We absolutely loved The Grange , a beautiful property , classily designed and furnished and with a great layout. Well equipped and in the perfect location on the edge of the village . The pool was delightful and kids loved it . Alison the owner was fantastic , non intrusive but very happy to help when asked . I really highly recommend this property .

We spent two lovely weeks with Alison and Marmite the dog. The gite is situated in a secluded location but still in easy reach of local amenities and popular landmarks. The gite is both dog and child friendly. There is everything you need for a comfortable stay and Alison is on hand should there be anything missing. The surrounding area has some fabulous walks and worth going out on foot to explore. Walking distance from the gite in the near by town is a shop that sells delicious bread and pastries. You can even order your Sunday chicken should you feel like a break from cooking.

We stayed at Alison’s place for a week in July for my father’s 80th birthday treat. We had a fabulous time, the location is lovely, Alison is a very accommodating host, helping us with local recommendations and even getting a few basics in for us as we arrived on a Sunday when shops were closed. The gite is well equipped and the pool and garden area well kept. As dog lovers, we very much enjoyed meeting her wonderful spaniel, Marmite, too! We would definitely recommend Alison’s place :-)

Un séjour très agréable au calme dans un environnement reposant et verdoyant. La maison est très bien équipée, joliment décorée et permet une vie au plein air idéale avec terrasse, jardin et une super piscine. Ali et Marmite sont des hôtes très attachants et conviviaux. Ce fut un réel plaisir de faire leur connaissance..Une adresse à garder dans son carnet... Best wishes Muriel Gladys Emma Alain Gabriel et Diva

A beautiful place to unwind. Immediate back garden perfect for al fresco dining. Further garden area with walnut trees & swimming pool excellent for relaxation. House was spacious and comfortable with a lovely cosy library nook. Lovely walk 10mins drive away at Lac Lescouroux, perfect for dogs & humans. Beautiful vineyards & plum orchard walk just across the road. Alison, the owner, was so helpful & friendly. Marmite her spaniel visited our greyhhounds & was delightful.

Just back from a lovely relaxing week with my brood. The seasons were on the change but we were still able to use the pool which was a great extra blessing. We learnt to play croquet and had many laughs as well as visiting beautiful places in the area. This gite has everything you could need and Ali is a friendly, caring but non-intrusive host. A car is recommended as Loubes would be a good walk. Don't be afraid to use Buggs car hire at Bergerac. Thanks Ali your property is a hidden gem! Rachel H

Wonderful relaxing and tranquil. The property is spacious with an open lounge kitchen area well able to accommodate the number of people claimed. It is part of an old farmhouse. There is a lovely balcony outside the main bedroom and the other two bedrooms are spacious and comfortable. The en-suite showers are spacious. The facilities are entirely adequate and comfortable. the out door eating area is well shaded against hot sun and secluded. There is a large play area and two very good pools; one a children's paddling pool. All in all, an extremely pleasant place to stay We have known this area for many years and can recommend the surrounding towns and villages for their many facilities. The local village shop is very well stocked for essentials and there are very adequate super markets in two of the nearby towns. Excellent local French markets at Duras, Miramont, Ste Foy, Eymet and Monsegur, to name a few. The local vineyards are great and well worth exploring. There are a lot of activities for children in the summer months. The owner is very helpful and does not intrude. Any little problems are immediately dealt with. We have already recommended this place to other people.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here and found the gite itself to be comfortable, the garden and pool area fantastic, and Ali the owner, to be very helpful, friendly and knowledgeable about the area. The garden is huge, with ample space for badminton, croquet, football and the like. The pool area is excellent, with a smaller, shallow pool ideal for young children, and the larger pool ideal for swimming, cooling off and playing in. The dining area just outside of the gite was ideal for all meal times, as well as for simply sitting down to read. Ali, while not at all intrusive, was available to help and answer questions about the gite and the area, and Charlie, her golden retriever, was very friendly, and we definitely enjoyed meeting him! The village of Loubès-Bernac, just a 15/20 minute walk or very short car trip away is small, but provides all of the necessities, with a newly opened restaurant and a village shop from which fresh croissants and bread can be bought in the morning, and Nadine will take orders for your daily bread. The area is surrounded by beautiful vineyards and sunflower fields, and the great expanses of rolling green hills provide an excellent view as you drive along! There is certainly plenty to see in the surrounding area, with a list of local markets and restaurants being available in the gite. The nearby towns of Duras, Eymet and Issigeac are ideal to visit, with nice shops and restaurants, although it is important to note that, in France, shops are often closed for lunch, although restaurants will remain open. These towns are also nice to visit on their market days, although they will be considerably busier, especially Issigeac, which has a very popular market. As an alternative to cooking yourself or going out to a restaurant, summer night markets at the local towns are excellent. At the night markets, local people and restaurateurs put on a variety of stalls from which you can buy your food, and then you sit down to eat at the tables. We visited the night market at Duras, where you could buy excellent wine, pasta, mussels and chips, and paella, amongst many other things. There was also an fantastic local jazz band playing as we ate and we enjoyed listening to them very much. Bergerac also is undoubtedly worth a visit, and is fairly close by. It is a very beautiful town, and very popular with tourists, with its appealing restaurants and shops. Despite its touristic appeal, however, it remains a tasteful attraction, and the boat trip down the river is a nice activity. Overall, we were very happy during our stay, with both the gite and the surrounding area, and would recommend the property to others.

