Amenities and activities
At Chateau Pélat
Seven bedrooms - five bathrooms - comfortably sleeps 10 + space for 6 more children or teenagers in the Owl and Tower rooms
In the main house: Three double rooms, one twin room, one en-suite bathroom, and two other bathrooms; large living and dining space with fireplace; smaller sitting room; well-equipped kitchen.
In other buildings: ‘Bergerie’ apartment with en-suite shower, fireplace, and desk; ‘Owl’ bedroom for children or teenagers with two large single beds and en suite bathroom; ‘Tower’ bedroom with two bunkbeds sleeping four children or teenagers.
Miscellaneous: laundry room, table tennis, boule, tennis rackets, pinball machine, bicycles, hammocks, breakfast terrace, wide tree-shaded lawns with eating areas, vine-shaded pool dining terrace and bbq, well-stocked English language bookshelves, vineyard and decent home-produced wine! TV (for DVD or your own device - such as Amazon Fire Stick or similar - only) and wifi internet.
In the area
Jegun: Chateau Pélat is within easy walking distance (or a short bike ride) of the very attractive twelfth century 'bastide' village of Jegun (pictured), with excellent restaurant, lively bar, bank, post office, mini-supermarket and pharmacy - as well as an excellent bakery.
Nearby: It’s a 10 minute drive to Castera-Verduzan, which has a top restaurant (Le Florida), a weekly farmers’ market, and shops including an excellent butcher and well-stocked supermarket. About the same distance is Lavardens, home of an historic and imposing grand chateau and a pleasant terrace restaurant. You might consider visits to the excellent markets and cafes of Vic Fezansac, Condom, or Saint-Lary, all a short drive away. And a 25-30 minute drive to the cathedral city of Auch is rewarded with good restaurants and a wide range of shops as well as plenty of sight-seeing.
Further afield: At the beginning or end of your stay, you could add some time on the coast, in the delightful Mediterranean beach town of Collioure; walking in the foothills of the Pyrenees; the glamour of Biarritz; or the extraordinary historic Cathar city of Carcassonne. All are within 2-3 hours drive. If you fly to Toulouse, the city is well worth an overnight stay if you have time.
Getting there
By air: Toulouse airport is just over an hour away, and about 1h45m from London. Bordeaux airport is just over two hours and about 1h30m from London. Both have ample car rental options.
By train: From Paris, take the TGV to Toulouse - 4h 20m - then connect on a train to Auch - 1h30m.
Driving: If you travel from the UK by ferry, you have numerous options depending on your point of departure. The drive from St Malo is about 7h30m.