Ruche
Les Gites du Moulin
Nearest Airport: La Rochelle |
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Sleeps 6 in 3 bedrooms At a Glance
Local airports :La Rochelle 1 hour; Bordeaux 1.5 hours
St Malo 4 hours drive
Rural hamlet location
Enclosed pool and heated children’s splash pool
Babysitting by an English speaking registered childminder
Plenty of outdoor children’s toys and activities
Wine tasting with the owner – a professional wine expertSPECIAL OFFERS
Book your 2011 holiday at 2010 prices (if booked by 31st Jul 2010)
10% off wc 22 May 2010 - please enquire Ruche is one of the gites available at Les Gites du Moulin. Click here to find out more about this cluster of gites or to look at the other gites. What we think…
Originally used to store hay as far back as the 18th Century, Ruche (so called as old beehives were found during renovation) has a simple open plan layout on the ground floor with the kitchenette at one end and a large tiled living area opening out onto fields at the rear. It is furnished simply but comprehensively and retains a rural French charm sympathetic to the character of the original building. It is well positioned directly opposite the sand pit and garden play area so it is easy to keep an eye on the children while they play happily outside and provides good-value characterful accommodation. Ruche is the twin of Horloge next door and both can be taken together by families wishing to holiday together but with their own space (please note that the photos below are of Horloge, but Ruche is virtually identical). There is plenty of room outside to eat together al fresco. The Bedrooms…
Ruche has 3 smallish bedrooms (a double and 2 twins) reached via the ornate spiral staircase from the living area. The bathroom is also upstairs and has a bath with a shower attachment. All the bedrooms have wardrobes or hanging space and drawers. The Living Accommodation…
The open-plan living area takes up the entire ground floor with the kitchenette and boiler against one wall. The kitchen has a fridge, microwave, 4-ring gas hob and small work-top electric oven-grill. The living area looks out over the fields to the rear and to the gardens at the front through a glass door. Through double glass doors at the rear, 3 steps lead up to a more secluded area with garden furniture and barbeque for your use. Washing and drying facilities are provided centrally in a separate building at no extra cost. All linen and towels for indoor use are provided – please bring your own swimming towels. Baby and Toddler Friendly!
• Box of toys (0-5yrs) provided
• High chairs
• Booster seat (no strap so not for the very young)
• Cots with fitted sheets and blankets if required
• Baby bath and bath toys
• Potty
• Plastic steps
• Avent steam steriliser available
• Hand held blender
• Plastic cups, crockery and cutlery
• Changing mat
• Stair barriers (top and bottom)
• Baby monitor with walk about handset available
• Bouncy chair
• Baby towels
• Toddler loo seat
• Non slip bath mats
• Chains on upstairs windows Extras…
The following are available at extra cost (subject to availability) and can all be booked prior to or on arrival:
• Babysitting - €10 an hour between 6pm and midnight; €20 per hour thereafter.
• Cleaning Service - from €30 to allow you to leave the cleaning to someone else at the end of the week Outside…
The garden is a haven for the children with plenty of space to run around, kick a ball or play hide and seek. If you can drag them away from the swimming pools for long enough, your children will also discover the sandpit, swings and slide, shaded areas to play in, boules and a raft of outdoor ride-on toys. There are plenty of shady areas for them to play in away from the direct heat of the sun, as well as a wonderful pirate ship that should keep them entertained for hours! For the older children there is also a table-tennis table and a selection of games. Full size sun loungers are provided around the enclosed pool for the grown ups to relax on and there is also a very popular communal barbeque which is often the centre of things once the children are in bed and the sun is going down! Parent Points! All the gites are equipped with open tread spiral staircases (especially imported from the UK) which are gated but are steep so care will be required when carrying young children or with helping toddlers up and down them. And Beyond…
Many people come here simply to explore this charming and rural part of France and to sample the things that make this country rightly famous – the food and wine. Local specialities include Mussels with Cream, Oysters, goat’s cheese, honey and cake with angelica. The local town is called St Jean d’Angely and is 6 miles away; the nearest supermarket is on the outskirts. There is a wealth of Chateaux to visit, but swimming, fishing, horse riding, golf, tennis and rowing are all available during the summer months in the local area if you so wish. The landscape is gently rolling and ideal for cycling and country walks en famille. The Atlantic beaches are an easy hour’s drive away and can be found all along this wooded coast – a part with a very interesting military history - and fortifications used to ward of variously the Normans and the English are much in evidence. You are never far from a vineyard in this part of the world so why not try the local ‘Pineau’ or for the real thing go to Cognac for a tour of one of the distilleries - we tried the Hennessy tour which was interesting for the adults and pacey enough to keep the children entertained . The Graves and Medoc vineyards are about an hour’s drive to the South and it is an easy day-trip to take in a whole clutch of the world famous names. The port city of La Rochelle has a fantastic aquarium (which was highly rated by other parents that we spoke to) and all the bustle of a provincial coastal city with the hip Ile de Re just a little further away if you want to mingle with the Parisian set and the odd celebrity. We visited the bustling town of St. Martin de Re which is beautiful and it is well worth planning to have lunch in this buzzy little marina. Finally, why not just relax at your gîte with some of the fantastic fresh sea-food (the local oysters are a real treat) bought from a market nearby? Getting there...
It is easily possible to drive here in a day from St.Malo; you should allow about 4 to 5 hours with a stop. The longer Britanny Ferries crossings are good as they arrive at around 8am. The other big ports are a little further – Le Havre is about 5 hours, with Caen and Cherbourg about 6 hours away. You should allow at least 8 hours from Calais. The nearest airport is La Rochelle (about 1 hour’s drive), Poitiers is about an hour and a quarter and Bordeaux airport is not much further away at about an hour and a half.
| Arrive |
Depart |
Time |
Carrier |
| La Rochelle |
Birmingham, Manchester, Southampton |
1 hour |
Flybe |
| La Rochelle |
Dublin, Stansted |
1 hour |
Ryanair |
| Poitiers |
Stansted |
75 minutes |
Ryanair |
| Bordeaux |
Birmingham, Manchester |
90 minutes |
BMI Baby |
| Bordeaux |
Bristol, Luton |
90 minutes |
Easyjet |
| Bordeaux |
Gatwick |
90 minutes |
British Airways |
| Bordeaux |
Southampton |
90 minutes |
Flybe |
Gallery 
The main pool - safely enclosed.
Part of the living area with doors out to a small private terrace overlooking fields.
The open-plan living and dining area.
The kitchen.
The main bedroom.
One of the twin bedrooms.
The second twin bedroom.
The rear terrace - perfect for eating out.
The front terrace.
Hours of fun to be had!.
Ahoy there!.
The new heated childrens' pool.
The new pirate ship!.
The view from Ruche and Horloge.
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