Francais Bienvenue à Le Lievre Anglais

Experience the beauty and tranquility of rural France in our beautifully converted barn for 2 in the Charente.

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We look forward to welcoming you to 'Le Lievre' our privately owned 2 person gite / holiday home in the heart of the Charentais countryside.

Our stunningly converted little barn offers the most magnificent views over the countryside and an amazing sense of peace, tranquility and being at one with nature. It is situated at the end of small country lane so there is no passing traffic.

There is a spacious and stylish mezzanine bedroom with en-suite shower room and double doors leading to a balcony with views over the valley and forests beyond.

There are two sets of double doors, leading from the lounge and dining kitchen to a large deck with far reaching, magnificent views and with dining table and sun loungers. What could be better than chilling with a cold glass of wine whilst taking in all nature has to offer.

The lounge has a wood burning stove for cosy winter evenings and this leads to a well equipped dining kitchen where on long summer evenings dining al fresco is a pure joy. Watching the deer meander across the sunflower fields, listening to the birdsong and if you are lucky watching the wild boar foraging in the woods just adds to the amazing sense of being away from it all, deep in the gorgeous French countryside. There are many beautiful walks from the doorstep, some wonderful cycling and we offer private parking.  

As you enter Le Lievre you will see the lovely little walled courtyard, where you can take your morning coffee under the shade of our old walnut tree.

For anyone keen on keen on stargazing, the absence of light pollution means the night skies are truly magnificent. You are also sure to see the most spectacular sunsets.

We are situated in the south east Charente region of France very close to the border of the Dordogne and are surrounded by rolling hills and woodland, maize and sunflower fields but only 2km from the pretty town of Montmoreau St Cybard, with all amenities including butchers, bakers, bank, post office, bar, two restaurants and a large supermarket. The beautiful town of Aubeterre sur Dronne is only 15 minutes away with its unusual Romanesque monolithic underground church (a UNESCO World Heritage site) and voted one of the most beautiful villages in France. It has a variety of great restaurants, a wonderful river to swim in or kayak on, or you can sit with a chilled glass of wine or cold beer in the square watching the world go by.

Contact Details

For bookings or any other information at all please contact Toby and Lesley at contact@lelievregite.com,  or telephone  +33 (0)545 248474 or text +44 (0)7708943511

Cycling

The Charente is a fantastic area for cycling, with rolling hills, well kept roads, fabulous countryside and lots of pretty towns and villages with cafés and bars for the obligatory coffee and cake. Bike hire can be arranged with www.bikehiredirect.com who will deliver quality bikes direct to your door. Please check out the following links to find out more about cycling in this wonderful area. Gallery / Cycling in the Charente.

Walking

There are some lovely walks in the beautiful surrounding countryside from right outside the door. Below are some links to GPX files in the Alltrails.com app, which you should be able to load into your mapping application in order to guide you on your way.                                 

This spacious and airy property includes the following features;

A light and airy entrance hall leads to the large open plan lounge, kitchen, dining area with 2 sets of patio doors leading out to the deck and back garden.

There are exposed Charente stone walls and huge oak beams throughout. There is a wood burner for cosy winter evenings.  Satellite TV with all UK Freesat channels  and Wifi internet access.  

Spacious and well equipped dining kitchen (oven, dishwasher, washing machine, microwave, fridge) with beamed ceiling and double doors leading to the decking terrace. 

Upstairs on the mezzanine there is a king size bedroom with an en-suite shower room and double doors leading to a balcony with wide sweeping views.

Courtyard from Kitchen	Bedroom	Bedroom (with balcony doors)
Bedroom (with En Suite)	En Suite Shower Room	En Suite Shower Room
View from Deck Terrace	View from Balcony	Morning Mist
Sunset	Sunset	Le Lievre!

Prices and Availability.

Prices are for renting the whole property regardless of how many people. Minimum stay is 3 nights. Arrival after 16:00, departure before 10:00.  

We operate a 3 night minimum stay policy. Prices are negotiable depending on the length of time required. Please contact us for details. Terms and Conditions apply.

