Detached, bright, spacious 5 bedroom house with private swimming pool and fantastic outdoor space.
Comfortably sleeps 8, perfect for extended family or two families holidaying together.
We have so many amazing memories of family holidays spent here - we think you'll love it too.
This is our family holiday home which we love coming back to year after year. Because it is where we go for our holidays (and it's not just a holiday let) it is set up with all the kit and facilities you could possibly need for a great stay. Good sized rooms throughout, so no arguments about who has the best one! A fully kitted out kitchen with a range style oven with five gas burners, a full size American style fridge freezer, proper sharp knives etc.
We've a lovely swimming pool with hammock and sun loungers set in our spacious garden, so if you fancy lazing by the pool, it's a great setup for you. But there's also so much to tempt you out.
It's only a 400 metre walk to the beach, snack bar and restaurant at the popular Grand Etang de St Estephe. Beautiful sandy lifeguard-patrolled beach with free paddle board & kayak hire in summer. Close to Dordogne tourist attractions
Our house is in the perfect edge of village location; we're on a quiet road just 400 metres walk to the beach and facilities at the Grand Etang de St Estephe. The golden sandy beach is maintained every morning throughout summer, so it always looks stunning and there are plenty of sun loungers for sunbathing or keeping shaded around the beach area.
If sunbathing or sandcastles aren't your thing, there is still loads to do at the beach. You can head out onto the lake on paddle boards or kayaks with FREE hire every summer afternoon. There are tennis, volleyball, basketball and boule courts available to use free of charge. And if walking is more your thing, there's a scenic, flat path around the lake - the kids will love the transporter to cross the lake half-way around! as well as numerous other walks directly from the house or the beach.
It's the perfect place if you're looking for somewhere where you can walk to eat out, with two lakeside restaurants within an easy stroll. We've had some incredible meals out at the Moulin du Grand Etang (open year-round), which is perfect for a special night out - check out the view in our photo listing. The snack bar is a more informal place for a great steak and chips or salad with a carafe of wine or a cold beer. It is open all day during summer months for ice creams, cold drinks, chips and snacks and also opens at weekends in off-peak times if it is sunny enough!
There's also a wonderful night market every Monday in summer when the whole village - tourists and locals - come together to sample food and wine from local producers.
There are two choices of boulangerie in the mornings, either in nearby St Estephe or Augignac, and there are also a couple of local bars.
We are in a rural area and see deer in the field opposite the house most evenings as the sun goes down.
If you're the active type, there are lots of quiet roads and tracks where you can run or cycle for miles on end without seeing any traffic - why not combine it with a swim in the lake to complete your triathlon!!!
Every Wednesday morning, there is an enormous market at Piegut (4 miles away), which is one of the biggest and best in the whole of South West France. The focus is on food, wine and local produce, but there are also plenty of souvenirs to be had. Get there early to beat the crowds. If markets are your thing, there is an option in a nearby town every day of the week - Thiviers on Saturday is also great.
For family activities, our children love the treetop adventures (accrobranche) - there is a great one near Nontron, which has a huge zip wire over a lake!
We've lost count of the number of times we've been back to the Vallee des Singes, where thousands of monkeys and other wildlife roam free. We've also taken the children multiple times to the amazing gardens and maze-like topiary at Marqueyssac.
Canoeing is hugely popular in the Dordogne and there are numerous places along the Vézère, Dordogne or Drone where you can hire a canoe for an hour or two, or even a full day's adventure. You can also take a boat trip from many spots.
Whilst you'd be hard-pushed to find a better place to spend a day by the water than the lake beach on our doorstep, if you do tire of it, we can give you some locals' tips about river beaches which the crowds don't know about...
Caves in the Dordogne's Vézère valley contain some of the oldest artworks. The cave paintings at Lascaux are world-renowned as among the finest examples of prehistoric art in existence, but there are also important paintings at the Grotte des Combarelles and Grotte de Font-de-Gaume.
We have some beautiful local villages and towns on our doorstep. Nontron is well worth a few hours exploring. Brantome (half an hour's drive) is coined the Venice of Perigord Vert because of its scenic position with the River Dronne flowing through it - you can also set off on a fun canoeing trip from here. Other local towns worth a visit include the picture-postcard village of St Jean de Cole, Villars (also famous for its caves) and the riverside town of Bourdeilles. The tourist hubs of Sarlat-La-Caneda, Beynac-et-Cazenac, Domme, La Rogue-Gageac, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, Monpazier and Limeuil make great day trips.
The Dordogne is famous for its clifftop castles and chateaux. Chateau Beynac and Chateau Castelnaud are the most visited in France, but also check out the Chateaux at Milandes, Bourdeilles, Hautefort and Jumilhac.
If wine tasting is your thing, you can get to Bordeaux and its surrounding wine regions in a couple of hours, but Monbazillac, with its beautiful chateau, is a little closer and is the place to go for a fantastic dessert wine.
In terms of practicalities, there is a supermarket in Piegut, but we prefer the larger one in Nontron (4 miles away) which has a brilliant range, including fish, cheese and meat counters. There are also cashpoints, petrol stations and tourist information centres in both towns.
As you can tell, we love the area and would be only too happy to advise about other things to do in the region.
