Gîte rural de Groupe - 3 épis " L'estaou " - 15 pers (19 sleeps) - Ecogîte

Label "Ecogîte" (Ecological) and Label "Tourism and Disability - Visual, Auditory, Mental".

This cottage (350 m² living space) was elected "Gîte of the year 2013" by the Gîtes de France. Cottage in the heart of the locality "Le Suc", located on the town of Arlempdes (Arlempdes was ranked one of the most beautiful villages in France) south of the Auvergne and a few kilometers from the Ardeche and Lozere . Altitude: 930 meters. It is an independent house with a closed ground of 600 m ². Several car parking spaces outside the enclosed grounds have been developed. We have carefully renovated, respecting the original character, an old farmhouse dating from 1882.

This cottage has obtained the label Eco-gîte (ecological) in July 2012, and the label "Tourism and Handicap" in June 2013 (visual, auditory, mental). For your information, we dealt with motor disability partially and in the DRC (just a doorway threshold height that we could not correct).

Capabilities:
. 15 persons (19 beds), Surface 280 m² + Festive room of 70 m²
. Possibility to rent in addition a festive room 70 m². This festive room is only rented to guests of the house.
Ground floor: 2 double beds (140) // 1 double bed (160) and a cot
Bedroom floor: 1 double bed (140) // 1 double bed (140) and a single bed (90) // 2 double beds (140) // 1 double bed (140) and a single bed (90)

Ground floor: Lounge / Living room (flat screen TV, DVD player, board games, books, magazines ...), kitchen "open" on the dining area, fully equipped and overlooking a terrace in "calades" (stone pavement) volcanic), Dining area with a very large table, 2 bedrooms: 3 beds 2 people (including 1 of 160), 1 cot (with baby equipment), large bathroom with walk-in shower, 1 WC independent, laundry.

Upstairs: 4 bedrooms: 5 double beds, 2 single beds, 1 bathroom with walk-in shower and bath, 1 shower room with walk-in shower, 1 separate toilet, 1 bathroom game and festive room of 70 m², 1 outdoor terrace partly covered.

Outside: Closed ground (600 m ²) with barbecue and big terrace in "calade" (volcanic stones) in front of the door of entrance and easily accessible of the kitchen, 4 living rooms of garden (2 in South face and 2 in North-East face )
"Cool" area in summer in the north so strong heat,
Terrace "barn up" 10 m² partly covered (6m²).
1 cellar buried in front of the house (keep your vegetables for example), 1 soue (under the barn) to store bicycles ....

History: This project, for my brother and for myself, was particularly important to us because it is our childhood village where we worked with our parents on the farm.

This building housed:
. The stable, 20 cows,
. The barn, the necessary fodder for long winters,
. The "aviary", for the storage of the fodder on the floor, and the "finishing" of the lambs (young ewes) in the DRC,
. The main home of our family until the 1970s. This rehabilitation was also a way of not abandoning this family heritage by contributing also to the dynamism of our common childhood.

Our project was to rehabilitate beautifully this old farmhouse retaining as much as possible the existing and local cachet (the rise of barn, the soue of pigs, stone masonry facades, a natural terrace on the front with "calades" , the cellar in front of the house, ..) then rent it and / or use it also for our holidays. Our natural tendency has been to preserve the planet and the new label "écogîte" immediately seduced and inspired us despite the constraints. It was the same for the label "tourism and disability".

In the center of the village, the trough where cows and sheep came to drink. This water comes from the surrounding hills. The village has kept the trough watering and the laundry even if they are almost no longer used. Until the 80s, the women of the village came to wash the laundry in the wash with wooden "benches" where they stood on their knees to work. It was also a moment of conviviality that kept the bonds between neighbors.

The Suc is a hamlet of ten houses. Only one family of farmers is present and cultivates the surrounding lands. These farmers also raise sheep and cows. The other inhabitants are pensioners. In the 90s, there were still 3 farming families sharing the lands of this hamlet (including ours).
The river "La Méjeanne" flows below and feeds the Loire a few kilometers from Suc.