I would start by agreeing with everything that has been said in the earlier review, and in terms of description of the Gite I cannot add anything further other than to say it suited us perfectly with a young family. But would equally suit 2/3 couples. We stayed at the property for 5 weeks, the whole of September and the first week of October. We didn't want to come home. We had everything we needed and it was a veritable Home from Home. Ali the owner was very friendly and was a font of knowledge about the area, she was available if you needed anything but otherwise she did not impose. Both our girls enjoyed the company of Charlie the dog, who is very good with children, but if you are not a dog lover, then the owner would ensure that Charlie stayed away.. We travelled with our two daughters who were 2 and half and 7 months who both enjoyed their stay with the large gardens and the swimming pools. The surrounding area is wonderful and there are a great number of vineyards where you can taste the wine within a very quick drive away, many only a few minutes drive away. The supermarkets are about 20 minutes away by car and the large supermarket at St Foy Le Grande, called Le Clair. I would struggle to name something they didn't sell, however the local shop in Loubes Bernac stocks most provisions you would need, especially lovely ice cream and fresh croissants and bread. Nadine the owner also serves up lovely coffees which we unfortunately only discovered in our last week. We went to all the local markets and the local towns, Eymet and Issigieac were our favourites. Bergerac is worth a visit, it has a lovely old quarter which has some lovely buildings. We also enjoyed the boat ride down the river. The surrounding countryside is lovely with all the vines and the fields of sunflowers. They were harvesting the grapes whilst we were there which was fascinating to see. We had a trip out to the Aquarium the other side of Bergerac which the girls enjoyed especially feeding the coy carp. St Emilion was also well worth a visit and not as expensive as we thought it would be. We intend to go back next year, perhaps this time at the beginning of the season, so we can see how the countryside views have changed. We travelled from the North West of England to Portsmouth and caught the overnight ferry to St Malo, which I would recommend with young children. We stayed overnight on the way down near La Rochelle so we could take things easy and stop a few times. However on the way back we did it in a day, and it was also okay, although probably would be quicker if the children were older. In summary I would thoroughly recommend staying at this Gite and we will be returning next year, and who knows for many years to come, as we still did not get round all the vineyards.

