Pech D'Auzonne

• Traditional Quercy character house in a peaceful setting
• Sleeps 4 in 2 rooms (dbl & twin)
• Rural character and features carefully preserved by the Owners
• Winery & vineyard next door - a wine lover's dream!
• Private 10x5m fenced pool with terrace
• Summer rates from £450/week for 4 people

Pech d'Auzonne is a delightful little house in a tiny hamlet near the village of Escayrac. Thoughtfully renovated by the Owners, the property retains many original vintage features, and the furnishings maintain the rural character of the house to a high degree.

The gardens have some unmistakably English features - rose bushes and a quince tree among them, and the garden has several separate areas on all sides of the house making sun and shade available throughout the day.

For wine lovers, Pech d'Auzonne is a must, with the ground floor cave converted into a twin bedroom, the windows of which look out towards the buildings of a winery of the same name about 300m away.

With a very pleasant and happy ambience, it is little wonder that Pech d'Auzonne remains high on the list of repeat bookings each year, and is popular with couples and families with older children alike.

Arriving at Pech d'Auzonne along a very quiet country lane there is a hard parking area with ample room for 2 cars beside the fenced hedge of the pool surround.

The accommodation at Pech d'Auzonne is very simple, comprising 4 rooms: A Sitting room and an Ensuite double bedroom on the first floor, and a twin bedroom and the Kitchen / Dining room on the Ground floor. All rooms have wooden beamed ceilings.

The spacious Master Double bedroom has windows overlooking the gardens and has ample storage. The ensuite bathroom has a bath with shower over, basin & WC.

The Sitting Room has two comfortable sofas and a good-sized wood burner set in a large traditional fireplace. With pleasant views over the garden, this is an extremely pleasant room by day or by night. The main entrance at the top of the stone steps outside opens into this room through an original door of great character. A second ancient door in the room is the door to the stairs up to the loft space which is not currently in use.

Leading from the corner of the Sitting Room, stairs go down to the ground floor. These lead into the Kitchen / Dining Room where ancient beams blend with pine kitchen units and furniture to give the true feel of a country kitchen.  Equipment includes a cooker, fridge/freezer and a washing machine. A circular pine table and chairs complete the room.   Off the kitchen is a downstairs WC with basin.

Through from the kitchen, a curtain divides the Kitchen from the spacious Twin bedroom, which has imaginatively been situated in the cave (wine cellar) of traditional vaulted construction with local stone all exposed and neatly pointed. This room, which also has a tiled floor, will usually be pleasantly cool during hot nights in high summer.

Double glazed doors from this room open onto the grassed area outside.

With a garden on all sides of the house, shade or sun can always be found: The roses and other planted flowers are a feature of Pech d'Auzonne, and all shrubs, trees and grass are very well kept.

Double doors open from the Kitchen onto a small patio by a large, very private lawned area, walled on two sides.

Coming around the house there are mature horse chestnut trees offering plenty of shade, along with other younger fruit trees planted by the Owners.

The lane side of the house has numerous rose bushes planted which lend the house a very gentle ambience, and these extend around the stone staircase up to the upper level.

Attached to the house is an unrestored barn, and a table tennis table is found here.    A charcoal barbecue is provided for alfresco cooking.

Beyond this is the swimming pool within a fenced and hedged enclosure, giving a great degree of privacy. The 10 x 5m chlorine water pool has side steps for entry (new for 2019, and not yet photographed). Pool furniture including loungers and sunshades are provided to make maximum use of the terrace surrounding the pool.

Pech d'Auzonne shares its name with a winery which is about 300m from the house and is run by an Anglo/French couple in conjunction with an organic farm, and wines are usually available to purchase or taste.

The area is in the heart of the Cahors AOC so there are many other vineyards and wineries locally offering tastings: Information can be found under the Area on the menu at the top of this page.

The town of Montcuq, approx 7km / 5 miles away, has a Sunday morning market where a wide selection of fresh produce and other items can be purchased: Many towns and villages have a weekly market, and a list of these is included in The Area information at the top of the page.

The whole area abounds with a variety of agricultural and horticultural produce: Apples, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, walnuts and hazelnuts are just some of the things to be seen growing alongside more traditional cereal crops, vegetables and vines. Many of these are used by restaurants in the area, and eating out is generally of high quality and very reasonably priced.

History is plentiful throughout the locality, with Roman and earlier history to be found at Cahors, and the medieval hilltop bastide villages, such as Lauzerte with its magnificent square and medieval buildings, well worth a visit.

Cahors and other points at which the river Lot can be accessed are the starting point for water-based activities, and the quiet roads and beautiful scenery invite exploration on foot or by bicycle. To the north of the River Lot is an area of beautiful landscapes, and with two magnificent chateaux on the skyline, Chateau Biron and Chateau de Bonaguil.

The nearest...  Tennis - 5km  Golf - 10km  Horseriding - 4km  Fishing - 3km