Nestled on the gentle hillside of a sleepy hamlet, this lovingly restored home and garden artfully unites original character with up-to-date facilities. Set in a rural idyll teeming with wildlife, it has beautiful views onto woodland & unspoilt countryside.

This 'maison de campagne' (sleeps 7 plus a cot) was little more than a pile of stones, when Francis & Alison and their team of local artisans started restoration work. Reconstructed using the existing stones and oak beams and subsequently furnished with reclaimed, hand painted furniture and 'objets trouvés', this place is a testament to the ethics of recycling. The thick stone walls combined with cool terracotta floor tiles maintain a natural coolness in the Summer negating the need for air conditioning. Natural fabrics and linens frame the windows and doors with refreshing simplicity.

The house faces south and its front borders are planted with old fashioned, scented climbing roses and lavenders. The large garden is walled to one side with iron entrance gates and a gravel driveway to the shady parking area under the trees. There’s a sunken herb garden and ancient vestiges of a former ruin create stone terracing down to the ‘pétanque’ court. There’s lawned areas for playing badminton or relaxing on the ‘chaises longues’, lovely views and sunsets over the meadow, which is occasionally grazed by a few rare breed sheep. 

The shady open barn, planted with wisteria and clematis, under which is a large wooden table & chairs and along with the barbecue, makes a perfect setting for outdoor eating & drinking.

The tiny hamlet of Le Sauvage, just metres away from the Charente / Deux-Sèvres border, is perched on a hillside and surrounded by pasture, fields of sunflowers in the summer and groves of magnificent sweet chestnut trees. The hamlet, which means ‘untamed’, with its honey coloured stone walls and canal roof tiles, seems to sleep and shimmer in the heat of the day. It’s an ideal area for walking and gentle cycling, especially as there’s so little traffic on the roads, lots of interconnecting lanes through fields and woodland, forgotten hamlets, stone lavoirs (ancient washhouses) which bubble with ice cold spring water, wells … lovely spots for picnics.

If you don’t feel like stirring out of the garden, you could stay at home and enjoy your private, exclusive use pool or simply watch the migratory hoopoes or later on in the evening listen to the song of the nightingale. There’s a wealth of good local restaurants offering excellent value, or dine on freshly cooked local produce 'at home' under the stars.