A cozy, authentic and rural family house in the middle of the Haut-Languedoc region with complete quietness, privacy and surrounded by beautiful nature. You have your own swimming pool, a view of the mountain 'Saint-Bozille', a garden of five hectares with a waterfall, walnut-, chestnut- and fruit trees, wild mushrooms and herbs like lavender, thyme, mint, chives, sage and rosemary. If you're lucky you can spot deer, wild boars, foxes, rabbits or buzzards. At night you'll hear the owls and the crickets. Nearby is a golf course called 'La Barouge', a cycling route over the old railway 'Voie Verte', there are many caves you can visit and the gorge 'Gorges d'Héric' is close by for great hikes and swims. The beaches of Sérignan and Gruissan are an hour and fifteen minute drive, it's a bendy drive, but still enjoyable because of the views and the typical French towns you drive through.
Our house has close to 50 years of history and memories, it hasn’t been modernized that much because we want to keep this certain French family atmosphere, please keep that in mind. The purpose of this place has always been to have a rustic and quiet get-away from the busy world, to enjoy the sheep, the butterflies, the silence and the brightest stars in the world. While we’re here, we swim in the pool, we take a walk through the river, we visit the market of Saint-Pons, we have lunch in the sun overlooking the garden and we visit one of the beautiful villages close by. We love to share all of these great and relaxing experiences with you.
Things that are good to know: Our house is part of nature, so we don’t remove every spider in the house, we usually leave them alone. Our neighbors are Jeannot and his wife, they have sheep and horses and sometimes they use our land to graze. You‘re free to say hi to the animals while you’re here. Our terrace and garden have steps and height differences. Please also keep in mind that this region is season bound, in the colder months some restaurants and activities are closed.
History of the house:
In 1973 a very good friend of our family found a beautiful piece of land in the south of France called ‘Le Pré du Moulin’; the mill meadow. Back in Holland he told us about this amazing place and we trusted him enough to buy the land without ever seeing it. In the summer of 1973 we were welcomed by mister Senegas and his wife, to show us around our new holiday spot. The land included a river flowing through, many fruit trees and a wine press, the rest was just grass and bushes.
In the summer of 1975, after several holidays of camping there, we built a swimming pool to get through the hot summers. First a bridge was built to get across the river and then an eight by four hole was dug. The whole town came to see and help, because it wasn’t easy to get an eight by four swimming pool down our steep and small road, but that swimming pool is still laying there now.
One year later, in 1976, we started building the house, which was finished in 1977. Almost all the interior was brought up to France from Holland with just a full car and a full trailer, and since then we’ve spent more than a hundred holidays there.
In 2010 we built a second garage and an ensuite bedroom, and in 2015 we bought the land on the other side of the river to protect the view and the atmosphere of our house, because a machinery company was about to settle there. This new land has many apple-, pear-, peach- and cherry trees, so make sure you don’t miss these delicious fruits when you’re here in autumn.
Things to do:
• Grotte de la Devèze (the caves of Courniou)
• Gorges d’Héric (A huge gorge made by the river Héric, great spot for hikes and swims)
• The market of Saint-Pons (and Saint-Chinian)
• Lac de La Raviège (A lake with lots of water sports)
• The beach at Valras, Sérignan or Gruissan
• Golfing at La Barouge in Mazamet
• Cycling over the old train tracks ‘voie verte’
• Having dinner on the terrace of restaurant Fleurs d’Olargues
Beautiful villages/cities to visit:
• Olargues
• Saint-Chinian
• La Salvetat-sur-Agout
• Minerve
• Aigne
• Assignan
• Montpellier
• Carcassonne
• Albi
• Sète
