Manoir de Lussac will give you a wonderful family holiday in France. It’s a large, elegant manor house, with classic pale green shutters, an atmosphere of calm, and rooms decorated in traditional French country style. It has a beautiful garden and an outdoor pool large enough for a decent swim.
The main house sleeps eight adults and five children. The top floor room with three futon beds and a further bunk bed room are both exciting options for children. There is also a sweet stone cottage in the grounds, which sleeps two.
There are some wonderful local shops and markets (including the big one in Riberac on Fridays) and everything you need in the kitchen for self-catering en masse. Alternatively, a chef can be arranged, or you can have delicious French country cooking delivered to the house at any time. There are also numerous restaurants nearby, from casual to gastronomic, living up to Perigord’s culinary reputation.
This is an easy house for entertaining, and there are various places to sit and relax or dine. Besides the dining room there is poolside seating in the sun, chairs on the library terrace for watching the sunset, lounging chairs under shady trees and even a hammock or two.
The Dordogne encapsulates all that is best about France – rolling hills, fragrant meadows, leafy country lanes, stone cottages with flower-filled gardens, clean rivers, pretty villages, and farms and forests as far as the eye can see. It's beautiful, friendly and comfortable – no wonder people come here to holiday and often choose to stay.
There are three double rooms and one twin room in the main house, as well as a large attic room on the top floor which has three futon beds, skylights, a sitting area, a games table and an ensuite shower room shared with the small bunk bed room for two nearby. The children can therefore feel liberatingly separate from the grown ups!
One bedroom has cable TV and a VCR. All the rooms have views over the countryside.
There are three further ensuite bathrooms, and a separate bathroom on the first floor.
An open fire in the drawing room makes it cosy off-season when you can all gather for afternoon tea or a pre-dinner aperitif.
The cottage was formerly the estate bakery. It is now a complete house with a sitting room, a wood-burning fireplace, a fully-equipped kitchen and a double bedroom and ensuite bathroom. Like the house, it is fully centrally heated, and is a charming retreat for members of your party who may like a little extra privacy.
In addition to the house and cottage there is a converted “pigeonnier”, still in a fairly basic state but ideal for pool use. It actually has its own small double bedroom, a sitting area, a kitchen with a small fridge, stove and sink and a large shower room.
The price includes maid service (15 hrs per week), pool service twice weekly and a gardener. Please note that the pool can be heated throughout the summer (around €100 per week extra).
The library/TV room has a European cable system with three English channels - BBC prime, BC World news and CNN World News – as well as French, Spanish and other channels. There is a DVD player too.
The kitchen is traditional wood with two ovens, a hob, microwave, fridge (with ice machine) and dishwasher.
Linen and towels are included, and two cots and high chairs are provided. There is a large laundry room in the basement with washer, dryer, utility sink, ping-pong table and double doors to the garden and a parking area.
Pets can usually be accommodated upon request.
Mme Leeds, the owner, lives opposite the house.
The grounds of Manoir de Lussac border the village of Verteillac, four kms away. The village has an English-speaking doctor, a pharmacy, a church, cafés, a general store, a bike hire outlet and a new sports complex.
Airports: Bordeaux (1.5 hrs); Bergerac (1 hr)
Station: Angoulême (45 mins)
Angoulême, capital of the Charente region, is an hour’s drive from the Manoir. It’s a handsome town, high on a hill with splendid views over the surrounding countryside.
Closer to home, the big Friday market at Riberac (9 kms), the largest open air market in the area, is an event not to be missed, where you can stock up on the kinds of produce you can only dream of at home.
Whilst it's wonderful having your own swimming pool, children in particular like a change of scenery where they can meet other children. Beaches, which you'll find beside the clean fresh waters of many rivers and lakes nearby, are the ideal solution. Usually there are slides, diving boards and numerous other amenities which adults are free to join in on. Aubeterre (30 minutes) is one of the most popular.
All kinds of other activities can be arranged for your stay with prior notice, including wine tours, antique shopping, visits to prehistoric caves and hot air balloon trips. As for leisure activities, cycling, fishing, river walks, tennis, canoeing and riding are all available nearby.
Riberac has a cinema, supermarkets, and a tourist office where you can buy TGV train tickets.
Perigueux, capital of the Dordogne and Southwest France, is approximately one hour’s drive away. It is a beautiful, historic city with a lovely old town centre, Roman ruins, a museum, great shopping, a market on Saturday mornings and an 18-hole golf course.
Low season: from €2,000 (£1,350) per week
High season: from €4,725 (£3,185) per week
Short breaks can be arranged, apart from July and August when the house is available for two-week bookings only. Breaks will cost roughly the one-week price divided by 7, on a pro rata basis.