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Romantic watermill in idyllic setting
- country house / chateau3229 sq. ft.
- Sleeps: 8
- Bedrooms: 4
- Bathrooms: 2
- Half Baths: 1
- Min Stay: 3 nights
Medieval watermill in riverside setting , 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, sleeps 8
Bedrooms
Bedroom 2
Bedroom 3
Bedroom 4
Bedroom 1
4 doubles, 1 twin, 1 cot
Amenities
Featured
- Swimming pool
- Internet
- Fireplace
- Washer & Dryer
- Children Welcome
- Parking
- No Smoking
- Heater
Bathrooms
- Bathrooms: 2, Half Baths: 1
- BathroomToilet, tubLovely and sunny with pretty vintage basin and roll-top bath
- BathroomToilet, shower
- BathroomToilet
- The bathroom lies on the first-floor landing between bedrooms 2 and 3; the shower room opens off bedroom 4; the half bathroom is in bedroom 1.
Safety features
- Exterior lighting
- Fire extinguisher
- First aid kit
- Smoke detector
- Carbon monoxide detector
Location Type
- RuralAlthough only 3km from a market town, the mill is a rural paradise of wildflower meadows and mature woodland, with the constant sound of rippling streams and splashing waterfalls
- WaterfrontWater is everywhere at the mill: the building sits in a rippling trout stream, and the front door looks out over the millpond. Two waterfalls act as overflows between the two and feed a little stream
- RiverThe Giffou is beautifully clear and in summer shallow and perfect for paddling. You can fish for trout with a permit, and for crayfish without one. It is beautifully shady and cool on hot days
- Water ViewEvery window at the mill looks out over the river, the stream, waterfalls and water meadows
General
- TelephoneAvailable for local calls and emergencies
- HeatingEfficient oil-fired central heating is available at a small extra charge to cover costs.
- Linens ProvidedBed linen and tea towels are provided.
- Washing MachineThe washing machine is in the basement, beside the boiler.
- Clothes DryerThe washing line is beside the swimming pool in the lower meadow. There is also a dutch dryer above the landing outside the bathroom.
- FireplaceThe fireplace is huge and ancient. This is where all water was heated and food cooked. Visitors are welcome to use it, but please remember to open the chimney trap first!
- ParkingThere is ample private free parking in front of the mill.
- InternetFast, good, trouble-free; upgrading to fibre optic in 2021. Password on Livebox by front door.
- Towels ProvidedA bath towel and hand towel are provided. We ask visitors to bring their own pool towels.
- Wireless InternetFast, good, trouble-free, upgrading to fibre optic in 2021
- Iron & Board
- Hair Dryer
- Paper Towels
- Shampoo
- Basic Soaps
- Toilet Paper
- Living RoomThe centre of the house, with a vast fireplace, access to front and back terraces and wonderful views. Historically, the convivial space the miller's clients would wait/gossip/eat/drink etc.
Kitchen
- DishwasherMiele dishwasher.
- RefrigeratorA large, modern fridge-freezer.
- StoveFour-burner propane-fuelled hob.
- OvenSingle oven with built-in grill.
- MicrowaveCombination microwave.
- Grill
- Coffee MakerA choice of cafetière or filter.
- ToasterA standard toaster.
- Blender
- Pantry ItemsWe leave the basics and ask our visitors to replace what they use.
- Dishes & UtensilsA wide range of new and vintage French provincial.
- KitchenThe kitchen is well equipped for serious cooking. It has a scrubbed pine farmhouse table that seats 6 (8 at a pinch), and windows with views down the river at the back and to the pool at the front.
- Kettle
Dining
- Seating for 10 people
- Dining Area
- Childs Highchair
- DiningThe large dining table (once a barn door) sits at one end of the vast living room, a convivial space with the fireplace at the other end. There is also a farmhouse table seating six in the kitchen.
Entertainment
- Stereo
- BooksA range of adult and children's books, fiction, non-fiction and local interest, including some in French.
- GamesBoard games, jigsaws, pétanque etc
- Games for Kids
- Music Library
- ToysQuite a few toys suitable for youngish children, plus jigsaws etc for all the family.
Outside
- Lawn/GardenThe mill grounds extend over some 30 acres of woodland, meadows and riverbank and are a haven for wildlife. Near the house and pool, roses clamber up old trees and cottage garden flowers bloom.
- BalconyThe west-facing wisteria-clad balcony overlooks the river and back meadow and is perfect for lunch, tea and drinks.
- Kayak/CanoeAvailable on the River Tarn and lakes near by.
- BicyclesWe have 2 adult mountain bikes that visitors are welcome to borrow.
- BoatAvailable on the River Tarn and lakes near by.