To check availability of the weeks you require follow the link or for this or any other information please contact Toby and Lesley at contact@lelievregite.com,  or telephone  +33 (0)545 248474 or text +44 (0)7708943511

A booking form will be sent out to you for you to complete at the time of booking. Full payment is due prior to your arrival together with a breakage deposit of £50.  This is refundable within 7 days of your departure after a full inspection of the property has taken place. 

if you wish to pay by credit card please e-mail us and we will send you a PayPal invoice. You can then pay into our PayPal business account. Please note that this method of payment does carry a surcharge of 4%.

There will be full information and maps and guides to the area.  We will also supply a map of how to get here. Obviously we are happy to share our knowledge of the area with you and can suggest day trips and places of interest to visit to suit your requirements. 

Duvets, blankets, pillows, linen and towels are provided.

The gite will be clean upon your arrival and there will be a cleaning charge of €40 for you to pay before your departure.

We operate a no smoking policy inside the gite and request that parties staying in the gite do not smoke whilst inside the property.

We regret that we cannot accept pets.

Normally arrival is after 4pm and departure before 10am but we can be flexible depending upon other bookings.

Location

Le Lievre is situated at Fresignac, 16190 Saint Laurent de Belzagot, Montmoreau Saint Cybard, Charente approximately 30 km South of Angouleme and 100 km North East of Bordeaux.

For more information click the map button to open a viamichelin map at the correct location:     

Getting Here

Flights:

The four closest airports are Bergerac at 80km,(1 hr 20 mins) Bordeaux at 100km (1 hr 20 mins), Limoges at 130km (1 hr 30 mins) and Poitiers at 150km (1 hr 45 mins). There are flights to these airports from London Stanstead, Liverpool, East Midlands, Leeds-Bradford, Southampton and Manchester amongst others. 

Car Hire:

Car Hire is available at all airports and Angouleme as well as some other local locations. 

Ferries:

Caen is about 5  hours drive on the toll motorways. Calais is an 7 hour drive.

Rail:

There is a TGV station in Angouleme which is about 40 mins drive away. The train takes under 2 hours from Paris.

Further Information on the area.

The Charente is one of four departments making up the region of Poitou-Charentes with Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sevres and Vienne. Each area has distinctive features but all have a generous share of  river.  The French traditionally consider the Charentais as somewhat laid back, and a bit zany! With its well preserved yet domesticated countryside and virtually every food product available fresh from the woods, fields, rivers and nearby ocean, the Charentais is generally quite happy with his peaceful lot.

The bustling and historic walled city of Angouleme is well worth a visit with its unmissable cathedral to Saint Pierre.  After strolling around the ramparts, you can sit and enjoy one of the ‘Plat du Jours’ the many restaurants have on offer in the square or one of its winding mediaeval streets. Held in the third weekend in September is the spectacular Circuit des Ramparts, which is the only vintage car rally held inside a French town. Alternatively visit the Nautilus waterpark in Angouleme, an ideal place to "cool off" and have fun. Spend a day wandering around Cognac with it's ancient streets and mansions of the brandy merchants and take a tour around one of the major cognac producers such as Hennessy, Martell or Remy Martin. Here you will encounter cellars full of aging cognacs some over a century old, and taste some of the exceptional matured amber that is Cognac, described by Victor Hugo as “The Liquor of the gods”.

The Charente has one of the richest displays of Romanesque art with all variations represented, more than its fair share of stunning chateaux, activity lakes, not to mention its packed programme of top quality summer festivals and markets. Alternatively just take it easy and mosey around some of the traditional market towns and picturesque villages immersing yourself in French culture and taste some of the local food and wine along the way. 

These are but a few of the activities on offer in the spectacular region of the Charente. Explore to your hearts content, and we hope to welcome you soon to both the Charente and Le Lievre.

 Contact Details

For bookings or any other information at all please contact Toby and Lesley at contact@lelievregite.com,  or telephone  +33 (0)545 248474 or text +44 (0)7708943511