We have never been to this part of France before, so the review is in three parts. As background, we are a family of 5, with our eldest 9 and youngest 10 weeks… 1. The Gite The property is an attractive stone cottage/barn with a single downstairs kitchen/diner/lounge. Upstairs are 3 good size bedrooms and three bathrooms, with a large landing area and balcony. This rental living itself could be considered a large semi-detached house, with the owner (Ali) living in the other attached property. Separation between the properties is good - externally, via a courtyard and private/screened gardens, and internally, via a hall and reception area. Access to the properties are completely separate. The owner is only there if you need assistance - otherwise, you are left alone, with the comfort of knowing there is someone nearby who can assist. The weather was hot outside, however the Gite internally was cool in the day time and warm in the evening - very comfortable with the stone walls. Outside, there is a nice eating area directly next to the property which is well screened from the sun, but equally very warm. Walk through this screened areas, to access a large grassy area which is great for the children to play in and also contains a playhouse and swings. The pool itself is in the far corner of the grass area (just 100 small steps away from the gite). The two pools are positioned here to receive the maximum amount of sun. One is a paddling pool, which is great for the kids to run around in (but has no heating) and the main pool (I would estimate is 9x5m) and is heated by a series of solar heated pipes. The pipes work remarkably well and the pool is easily heated to 26 degrees by lunch time. The pool depth is estimated at a flat 5.5 foot depth with a standard metal step access. The property and surrounding facilities are incredibly well maintained and very clean. We had no problems with the boilers (the downstairs boiler just heats the kitchen water btw), and whilst there are flies and wasps, this is no different to anywhere we've been in Southern Europe - and they certainly weren't just confined to the property!!! Certainly the low score review earlier is very, very mis-representative and I feel is very unfair. We didn't see a single ant all holiday, unlike Menorca! The owner has a dog, Charlie. Charlie is a very gentle labrador, who is absolutely wonderful for company and our children. Our namesake cried most of the way home when he discovered that Charlie couldn't be included as duty free. Note that despite the occasional presence of Charlie (which we welcomed and encouraged), there were no doggy "gifts" outside whatsoever and I understand that if there's any concerns, Ali can keep the dog away from the rental garden as required. In summary, the gite is quiet, clean, and cool inside - even if weather is very hot. Ali is on-site, but rarely seen. The pool is comfortably heated and there's a huge amount of space for the children to play in. Inside, the gite is well proportioned and we enjoyed our stay immensely. 2. The Area The weather (late August) is 20-24 degrees before lunch and warms to 32 in the afternoon. It is very warm, but not unpleasantly sticky hot and we had the occasional cooler days (20% of the time), which was great for exploring. The property is situated in Au Comte, which is a hamlet consisting of a few (pretty stone/cottage/barn) houses just outside of Loubes-Bernac. The area is wall to wall sunflowers and vines - it is very pretty. Loubes-Bernac is a small village which consists of a church, post office, mini-mart (ie. equivalent to your local UK 7/11 store, but without the corporate-ness) and a restaurant. Unfortunately the restaurant has recently closed (due to unfortunate circumstances), and is currently up for sale, however I am sure it will open again very soon as it looks well positioned. The distance between Au Comte and Loubes-Bernac is 0.5 miles, via a traditional French road (quiet, well maintained, but with a grass verge - no pavement). The local mini-mart has trouble taking card payments, so make sure you have some cash (there's an in-store ATM machine if not), and is well stocked. It is typically French; make sure you are there between 9-9:30am otherwise the bread and fresh pastries sell out!! Note that it shuts at noon on a Sunday - the larger supermarkets shut at 1pm on Sunday. Further afield, there are larger Carrefour (supermarkets) in Sigoules, Duras and Eymet - these are open for longer, but the croissants aren't as nice! Eymet (pr: Ay-may) is a delightful Bastide town, with an amazing medieval square and plenty of restaurants - this is 7.5 miles and 10-15 minutes drive away from Au Comte. The market (busy night) is Tuesday. Duras is also a pretty town, with a beautiful chateau - this is 9m and 15minutes drive away. The market is Thursday, so make sure you arrive early. This has fewer restaurants. Sigoules had one cafe/bar restaurant and is the smaller of the three. The best restaurants are listed in the property information pack, and the "cafe restaurant", whilst appearing quiet in Eymet centre (the menu appears lacking), we found cooked to a high standard and ate here several time (much better than the Creperie next door). The Italian opposite is also good, but very busy and the tables are close together (cigarette smoke). Other must sees are: Chater Vineyard - local UK owned vineyard. Free tour, just outside Duras St. Emilion - about 1 hour drive away and is an absolute must on a cold day. Buy a family tour for 14EU to see the main attractions…a most incredible town. Château de Bridoire (other side of Sigoules) - fantastic for playing games with the children and around 15EU for a family. Lunch "basket" here is a very typical French affair at 20EU for bread, cheese, tomatoes, ice cream, pate, drinks for two (large) adults - surprisingly good value and experience. Although we went last 2 weeks of August, everywhere was not busy at all, so we had no problems getting a table or needing to queue for attractions. 3. The Journey We normally travel fly, so driving to the Dordogne was quite an experience. On the way down, we went via Paris (big mistake) and the overall journey took a record breaking (longest) of 14 hours!! On the return, we found the correct route, which should have been Calais -> Rouen -> Le Mans -> Tours -> Poitiers -> Perigueux -> Bergerac. Make sure you follow the Touts Direction when approaching the towns and also the Autoroute signs marked "Aires de ….", as these are convenient journey break stops. Following the correct route, we took less than 10 hours from Au Comte to Calais Channel Tunnel, which included 2 petrol stops (70EU each fill) in a hybrid 4x4 plus 3 baby stops. Without the baby stops, it would be easy to complete this journey by car in less than 9 hours. The toll road (one-way) was a total of 70EU. For the journey (from the UK), you will need: - Breathalyzer - Headlight convertors (irrespective of whether your Xenon lights suggest otherwise!) - A GB sticker - High-visibility vest - V5 (unbelievably) - Warning triangle Optional: - Fully comprehensive driving insurance (most EU insurance is third party only) - Breakdown cover (we used AXA, but most bank travel breakdown policies cover this) - 300 Euros (for on the spot speeding fine) Although 9 hours seems a long time, it is nothing like driving in England. The roads are clear, empty, well maintained, straight, fast, facilities with great scenery. I would liken it to a 4 hour journey in the UK in terms of stress! To conclude, we would absolutely recommend "The Grange" in Au Comte. Note that this area of France is quite rural and that a car really is essential to get out and about. The owner is very helpful and pleasant, the gite itself is spacious, very clean, attractive and cool in the daytime/warm in the evening and I would absolutely recommend this property.