L'Ombrière is a charming 200 year old cottage overlooking the Loire
- House1507 sq. ft.
- Sleeps: 9
- Bedrooms: 3
- Bathrooms: 1
- Half Baths: 1
- Min Stay: 1–2 nights
3/4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, separate WC (2 WC's) sleeps 6-9
Bedrooms
Owner
David Medcalf
- Languages:
- english, french
About David Medcalf
We live in Bromsgrove in Worcestershire in the centre of England. Our son and his French wife live in Paris and we are able to easily see them en route and collect grandchildren for holidays with us.
David Medcalf purchased this House in 2004
Why David Medcalf chose Gennes-Val-de-Loire
We bought a house in the Loire because we love the area. There is a fantastic amount to do - we are still discovering new things after 10 years. We can get there in one day from home (12 hours door to door via Calais). It is the first region going south that has a significantly better climate than England and is a great area to indulge our passion for hot-air ballooning. It is so good for this (friendly farmers, great scenery) that the British National Championships have twice been held in the area along with the European Championships. The house ticked all the boxes - full of character, great location in a small village with friendly locals but amenities - shops restaurants etc all within easy reach.
What makes this House unique
The house is right by La Loire river. if you cross the road in front of the house the river bank is only 50m away. In the summer the river recedes so it is usually possible for several months to access the river bed here and often to walk across to the island opposite. Children love playing on 'the beach' and throwing driftwood into the river. It's a great spot for bird watchers with many species including Egrets to be seen. We have our own wood behind the house accessible via a small gate.
Amenities
Featured
- Internet
- Fireplace
- Washer & Dryer
- Children Welcome
- Parking
- No Smoking
- Accessible
- Heater
Bathrooms
- Bathrooms: 1, Half Baths: 1
Location Type
- Rural
- Village
General
- Heating
- Washing Machine
- Clothes Dryer
- Fireplace
- Parking
- Garage
- Internet
- Wireless Internet
- Hair Dryer
Kitchen
- Dishwasher
- Refrigerator
- Stove
- Oven
- Microwave
- Grill
- Coffee Maker
- Toaster
- Pantry Items
Dining
- Dining Room
- Child's Highchair
Entertainment
- Stereo
- DVD Player
- Books
- Foosball
- Game Room
- Games
- Ping Pong Table
Outside
- Lawn / Garden
Suitability
- wheelchair accessible
- Long-term Renters Welcome
Onsite Services
- Car Available
Notes
- Ground floor facilities make L'Ombriere accessible to the infirm. It has a small step but is accessible to a wheelchair user with assistance. Ground floor WC is not wide enough to be accessible in a wheelchair. The house is baby friendly being equipped with a cot and highchair An out-house has been equipped as a games room with table-tennis, darts and football game. It has the considerable benefit of being out of earshot of the house! There is also a boules set and a pair of badminton rackets and shuttles with a good playing area at the back of the house. and there are various board games cards etc in the house. A TV/DVD player is in the house for DVDs only. Wireless Internet Access is available free of charge - simply bring your WiFi-enabled computer or other device. Linen and towels are not provided but can be hired at a cost of £18 per person
House Rules
Check-in: 4:00 PM
Check-out: 10:00 AM
No parties/events
No smoking
No pets
Children allowed
Max guests:9 (sleeps up to 8 adults)
Cancellation Policy
100% refund if canceled at least 60 days before arrival date. 50% refund if canceled at least 30 days before arrival date.
15 Reviews
A well equipped and enjoyable gite
This property has much to recommend it and we had a comfortable and enjoyable stay. The only issue we had was a dispute over cleaning costs at the end of our stay - we elected to do our own but after spending some hours on this at the end of our stay we were informed on our return that the cleaner had found it unsatisfactory and we were charged extra. We recommend that the owner includes cleaning as part of the hire cost to avoid this type of dispute in the future.
Great stay at L'Ombriere!
Lovely peaceful setting close to amenities.
The property is very well equipped and cared for. We had an enjoyable week visiting various chateaux, wine tasting and generally exploring the surrounding area.
The roads and routes for cyclists are superb! Highly recommended.
The cottage is close to Gennes but we benefitted significantly by having our own transport.
A great find. Thank you!
Dream location in fantastic area
Super location, charming cottage.
With four adults of which one person in an electric wheelchair we stayed for one week in this very charming cottage. To enter the cottage with a wheelchair you have to bring a small ramp, for the rest the ground floor is very good accessible.
