We are Sophie and Richard Leech and we live in Silkstone near Barnsley where
we both work full time. I am a Practice Manager for a GP Practice in Leeds and
Richard is a Director of a family business together with his Mother and Brother
and they are agents selling sports apparel to retailers in the North of England.
Richard is also Chairman of our Parish Council and we are both involved in
community projects on a voluntary basis.
We bought this house in 2005 as it was just 20 minutes from my French
grandparents house in Vaux sur Mer, shortly after we got married. We called it
'La Sablonniere' after our favourite white wine from Vouvray that we had at our
wedding. The house was a bit of a ruin when we bought it with just a kitchen and
ground floor bathroom and two bedrooms. But we fell in love with it and could
see the potential albeit with a lot of imagination! It took a lot of hard work and
even more money to get it to the standard it is today. We have spent every
holiday at the house working on it renovating the 'Chai' and the 1st floor into 2
further bedrooms and a bathroom. We redecorate every year a different part of
the interior and take pride in presenting it in the best way we can. We are re-
doing the ground floor bathroom this winter as its the only room we have left to
refurbish.
We love the Chai now, its our favourite room. The sun pours in in the morning
and the 2 French doors open straight onto the terrace. It has a wood burning
stove which is unbelievably efficient and gives the room a cosy feel on cool
evenings. We left some of the internal walls in limestone which looks amazing
and although we couldn't keep any of the original beams as they had perished,
we have left the new beams exposed to full roof height and have whitewashed
them.
The garden has been a labour of love too and we have recruited a wonderful
gardener now, Antoine, who comes every 2 weeks to look after it. We invested in
a ride on mower last year as the garden measures half an acre! We have planted
a herb garden near the terrace for our guests to use at the suggestion of a past
guest, which is very handy for barbeques.
Reviews
Emma B. said...
29-Jun- 2016
Superb accommodation
rue de Saintonge, Les Epeaux, 5, Meursac, Royan, 17120, France (1878390)
Date of Stay 04 June 2016
We had an amazing time and the farm house was absolutely gorgeous. when we arrived everything was perfect. Even the welcome basket had everything in that we had forgotten! It was such a lovely location and the house and garden absolutely spectacular and the garden is completely enclosed for the little dog that we had with us. Beautiful house which had everything in the kitchen. We will absolutely visit again! X
Jeremy Moore said...
21-Sep- 2015
Fabulous location, lots of space, well equipped
rue de Saintonge, Les Epeaux, 5, Meursac, Royan, 17120, France (1878390)
Date of Stay 21 August 2015
This is a beautiful traditional house set in a quiet hamlet. There is loads of space both inside and outside and it is ideal for several generations of the same family (there were three of ours!). Very child friendly and extremely well equipped for self catering. The local area is very tranquil and picturesque but within a 30 minute drive there is lots for you to enjoy. The zoo at La Palmyre is worth a visit and the seafood is excellent when you go to the coast. Sophie and Richard have lovingly restored and updated this property without losing it's character. For a multi-family or multi-generation holiday we would highly recommend it. Our Response Thank you so much for your lovely comments, we are thrilled that you and your family enjoyed the house and the region; and of course even more pleased that you've booked to return next summer with your friends to our smaller Gite next door.
Urs K. said...
30-Aug- 2015
Recommendable
rue de Saintonge, Les Epeaux, 5, Meursac, Royan, 17120, France (1878390)
Date of Stay 15 August 2015
A nice and comfortable, full equipped house with a very private flair. Huge garden space in a very calm an non touristic area. Everything went fine, nice keyholder lady across the street. We had a perfect relaxed week. Very friendly owner. Recommendable!
Anonymous said...
21-Sep- 2015
Un petit coin de paradis sur terre
rue de Saintonge, Les Epeaux, 5, Meursac, Royan, 17120, France (1878390)
Date of Stay 08 August 2015
Nous souhaitions passer des vacances dans le calme et au beau milieu de la nature. En bien , nous n avons pas été déçu, le lieu est magnifique, le village est entouré de vigne. A l arrivée, nous avons été agréablement surpris par l attention que nous on fait les propriétaires...un panier garni pour célébrer le début des vacances...je trouve ce petit geste des plus chic ! La maison est typique de la région, grande et agréable, le jardin est exceptionnel, très grand! La maisons est très propre et surtout bien équipée. La mer est a 15 mn alors que royan est a moins de 30mn. Wifi rapide, les matelas sont confortables, petit commerce a proximité. Hypermarché à saintes ou royan. Supermarché à coze ( (a peine 10 mn en voiture) Nous reviendrons dans ce lieu qui a été pour nous un instant de paradis.
