Riocaud holiday farmhouse: Ste Foy La Grande

We choose this area because we are great fans of Bordeaux wine and like to spend part of our holiday increasing our knowledge and we find the area just outside the Bordeaux region offers a greater diversity of restaurants, shops, interesting places. One of the first things you notice about Les Maillets is that it is something of a tardis, far bigger on the inside than its outside would have you believe. The farmhouse is comfotable, well equipped, particularly the kitchen (and I'm married to a very keen cook who has exacting standards) and spotlessly clean. Our bedroom was spacious and airy with plenty of wardrobe space and having a bathroom each was a nice indulgence and useful on the days when we wanted a quick getaway. Everything was provided baring beach towels, and a quick trip to the local supermarket soon sorted that one. We loved the setting, with vineyards literally on our doorstep, I never tired of the view, ramrod straight lines of vines crisscrossing the landscape . Chris and Lillian were very welcoming, they provided an information folder which dealt with most of our queries on the house and the area. They were quickly on hand to help us with a problem but otherwise discreetly invisible. We divided our time between days lazing by the pool and days out exploring the area, particular favourites were a day trip to the Arcachon Bassin, a walk up the dune du Pilat and then an excellent lunch at Cap Ferret overlooking the oyster beds and a trip to Chater, a local wine maker at St Sernin de Duras a very informative and friendly tour and tasting with some very yummy wines (award winning yummy wines in fact.)