Rigal is open all year, 20 minutes from Bergerac airport. Long weekend winter breaks, perfect tranquility but close to ALL amenities. Half term and Easter holidays, full central heating and cosy wood burner. Wonderful vineyards, markets and Chateaux and delightful Bordeaux is a day trip away.
Summer is sun, fun & luxury living. Stay at our stylish family-friendly farm with heated salt water swimming pool in a beautiful corner of France & you may never want to leave.
Your holiday at Rigal is an exciting opportunity to enjoy a relaxing and authentic French farmhouse experience.
Our three-bedroom child-friendly farmhouse nestles in 100 acres of organic pasture and woodland on a low intensity, free-range organic farm and is ideal for up to 6 guests plus cots, perfect for a family or a family travelling with grandparents who have their own ensuite bedroom on the ground floor.
The children can immerse themselves in safe and peaceful country surroundings, explore the extensive outdoor space and play equipment, make friends with the farm animals and help to feed them every morning, a highlight for the children ( and often all the family)
Our completely renovated farmhouse has:
3 en-suite bedrooms
Large lounge diner with woodburner and fabulous fireplace
Modern fully equipped kitchen
2 private terraces overlooking our 100 acres
12x6m heated saltwater pool with verandah, sunloungers
2 play areas for the children, netted trampoline, toys
Daily animal feeding, plenty to see and stoke
Extensive equipment for toddlers and babies including:
• Cot(s) and linen, fitted cot sheet, top sheet, blanket
• High Chair
• Booster seat
• Baby Monitor
• Changing mat and/or changing table
• Steriliser
• Stairgates (where needed)
• Potty
• Child's Loo seat
• Child's step
• Plastic cups, crockery and cutlery including weaning spoons
• Bath Toys and non-slip mat
• Hand held blender
• Bed Guard
• Blackout blinds/curtains/shutters in child's bedrooms
• A range of age appropriate outdoor toys
• A range of age appropriate indoor toys and books
• DVD player, screen and children's DVD – on request
• Microwave
• Night lights in children's bedrooms
INSIDE
Our farmhouse is a classic honey-toned Dordogne stone building, renovated with care and attention to ensure a beautifully decorated interior with a contemporary French feel.
The huge open plan sitting room and dining space, with a high exposed beamed ceiling, has two comfy sofas positioned in front of the fabulous ancient fireplace with a wood burner.
Family evenings, or taking a break from the French sunshine, are easy with the children helping themselves from the dresser full of toys and books or snuggling up in front of the television with UK satellite television or a movie from the DVD library.
French windows look out over a terrace and the huge back garden leading onto the medieval-designed organic vegetable patch, fields and woodlands.
The large dining table has plenty of space for all the family to enjoy meals together, with seating for up to 12.
Whether its preparing a simple breakfast or rustling up a French feast, cooking in the bright and airy kitchen is a pleasure - and there's plenty of room for the whole family to get involved. Fully-fitted with Shaker-style units and a double butler sink, it's equipped with all the usual mod cons including an oven/hob, fridge freezer, dishwasher and microwave.
A kitchen table with stools is perfect for snack time.
And there's no need to take all your laundry home with you as there is also a washing machine, neatly tucked away in a cupboard under the stairs.
Also on the ground floor is a delightful double bedroom, with a king-size bed, designed to ensure a good night's rest or relaxing afternoon nap.
This bedroom is perfect for grandparents who might like some space and privacy, or may find negotiating the stairs difficult. Alternatively, the room has plenty of space for a cot if being used by a couple with a baby.
A modern bathroom is accessed directly from this bedroom and the kitchen.
Upstairs, with child safety gates at the top and bottom, are two bedrooms in the renovated attic space. The landing and bedrooms have sloping ceilings and beautiful exposed beams.
The stylish master bedroom, with feature oak beamed, has a king-size bed, separate dressing room and en suite shower room. There is ample space for several cots in this relaxing bedroom.
A twin room, with an en suite shower room, is a lovely children's bedroom and also has space for a cot.
