Reviews of Property: Country Cottage with private recreational lake, child friendly, pets welcome

We had an excellent week at Gaynor and Victor's Gite-glorious sunshine every day! . My brother's family joined us for two days and had a wonderful time too! The cottage itself is gorgeous. An extremely high spec gite with every possible thing you could need including a dishwasher! And both a BBQ at the house and the lake! The lovely Main bedroom is ensuite with an additional good sized family bathroom and an adjoining set of bedrooms ( 2x bunks in one room and a set of twin beds in the adjoining room -all beautifully decorated and presented) and all rooms are off the main living/dining area. A welcome pack awaits guests too. The private lake is a real treat for swimmers, those who fish, sail, or just like to mess about on the boats and lake-side. Our labrador had a wonderful holiday too, the open space, off lead, the walks to and around the lake and village. Clear skies at night enabled us to see millions of stars, some of the constellations and watch satellites and the odd shooting star!! There are lots of places to explore locally as well as a little further afield. Locally there is a nature reserve/park next to a Buddhist Monastry with wonderful walks for all levels of walkers and it is a short drive to Brantome (the Venice of the Dordogne),
For peace, tranquility, private lake (!) a quiet village setting (the best bread and cakes we have had in France -the baker is very very good), hosts nearby who are both unobtrusive and very welcoming and hospitable - and proximity to lots of other locations and holiday activities - what more could you ask for?

We have holidayed in the Dordogne area for more than 10 years, always opting for a house with a pool until 3 years ago when we discovered the delights of La Maison Jaune and its private lake.

We have just returned from our third visit and have had another fabulous, relaxing holiday in this lovely, natural haven. As always we received a wonderfully warm welcome from our hosts, Victor and Gaynor (who feel like members of our extended family) our well-equipped pretty cottage was immaculate.

The weather was fantastic - clear blue skies and temperatures up around 30 every day meant we didnt venture too far from the lovely clear, warm waters of the lake on most days, where we made full use of the fishing, swimming, rowing and sailing boats or just sat relaxing in this lovely natural environment before enjoying the evening sunshine with a barbeque by the lake watching the sun go down - Heavenly! Who needs a swimming pool when you can have all that!

The village shop is a must for bread and breakfast and holds a stock of other essentials. La Coquille (5 min drive) has a range of other shops including a small Shopi supermarket for everying else you need and a lovely hotel/restaurant, Les Voyageurs, where we had a delicious dinner on the pretty terrace (the assiette gourmand for dessert is highly recommended by our 11 year old daughter!)

The area has something for everyone - its packed with pretty villages, towns and chateaux as well as some lovely countryside, and for the more active go-karting, canoeing and tree climbing are within easy reach.

We have found our little bit of paradise and can not recommend it highly enough - we have been home 2 days and are already looking forward to our next visit!

This is one of the best Gite type properties we have stayed in during 20 years coming to France. We were initially looking for a property in Dordogne with a pool but these are all very expensive and we chanced on la Maison Jaune in holiday-rentals. Although the convenience of a chlorinated pool within a few yards of a holiday property may be what you have been used to in the past, having access to what in essentally your own private lake takes a lot of beating. We went with two young teenage boys and they spent loads of time swimming and messing around in the water. Victor our host taught them the rudiments of fishing and they were able to escape from the adults and would take themselves away fishing in the evening.
The lake is part of a series of manmade lakes in a line down a small valley on the side of the hill on which St Priest les Fougers sits. It is about 200 meters from the back of the property down a hill and is free flowing and reasonably clear and fresh. Victor has stocked it with some perch and carp and will give you rods with which to try your luck. There is also a small boat and a Mirror dinghy which is just great for learning the basics of sailing.
La Maison Jaune is on the edge of the village and is two minutes walking distance of the small baker and general store. The village itself is on the northern border of Dordogne but within easy striking distance of the major sites of interest. We flew from Limoges and were at the gite within 45 minutes. Our hosts Victor and Gaynor had prepared us lovely evening meal. Their own house is a short distance from the gite and they go for a swim /walk most evenings and are a great source of local knowledge and advice. The gite itself is are well equiped from both French and British standards. We were given a welcome pack but on the drive from the airport there a several good supermarkets for the first stock up.
We were taken enough with the setup to have booked it for next year.

We (Mum, Dad + our 10 yr old daughter) spent a wonderful 2 weeks at Maison Jaune in August 2007 and enjoyed it so much we returned for nearly 3 weeks in August 2008.

Maison Jaune is the perfect holiday retreat, ideally placed for getting away from it all and re-discovering nature. Set in a beautiful, tranquil locaton at the edge of sleepy St Priest, the charming cottage is clean and well equipped and maintained. Our daughter took a 5 min stroll through the quiet and friendly village each morning to buy bread and crossants at the well supplied local shop.

We found it hard to drag ourselves away from the wonderful private lake and spent many of our days swimming, fishing, sailing, rowing or simply enjoying the beautiful natural environment.

Our charming hosts, Victor and Gaynor, welcomed us with open arms and we had several memorable nights in their company enjoying a delicious dinner in their lovely home or a simple BBQ by the lake.

Despite its rural setting, within an hours drive there are some lovely places to explore - cave dwellings at Roc St Christophe, ancient cave paintings at Lascaux, a canoe trip round pretty Brantome, shopping in Limoges or Perigeux, and everyday there is a market somewhere nearby to visit.

We had such a good holiday we have already booked to return next year!