- Deck/PatioThe front terrace, facing east on the bridge over the millpond, is perfect for breakfast/lunch. The barbecue terrace has a large table set among flowers beside the millpond. Both have parasols.
- TennisAvailable in Réquista at 3km.
Suitability
- wheelchair inaccessible
- Long-term Renters Welcome
Pool / Spa
- Outdoor Pool
- Private PoolThe pool measures 10x5m with a Roman staircase, and is 1.2m deep at the perimeter, 1.6m in the middle. It is cleaned and serviced on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Notes
- Furnished to a high standard as a full-time family home, the mill is designed for comfortable living at all seasons. In summer the rooms are bright and airy, and the grounds are dotted with tables, chairs and benches for alfresco eating, or for quiet reading or gazing with a bottle of wine. A barbecue is set in the old bread oven, with a large table (seats 10) overlooking the millpond and surrounded by scented roses, sweet peas and honeysuckles. In winter it is cosy and warm, with efficient central heating, a huge log fire and a generously equipped kitchen for serious indulgence. The vast dining table (once a barn door) is made for banquets, while the farmhouse table in the kitchen is perfect for informal dining. The grounds are huge and beautiful and at all times of year, the house is child-friendly (with lots of games and books). Water is everywhere here – in streams, waterfalls and the millpond – so small children need supervising at all times.
Policies
Cancellation Policy
- 100% refund if you cancel at least 14 days before check-in.
- 50% refund (minus the service fee) if you cancel at least 7 days before check-in.
- No refund if you cancel less than 7 days before check-in.
Damage and Incidentals
You will be responsible for any damage to the rental property caused by you or your party during your stay.
House Rules
Children allowed
No pets
No smoking
Max guests: 8
Cleaning practices
Property has guest safety measures
All towels and bedding washed in hot water that’s at least 60ºC/140ºF
Check in and check out with no person-to-person contact
High-touch surfaces cleaned with disinfectant (like countertops, light switches, handles, and faucets)
Cleaned with disinfectant
Follows industry health association: Sanitary Protocol (UNPLV - France)
Map
Hosted by Barbara Mellor
Ask a questionAbout Barbara Mellor
I am a literary translator from French of books on the arts, architecture, gardens and history, with a special penchant for the French Resistance. I first fell in love with this part of France in 1975, when I was a student in Toulouse. Gavin is a technical director in theatre who has a long history of restoring classic cars (Citroën DSs a speciality) and historic houses. When we first saw the mill in 1989 it was love at first sight. Long abandoned and dilapidated though it was, it had clearly been an important and well-loved building, and the site was simply magical. In the early months we lived there without electricity or running water, while slowly re-roofing the house, installing services (with the help of the very supportive local mayor, who was related to the family of the last millers there) and turning it into a family home. Aided by stalwart friends and volunteers, we did all the work ourselves. Determined to respect the authentic and historic character of the building and mill workings, we sought out the few remaining survivors of the last generation of millers from other local mills, and consulted regional experts on mill history and technology. We met some amazing characters and it was all absolutely fascinating. Outside, we slowly began to clear decades of undergrowth to reveal the weir, millpond, stream and overflow waterfalls. Meanwhile two babies had arrived, and in due course our children attended the local village school. By then we felt we were really accepted as part of the local community, a huge privilege.
Barbara Mellor purchased this country house / chateau in 1989
Why Barbara Mellor chose Requista
The thirty years or so that we have devoted to the mill are just the blink of an eye in its 700-year history. A descendant of the Imbert family of millers, whose name is carved above the door, has traced its story back to 1292, when it was established by the Duke of Rodez (copies of the fascinating documents M. Imbert has unearthed can be seen at the mill). For centuries the mill played a pivotal role in the local community, first as the property of the local lord and then – until the Revolution – as a fiefdom of the priory at Ambialet on the Tarn, in its spectacular position that can still be visited today. Local people would bring grain and dried chestnuts to be milled into flour, fresh chestnuts to be crushed for oil, apples to be crushed for cider, and hessian and linen to be fulled and washed. While all this went on, clients would gather in the main room of the mill to chat by the fire, or fish for trout which the miller's wife would cook over the open fire, keeping other dishes warm in a pot-warmer beside the front door. Water was drawn from the spring beside the present site of the swimming pool, a source that was so pure it reputedly attracted people from miles around. Cider doubtless flowed freely, and all the latest gossip would be shared in the local patois. The miller also kept pigs and hens in the building that now houses the barbecue, and cows in a barn that was later demolished, leaving one of its doors as our dining table. When we first went to see the mill, our first impression of the big communal room was of the scent of woodsmoke and the feeling of conviviality that seemed to have soaked into the walls. Thirty years later, 2019 was a landmark year for the mill, as we managed to secure a departmental decree recognising the historic nature of the site and granting it protection in perpetuity.
- Languages:
- english, french