Gîte - 13 Rue de la Cèze, 30500 St Victor de Malcap, France

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* Luxury gîte for up to 4 persons

* Swimming pool

* Terrace and barbecue

* Enclosed garden

* Wonderful area and scenery

* 300 days of sunshine a year!

* Just 2½ hours' travelling time from London Luton/Gatwick or Liverpool

* Short breaks available

The area

Situated in the Gard department of Languedoc, St Victor de Malcap is a small mediæval stone village of 506 inhabitants nestled into the hills at the foot of the Cévennes. It lies just south of the Ardèche and immediately west of the river Rhône and Provence, and is about an hour by car from centres such as Nîmes, Arles, Orange and Avignon.
For location map, click here

The village is bounded on the northern side by the gentle hills of the Cévennes and the heights of the Massif Central are visible in the distance. To the south of the village flows the River Cèze, just a few minutes' walk from the gîte, and the mediæval town of St Ambroix lies just a couple of kilometres to the west. To the east is a small road, bordered by vineyards, leading to the pretty stone village of Barjac and thence to the gorges of the Ardèche.

St Victor de Malcap is about halfway between the Camargue /Mediterranean and the mountains of the Massif, so we can sail in the summer and ski in the winter! In fact, the village is ideally suited for visitor attractions, with seven UNESCO sites in the area. These include the Pont du Gard the Canal du Midi, the city of Carcassonne, the route of St Jacques de Compostelle and the cities of Arles and Avignon.

Other places to visit include the Grotte de la Cocalière, one of the three most beautiful grottos in France, which is just 15 minutes' away, and the Bambouseraie, a wonderful park containing over 150 varieties of bamboo, a rare orchid collection and many camellias and magnolias (www.bambouseraie,fr) . These are just a few of the attractions - there are snail farms, gardens, more grottos (great to keep cool in summer) pretty villages, markets at Les Vans and Uzés, an enormous brocante and antique market in Barjac at Easter and in August, festivals celebrating figs, goats' cheese, wine, various saints, lavender, the flavours of the Gard, and concerts and drama festivals.

My neighbours Vincent and Marie-Hélène would not forgive me if I didn't mention our local festival of baroque music, the Festival of the Sensitive Chords, when concerts are held in the Orangerie of the château and in local 12th century churches. At (www.musique-baroque.org) you can even listen to the music. In the middle of July we celebrate the Legend of Volo Biòu, a two-day Occitane festival with pageants and fireworks. (It's all about a flying cow and wine…)

You can travel on steam trains, walk through the Cévennes with a donkey (as did Robert Louis Stephenson) indulge in thermal baths, play boules, watch the herons and kingfishers while you swim in the clear river…have I sold it to you yet?

The nearby town of St Ambroix has traditional shops, bars, restaurants, supermarkets, and a vibrant Tuesday market, which has been held since 1363, and includes fresh fish, superb fruit and vegetables, herbs and spices, plants (including lavender) local specialities like fougasse (a kind of bread) pélardon (a kind of cheese) and caillettes (sort of round sausages) and a vast choice of materials, implements, pottery, clothes, shoes and gifts. The village of St Victor has an épicerie, selling basics, local produce and fresh bread, a pizzeria and a very smart gastronomic restaurant. The owner, Franck Subileau is an excellent chef, and his wife Rosy is a Master of Wine. Site at www.bastide-senteurs.com. There is also a pottery. If you feel the need for exercise, the village has a tennis court, canoe rental and many walking trails into the hills and vineyards. You can try rock climbing. Bikes can be hired locally, and there are several riding stables in the area (although you may also wish to ride the famous horses of the Camargue.) The area is good for fishing (including trout), bird watching, and the pure light is great for artists and photographers. With over 300 days of sunshine each year, it's a wonderful place to visit in all seasons. More information on this area can be found on the Vallée de la Cèze website. The local Tourist Office site is www.les-fumades.com (they have an English version)

The gîte

The gîte is a newly renovated luxury apartment on the ground floor of an old village house. The house itself existed in 1240 when the village château was completed, but the exact date of construction is unknown. Like many of the mediæval houses here, it was built with stones from the river, keeping the house cool in summer and warm in winter. It may be a 13th century house, but fortunately it has 21st century plumbing and electricity.

	Accommodation consists of a large dining kitchen, equipped with fridge, washing machine, microwave/grill, cooker with gas and electric, coffee maker and all the usual equipment; a double bedroom (2 singles or 1 double); bathroom, with bath and shower attached and heated towel rail; large salon with comfortable double sofa-bed, large open fireplace. All rooms are furnished to a high standard, with antiques and original art, and have central heating. Outside is a pretty terrace with table, chairs, parasol and barbecue. There is a vaulted area under the house where it is cool to sit in summer.

