming pool.

 The House and Barbeque Area from the Garden

The garden and the barbeque area.
Click on the links below to visit other areas of our website
The Area Around Le Roc Things to do in Dordogne and Lot Availability and Prices 

If you would like to contact us you can either fill in the form on the Availability and Prices page of our web site or telephone Gill on  01460 54999