lafromarderie

In the days before houses had numbers, this house was known simply as “La Fromarderie”. Built by our neighbour Jean-Marie’s, great, great grandfather approximately 150 years ago, the house remained in the same family until just 6 years ago when the remaining 8 children, all born in the house, decided to sell it. Since buying the house, we have spent much of the last 6 years stripping this beautiful house back to its original stone walls and lovingly rebuilding upwards. Thankfully we were able to maintain many of its original features and are now able to offer you a relaxed, comfortable and beautiful home to enjoy your holiday.
Practically on the border of le Charente Maritime and le Vendée, La Fromarderie is in the heart of Petosse, a friendly South Vendeen village with a population of c500 and, if you can tear yourself away from La Fromardiere, we are just 35 minutes away from the nearest beach, or La Rochelle

The accommodation offers five large double bedrooms, large kitchen and arriere cuisine”, dining room, sitting room, study, three modern fully tiled shower/bathrooms and a downstairs loo. Most of the rooms are bright and airy and quite cool due to the thickness of the original stone walls.
Situated in its own grounds of around 2 acres, the property has a decent sized swimming pool (11m x 5.5m), surrounding terraces (with large Weber gas BBQ), small orchard and obligatory Vendéen “potager” (vegetable patch). The rest of the grounds are laid mainly to lawn offering plenty of opportunity for outside games or places to sit and soak up the beautiful Vendéen climate.
Whilst ‘civilisation’ is just 10 minutes away - Petosse has no shops or cafes - it does have a local ‘producteur’ of Melons, and during the summer months you can stroll through the village to purchase a ‘sac’ of freshly picked melons and other locally grown summer vegetables.

ACCOMMODATION
The kitchen is fully fitted and extremely well equipped including gas hob, electric oven, microwave, fridge and dishwasher. A large farmhouse table with chairs and benches and a large breakfast bar seats up to 12 people. There is also a fridge freezer, washing machine, tumble drier and large Belfast sink in the arriere cuisine (utility room). The spacious dining room also seats comfortably, up to 10.
If you can’t bear it outside anymore, or simply wish to take shade from the sunshine, the sitting room has 3 large sofas and a large television with satellite TV. Adjoining the sitting room, “le presoir”, originally where Jean-Marie pressed grapes from their vines (the juice ran straight down to “le cave”, below le salon, and into waiting barriques), is now a study, where you can access the internet via WiFi.
Above the study is a large double bedroom with beautiful views overlooking the pool, orchard & potager. With exposed stone walls, original wooden beams and large queen size bed, this lovely room is both quiet and comfortable. Downstairs there is also a fully tiled bathroom with a proper sized shower (and huge shower head), loo and washbasin. The pool is approximately 10m away via a large patio.
The main house offers three further large double bedrooms on the first floor and two further bathrooms. Bedroom 1 has a double four poster bed and views over the swimming pool and main lawn. The main bathroom is off the landing and has a bath, loo and large hand basin. Bedroom 2, also accessed from the main landing, has a large queen sized bed and fantastic views over the main garden and orchard. Off this bedroom, there is a beautiful, fully tiled shower room, with large shower (& huge showerhead), loo and large hand basin. Bedroom 3 is situated above the kitchen, and can be accessed by its own spiral staircase. This bedroom has exposed stone walls and original wooden beams, a large queen size bed and views overlooking the barn and village with church. This bedroom has shared access to the shower room above.

In the well converted attic space on the second floor, there is further double bedroom and relaxed seating area. This is accessed from the main landing. Both these rooms have exposed stonework and original beams

PRICES
Our house is available for rent for the very first time this summer at the following rates:

July and August £2050 per week (numbers limited to a maximum of 10)

Security deposit of £300 - fully refundable if no damage to property and it is left in a clean and tidy state.

Bed linen is included.

Sorry, no pets allowed.

THINGS TO DO

Petosse is a 10 minute drive away from the lovely and historic town of Fontenay le Compte, where all the normal supermarkets and shops can be found, along with its fantastic, mouth-watering Saturday morning market and surrounding café’s and restaurants, where it is quite easy to while away several hours!

Other local markets are held in St. Hermine on a Friday morning, and a small market on Wednesday mornings in the village of L’hermenault, which is only 4km away and has a excellent bread shop, butchers, post office, bank and small supermarket.

The town of Lucon is close by (20 mins). This also has an excellent Saturday morning market and is well worth a visit. From here it is only a 10-15 minute drive to the nearest coast and wonderful sandy beaches. If you fancy some energetic water sports, this is the place to try them! We would recommend that you head for L’Aiguillon sur Mer, La Tranche or Jard sur mer, however, most of this vendeen coastline has several miles of long sandy beaches dotted by quaint fishing and holiday villages/towns, where you are sure to find all that you want from the seaside.

The surrounding area is full of interesting things to do, should you get tired of sitting by the pool, including our own little village with its 1,000 year old “souterrains”. Petosse, in common with the rest of the sud vendee, sits on top of a massive network of underground tunnels and chambers carved out of solid rock, and dating back to Norman times.

Slightly further afield, but still only a 15 minute drive, is the ‘Venise Vert’, a series of tiny canals in beautiful surrounding countryside where it is possible to hire a boat and punt your way down these wonderful waterways. The stunning forest and lakes of Mervent are also just 15 minutes away and offer a number of water sports and some amazing walks, and the town of Mervent is probably one of the prettiest in the whole of France!

La Rochelle airport and town is only a 35 minute drive away, and has a fabulous indoor and outdoor market every morning. This is an exceptionally beautiful city, and the main harbour is magnificently guarded by two towers and surrounded by restaurants and cafes, and, during the summer, street stalls and local artists. It must be visited!

Les Sables d’Olonne is around an hours drive, and is home to the Vendee Globe - preparations are currently underway for the 2008 race in November. This is a very popular and typical French seaside town, with marvelous beaches and a true French holiday atmosphere. You can walk along the beach, through the town, along the breakwater to the lighthouse, or simply enjoy a drink or meal at one of the many excellent seafood restaurants along the side of the old fishing port or marinas. And if you like sailing, then this is the place!

Closer to home, there is a tennis court in the village, along with a ‘bowling’ alley (for French boules). There are several golf courses within less than an hours drive, and fishing, cycling and horse riding are also available nearby. There are a number of other interesting sites to see in and around the area, and more information will be available during your stay here.

How to get there
Nearest airport - La Rochelle - approx 40 minutes drive
Other airports include:
Nantes - 75 minute drive
Poitiers also around 75 minute drive.

These airports are all serviced by discounted airlines - Ryaniar, Easyjet and Flybe.

Nearest channel port is St Malo - less than 3 hours drive
Roscoff and Caen - 4 hours drive approx
Cherbourg - 4.5 hours drive approx
Calais - 7-8 hours drive approx