The garden has a swimming pool (9 metres by 5 metres) which is purified by oxygen rather than chlorine, a sun terrace for lounging, secure parking, and a boules area, is shaded by fruit trees (cherries, figs, apricots, pears and apples) and scented by lavender and old English roses.

The gîte is ideal for 2, but will accommodate 4 with comfort. Sorry, no facilities for babies or young children. Dogs by arrangement only, as the resident Gordon Setter adores people but get jealous of other dogs. (She has been known to throw her toys into the pool in order to stop other dogs playing with them…) If you dislike dogs, or have an allergy to them, this is probably not a good location for you…

Local Summary

Market: St Ambroix, 3 km Tuesdays
Nearest restaurant - in the village
Nearest station - St Ambroix - 3 km
Nearest airport - Nîmes - 60 km
Tourist Office - St Ambroix and Les Fumades
Shops - village and St Ambroix

Transport links

By air:

Airlines:

The nearest airport is Nîmes. The most direct route from the UK is by Ryanair from Luton or Liverpool. (daily flights to Nîmes.) We are one hour from the airport.
They also fly from Stansted to Montpellier (2 hours away) and Carcassonne (3 hours)

EasyJet fly from Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and Bristol to Nice (3 hours) and from Bristol to Marseille (2½ hours)

www.globespan.com will fly from Durham or Edinburgh to Nice from spring 2007
www.flybe.com fly from Southampton to Nice
www.bmibaby.com fly from Birmingham to Nice
www.jet2.com fly from Leeds Bradford and Manchester to Nice
(everyone seems to go to Nice - it must be hell under the flight path)

You could also fly to Nice from Heathrow with BA, Air France, Alitalia or Lufthansa
To Nice from Gatwick with BA
To Nice from Bristol with KLM or SN Brussels Airline (book through www.opodo.com)
To Nice from London City with Air France, Lufthansa or Swiss International Airlines

To Montpellier from Gatwick with Air France, KLM or BA
To Montpellier from London City with KLM or Air France

To Marseille from Heathrow with Air France, KLM, Lufthansa or Alitalia
To Marseille from Gatwick with BA, or Air France
To Marseille from London City with Air France or Lufthansa

Sites:
www.ba.com
www.airfrance.com
www.klm.com
www.lufthansa.com
www.alitalia.com

or you could just check all these through www.cheapflights.co.uk

If you feel adventurous, you can connect by train from these destinations to Nîmes, then to Alès, thence to Saint Ambroix.

By Train

Eurostar to Lille or Paris, and then by TGV to Nîmes.
Car hire is available at Nîmes railway station.

We recommend SNCF for tickets and info
Or Eurostar

By road

Eurotunnel often do good deals if you are prepared to travel at strange hours. The train only takes 35 minutes, and you exit straight onto the autoroute A26 south without having to battle through Calais.

Sea France is the nicest ferry from Dover to Calais: it doesn't smell of chips. The food is better than other carriers. P&O also have good prices, as the market becomes more competitive. Inclusive deals with www.ferrybooker.com or www.eurodrive.co.uk can also yield good results.

We recommend the route finder at www.viamichelin.com. This gives the route, the costs and timings - for example, to get here from Calais is 1007 km, takes 9 hours 20 minutes, costs of tolls and fuel are 153,84 euros - and it tells you where the speed cameras are! Click the search button to get the route from Calais.

Tariff

High season (mid June to mid September and Christmas/New Year ) £400 per week (or 500 euros) Sunday to Sunday (this is because the roads are totally chaotic on Saturdays in these months)

Weekend rate £140 (Friday night to Monday morning) - if available!

Mid season (1 April - mid June, and last two weeks of September) £350 pounds or 400 euros

Low season £260 or 300 euros per week (entry and departure dates flexible)

Weekend rate £100

Extras

Disabled access : not suitable for wheelchairs, as the doorways are too narrow. One small step up to kitchen, and another to the salon.

Dogs: by arrangement only

Deposit: at the time of booking - £100 up to 2 months before arrival; after that, full payment is required in advance

Electricity and gas - included April to October. November to March, supplementary charge of £15 per night.

Bed linen: bed linen and tea towels provided. No bathroom towels provided - please bring your own.

Contact

By post: Linda Saunders, 13 Rue de la Cèze, 30500 St Victor de Malcap, France
Telephone : 0033 (0)4 66 24 73 18
Text to mobile : 0033 (0)6 86 85 86 30
Email: lindy.saunders§wanadoo.fr (note: please replace § with @ to send. This stops me getting 10 pages of spam each day and deleting genuine emails by mistake!)