OUTSIDE
The private rear terrace is the perfect place to enjoy adult time in the evening when the children are in bed and it's position takes full advantage of the wonderful evening sunshine.
The private front terrace overlooks the tree-shaded courtyard, furnished with a table, chairs and barbecue, where there is a swings and slide set for smaller children.
At the far end of the courtyard is the fully-enclosed 12m x 6m salt-water, heated swimming pool, with Roman steps for easy access, enclosed by fencing and a self-locking gate and featuring two splash alarms.
Poolside shade is provided by a covered veranda and there are plenty of sun loungers for relaxing.
Beside the pool is a large, netted trampoline and, a little further up a gentle slope towards the woods, sits a second very large timber play set for older children.
Designed by British company Treetops, the play houses, swing, slide, climbing wall and climbing net are sure to be a magnet for older children and provide hours of creative play.
There is a good view of the play equipment from the pool area, allowing grown-ups to enjoy some quiet time while the little ones play to their hearts' content.
The farm also has plenty of friendly animals to see and stroke, from pigs to cows, rabbits to guinea pigs, ponies to doves.
Or you can visit the rare breed chickens - and maybe even collect some eggs - which share their stone-built home with the farm's resident ducks
Further details indoors
The Gite can comfortably sleep 6 plus cots and a floating bed if a child wants to or needs to sleep in a different room.With 3 en-suite bedrooms ,a kingsized bedroom and twin bedroom upstairs and a kingsized bedroom downstairs with en-suite bath/shower room.Both the king sized mattresses are pocket sprung orthopedic and very comfy.There is a wooden cot and a travel cot if required. There is a new fully fitted kitchen with dishwasher, microwave and washing machine, a spacious lounge with wood-burning stove and satellite television and DVD player. There is a dining area and outside you will find a walled courtyard to the front and to the rear a terrace and grassed area for BBQ's (provided) and watching the sunset. Everyone comments on how spacious the gite is and that it looks like it is straight out of a magazine..which is it....Country homes and Interiors Feb2011 and Living France March 2011
Of course there is WIFI to keep you up to date with waht's happening in the world as time seems to standstill at Rigal.
Eco-Tourism
Le Rigal estate is run organically, our pastures were officially recognized as organic in 2014 ; no chemicals are used on the pastures and re-cycling is a way of life. You will find recycling bins close to the gite where paper, card, plastic containers, boxes, bags, bottles, tins, cans and so on can be collected and recycled. A composting system is in place and most kitchen waste (apart from meat) can be composted. The compost produced is then spread onto our organic vegetable plot.
The wood burning stove in the gite is an environmentally friendly form of heating (if required!) using wood coppiced and collected from the estate.There is also wood burning central heating making out of season visits warm and comfortable. The salt water pool conforms to all the latest safety and filtration standards. The pool is a salt water pool thus avoiding chemicals that damage the skin and environment.
We have a variety of livestock, including several ponies. Much of the estate is grazed by cattle all safely fenced and we have a flock of hens and ducks including rare breeds.
Further details outdoors
Outside there is a new large heated salt-water swimming pool, table tennis, swings, sand-pit and a trampoline with acres of space for games of frisby, badminton, football or cricket in a safe environment. There is woodland to explore and walks straight from the front door. With farm trails, areas to make dens, and feeding the animals the children who come to stay at Rigal have so much to do.There are laminated details of all the marked walks in the local area. There garden is best described as parkland as there is so much of it! but in the courtyard there is an apple orchard with very safe gardens you can view from the comfort of the patio.
There is a terrace in front of the gite with table and chairs for dining( bbq providied) and also a table by the pool for relaxed poolside dining. There are sun loungers and wooden chairs by the pool.
At dusk you can often see deer and hear owls hooting, crickets cricketing! and frogs croaking.
We have a variety of livestock, including several horses and ponies.There is Misty the sheepdog who keeps a watchful eye on our small flock of rare breed free range chickens. The rest of our land is grazed by cattle.