Anonymous said...
26-Sep- 2015
Excellent à tout point de vue
rue de Saintonge, Les Epeaux, 5, Meursac, Royan, 17120, France (1878390)
Date of Stay 11 July 2015
La Sablonnière est une quperbe maison avec un vaste jardin. Nous y avons trouvé bien plus que le confort nécessaire pour une semaine de vacances à plusieurs familles. Les équipements sont récents et de grande qualité. La décoration est de très bon goût.
Francine P. said...
26-Jul- 2015
Très bien
rue de Saintonge, Les Epeaux, 5, Meursac, Royan, 17120, France (1878390)
Date of Stay 04 July 2015
la maison et le jardin sont parfaits. Un panier de bienvenue nous attendait champagne café biscuits..... les photos représentent bien la location. Nous étions comme à la maison....Tout était propre, les conseils du proprio nous ont bien aidé . la plage et le soleil était aussi au RV. je vous conseille fortement cette jolie maison FM
Charlie & Lyndess said...
21-Feb- 2015
A little gem
rue de Saintonge, Les Epeaux, 5, Meursac, Royan, 17120, France (1878390)
Date of Stay 06 September 2014
Fabulous house, perfect rustic farmhouse with stone walls and beautifully decorated with attention to detail. Good location in a small village on a quiet road yet very close to the beaches and hustle and bustle of the coast. Plenty of room for 10 of us with large bedrooms and a big kitchen and living room. Obviously newly decorated throughout, the owners make sure their house looks good which we really appreciated. The kids loved it aged 5-16, and we enjoyed leisurely barbeques in the evenings in the huge garden overlooking the lovely French countryside. We'll definitely be back.
Pierre said...
20-Feb- 2015
Extra!
rue de Saintonge, Les Epeaux, 5, Meursac, Royan, 17120, France (1878390)
Date of Stay 07 June 2014
Un grand Merci pour votre Gite! Un lieu excellent, chaleureux, buccolique, extremement bien equipé. Merci aux voisins, pour tous y compris Alsa le chat attachant que nous avons aimé garder. Excellents souvenirs, sejours. A recommander et revenir. En un mot Extra!
Famille de Lyon said...
22-Feb- 2015
Beaucoup de Charme
rue de Saintonge, Les Epeaux, 5, Meursac, Royan, 17120, France (1878390)
Date of Stay 13 July 2013
Gite spacieux avec beaucoup de charme ( il y a même des arbres fruitiers dans le jardin). Bien équipé et rénové. Les lits étaient faits à l'arrivée ce qui nous a été fort appréciable. La voisine qui s'occupe du gîte est gentille et efficace. Le gîte est bien situé pour découvrir les différentes plages de la région. Route (peu passante) au bord du gîte. Notre séjour fut fort agréable et nous comptons bien y revenir.
Finnish Family said...
22-Feb- 2015
Charming rustic cozy house
Rating
rue de Saintonge, Les Epeaux, 5, Meursac, Royan, 17120, France (1878390)
Date of Stay 28 June 2013
We stayed in this charming, cozy house with friends for two wonderful weeks last summer. We were two Finnish families with 5 kids, and the house was absolutely perfect for us, just the right size for our group, not too big, but big enough that everyone could get their own space when needed. From the very first moment we saw the house we fell in love, it was decorated so warmly and beautifully, with lots of lovely items, it was just like a real home! And even much better than in photos. Kitchen equipment was good and everything worked well. The gateway to the house was a bit narrow for the MB Vito we had, but a good driver manages quite well with it. Everything worked nicely, and the neighbour lady that took care of the house was charming and so kind to us, she explained everything and we got some good advises from her. Although she didn't speak much English, but I could manage with my poor French. I LOVED the bread van that went by every day, although it took a while before we found out which time that was. I can't count how many breads we bought from it... Oh, and the restaurant in Meursac is a gem! We loved driving around the countryside on Sundays spotting country markets in many villages, oh what finds! Oh the little narrow roads through variety of little villages, such charming places everywhere. I truly recommend this place to all that want to stay in a quiet little French village, and who don't need swimming pool (a public pool is in village nearby so that was convenient) or too modern or fancy house. If you want rural, cozy, simple charmy and easy going house, this is the a perfect choice!