It is a peaceful place where it is good to rest, even for athletes indulge in walks (easy access paths or difficult to choose from) to discover the different landscapes or go fishing.
The surroundings are meadows, cultivated fields and south-east side, forests extend in a landscape of ravines and "semi" mountains (Alt 1000 m).

A plot of land, in the North East, in the shade of the hot summer, was built and was made easily accessible from inside the house via a door created (including for disabled) and by the outside via a small landscaped path along the house.

This hamlet is located 2 kilometers from the Village Arlempdes, classified as one of the most beautiful villages in France, a village renowned for housing the first castle on the Loire.

To visit, to see
. Mount Gerbier des Rushes, birthplace of the Loire (20 kms),
. The red inn of Peyrebeille and its history (20 kms),
. Possibility to practice horse riding in Pradelles (15 kms),
. Swimming pool "La Vague" at PUY en VELAY (25 kms),
. Possibility of road bike or mountain bike rides,
. Possibility of beautiful hiking (easy to difficult),
. Beautiful beaches (reservoirs) for swimming (unsupervised) along the Loire in Arlempdes (2 kms),
. Beaume Falls, the Niagara Falls in Auvergnate fashion (7 kms),
. 2 nearby ski resorts; Estables (25 Kms) and Croix de Bauzon (40 kms): Snowshoeing, tobogganing, cross-country skiing and downhill skiing,
. City of Puy en Velay (25 kms):
  The old Town,
  The Cathedral of the Annunciation (starting point of the famous pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela -Spain - 1600 kms) on Mount Anis, at the top of an impressive staircase,
  The scallop shell that tags the via Podiensis (the starting point towards Compostela),
  The Saint-Michel Chapel perched on the rock of Aiguilhe,
  The Statue of Our Lady of France, in cast iron of the Virgin at the top of a peak,
  Velay lace,
  The tanneries,
  The Pagés distillery which manufactures the famous digestive liqueur named "Verveine du Velay" composed of 32 herbs and infusions,
. City of Pradelles with its medieval village, church, rail bike and the horse museum (16 kms),
. Lakes (Bouchet, Coucouron, Issarlés, Naussac ...) with aquatic activities,
. Prehistoric caves to find opposite Suc (1 km) and Montagnac (4 km),
. Medieval village of Arlempdes, classified one of the most beautiful villages of France (2 kms),
. Castle picturesque Arlempdes, the first castle of the Loire (2 kms),
. The villages of Meygal, Mezenc,
. Fishing on the Loire (2 kms) and the Méjeanne (1 km), provide fishing maps and equipment not provided,

. Markets: Monday / Costaros (7 kms), Tuesday / Landos (7 kms), Wednesday / Coucouron, Thursday / Yssingeaux, Saturday / PUY en VELAY (Place du Plot, 25 kms),
. Restaurants: Arlempdes (2 kms), Ussel (5 kms), Le Vézinat (4 kms), Costaros (7 kms) and then Le PUY EN VELAY (25 kms)
. Shops: nearest Costaros (7 kms), PUY en VELAY (25 kms), Langogne (20 kms),
. Post office: Costaros (7 kms), the postman passes every day.
. Doctors / Dentists: Costaros (7 kms), Landos (7 kms), Cayres (9 kms)
. Pharmacy: Costaros (7 kms)
. Hospital: The PUY EN VELAY (25 kms)
. Town Hall: Arlempdes (2 kms)

For this rehabilitation, we realized this construction:
1) In a spirit of limiting our environmental footprint with the desire to obtain the "Ecogîte" label
a) Mastery of the original stamp
b) Control of energy consumption
c) Control of water consumption
d) Control of waste by selective sorting
e) Mastering the quality and provenance of the materials used + Local craftsmanship
f) Control of nuisances
- No noise nuisance:
     . Very calm village,
     . Insulation set up,
- No visual nuisance:
     . Integration of the TV antenna inside (at the level of the attic),
     . Integration of the elements under a worktop (Washing machine, Dishwasher, Cabinets).

2) In a spirit of being able to welcome people with disabilities (visual, auditory, mental)
Label "Tourism and Visual, Mental and Auditory Disability"
We have made the ground floor accessible to people with disabilities (motor, auditory, mental, visual).

Laurent and Henry BOYER