The cottage is very well equipped and suitable to stay for longer periods. The nearby city of Saumur provides all facilities necessary to have a luxurious stay.
In the Centre of Cunault there are two bakeries and 2 butcher shops who provide perfect artisan products. Various public pubs “bar-tabac” make sure you can enjoy the French way of life every minute of the day. In the morning we used to go to buy fresh bread but not without first having a good cup of coffee on one of the “bar-tabac”.
We visited a few castles and did as well a few short city trips. The weather was fantastic, early September we had temperatures between 21° and 28°C which was more than satisfying.
The cleaning lady who we met on the day of our departure is a very charming and helpful woman.
We sincerely hope we can come back next year to explore the area a little bit more and enjoy the French “joie de vivre” at l’ombrière.
Good Location, but a few shortcomings
The property is ideally located for touring the Chateaux of the Loire. When we first used the dishwasher it failed; we immediately notified the owner on the 18th and he finally had an engineer visit (after an exchange of many emails) on the 28th. So we had no dishwasher. Despite the owners instructions to users, we found the gas BBQ was very dirty and had to be cleaned before we could use it. The clothes drier is situated in a workshop in one of the caves: access is round a huge pile of earth and through a door that has not been cleaned for years. The area around the drier is filthy. It needs cleaning up and then it would become quite useable.
Unfortunately it proved diificult to arrange for our cleaning lady to be available on a day that a service engineer could visit as the client was understandably unwilling to wait in all day (7 hour visit slot!). The dishwasher has now been replaced. The dryer is in a cave and I agree that the area could do with a spruce up - point noted. The pile of earth is left to discourage people from walking under the place where it occasionally drops from the cliff above - rural France! We are sorry that these issues detracted from Mr T's enjoyment of the prpoerty.
A Fantastic Find!!
Just a quick note to say how much we enjoyed the use of this beautiful house. It's location is ideal, completely secluded but still near to shops, bars and restaurants (L'Aubergade Restaurant in Gennes is a must).
The house itself has all the modern facilities you'd expect whilst still retaining it's "old world" charm. A fabulous place to relax and enjoy the good food and wine of the area.
No better base to explore the Loire
We've just returned from this very charming cottage after a relaxing two-week break. There were seven of us staying, including Granny, Grandad, Mum, Dad, Son (17) and two Daughters (11 and 4).
The secluded patio with its intriguing caves - old Troglodyte dwellings? - makes a lovely place to have breakfast, brunch, lunch, or a barbie! The cottage itself is a great mixture of the original beams and modern convenience, with a fairly recent extension housing the well-equipped kitchen and bathroom at one end, and a much older extension at the other with dining room, bedrooms and another bathroom upstairs, en-suite to the master. The original part of the cottage is the central living room, and character is in abundance here with the inglenook fireplace and low ceiling. Above this is a central area with a sofa-bed and entertainment area for the kids - if at all bored at any time. Altogether ample space for seven or eight to sleep, eat and relax. There was even a games room in another outbuilding, although it appeared this hadn't been used for a while and the facilities were in disrepair. The only other thing that could have been improved were the mattresses on the double beds.
The immediate area had a fairly 'well to do' feel about it. Very pleasant. There are some excellent restaurants and boulangeries to cater for your needs as well as a useful supermarket if you should want to cook.
The Loire is famous for it's chateaux - and we did visit a few, as well as an excellent zoo and a small lake with it's own little beach! It was nice to have such a relaxing place to come back to after all the adventures we had.
The matresses on the double beds are being replaced in May 2012. The games room will also get a spring-clean and check-up then. It does get a bit dusty being in an outbuilding but the ping pong table is only three years old.
Map
The house is 15mins from Saumur on the banks of the Loire in an area designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is close to a bridge over the Loire giving easy access to villages both sides with excellent restaurants bars and shops. Ideally placed for exploring the Loire Chateaux there are numerous local attractions including visits to the producers of the famous Saumur and Loire sparkling wines, museums, abbeys, zoo, golf, canoeing. Hot air balloon rides are available from a company just 2 miles away. It is very easy to access being just 15mins from the motorway network and only 5 1/2 hrs from Calais. The Loire is the first region going South to enjoy a major improvement in the climate - hence the huge wine production of the region. Tours is about an hour to the east and Angers about 1/2 hr west putting Saumur in the heart of the Chateau country.
Other Activities: museums, wine producer visits, Calvary school, Loire Chateaux, hot air balloon rides,
Golf: There is a 9 hole golf course about 6-7 miles away and several others within a 1 hour drive