ROGER DAWES found a little spot of France which wasn’t forever English, but recently made so …
We’re 45km south of the city of Tours, in the Central region (in an area known also as ‘Indre et Loire’ and ‘Touraine’, not to mention ‘Garden of France’, ‘Loire Valley’ and ‘Valley of Kings’). Our nearest town is Ste Maure de Touraine, and our village Nouatre is on the banks of the River Vienne. La Ferme du Temple is 100 metres from the bridge over the river connecting Nouatre and Marcilly.
Your Accommodation – spacious and private, easy living Our Maison de Maitre (Master’s House) was built in 1830, and has been lovingly modernised whilst preserving its character.
The main house is for exclusive use of our guests, comprising a private salon and dining room, and just two large (+-30 sq.m.) luxury en suite bedrooms, each sleeping 2 people, with the possibility of a child’s bed in each if required.
More Space
For your enjoyment, 8 000 sq.metres (2 acres) of garden, lake and meadow are adjacent to the house. Our outdoor living patio offers shade and shelter, as does the fishing barn next to the lake. On rare damp days, a wine tasting session in the cellar bar is an option. Or you may choose to sit in the shade of the old walnut tree by the stream and listen to the nightingale, by night or by day.
Interesting to explore are the barns and stables, and the other meadows with their stream that runs alongside, a further 16 000 sq.m. of leisure space with ponies, chickens and Violette the goat.
Food and Drink
Meals can be taken privately or ‘en famille’ with your hosts. For those special occasions we will be pleased to serve you a plated ‘haute cuisine’ dinner.
Breakfast
Continental breakfast is included, served in the dining room or al fresco outside.
You can also decide to walk 100 metres into the centre of the village to see Estelle the Boulanger, choose your own croissants, pastries and bread, and picnic at the table alongside the River Vienne.
With, if you wish, ham, cheese and other delicacies from Stella the proprietor of the General Store opposite the Boulanger; and buy your magazines from the newsagents. Or consume the goodies with a coffee from the bar on the corner, or the second bar next to the Mairie.
Translations provided for this easy entry into the French lifestyle!
Lunch
We can organise a lunch for you to eat in or take with you on your travels.
Dinner
Dinner can be provided on request, and served in or out of doors. Barbeques are a pleasure – cook your own meat or fish if you wish
Drinks
We operate an honesty bar, in the dining room and in the wine cellar.
Sporting Activities – easy entertainment
At home we have darts and badminton, and room to practice your golf. Within 600 metres there are canoes, table tennis, a beach with river paddling, a children’s playground, fishing, country walks (hiking trail GR48 passes our gate)….
Within 3km there is horse riding and a river swimming beach, water skiing.
Sights to See
In addition to our extensive grounds, the village and river are on our doorstep, providing a pleasant stroll. The village has 2 bars, a boulanger, butcher, general store, newsagent, 2 hairdressers…
Village life is important in our area. We host a sculpture garden as part of the Nouatre village fete in August, and help out with the Triathlon at the end of June, which includes a swim in the River Vienne, which is less than 100 metres from our gate. Nearby villages hold fetes with different themes: Duck and Melon; Country Fair; Cheese; Boating; and many more, often with flea markets.
The Triathlon is a comparatively recent (26 year) tradition in a village with a long history involving prehistoric megaliths, Romans, Knights Templar and Crusaders, Moors, the Renaissance and two world wars. Our ruined chateau in the village dates from 11th century, and the church from 1435 (a frieze from the 15th century depicting the life of St Reverend is an amazing feature).
Within a short drive we have well over 100 castles, chateaux and gardens, we have yet to visit all of them! Visit www.chateaux-france.com to check them out. But there are some that we like so much that we have visited them several times – Leonardo da Vinci’s Clos Luce www.vinci-closluce.com, Villandry’s magnificent medieval gardens www.chateauvillandry.com the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ castle of Usse….so never short of things to do and places to go to.
Touring Made Easy
Don’t fancy driving? Let us take you on a tour in our spacious 4×4. We can accompany you to the attractions of your choice, visiting with you if required (translation services and anecdotes included!)
Your Hosts Roger and Joan Dawes…
Roger and Joan Dawes have lived in the UK, South Africa and France, working in the fields of telecommunications and fashion respectively. They are now proprietors of La Ferme du Temple, where they love to share their interests in history, art, cooking, gardens, travel, wildlife and more.
Fly-in is easy
Ryanair has regular flights from the UK Stansted Airport at very competitive rates HYPERLINK “http://www.ryanair.com” www.ryanair.com
Train is easy too
The TGV fast train from Paris takes just 58 minutes. Direct trains also from Charles de Gaulle CDG airport. There are 2 stations in Tours, Tours Centre and St Pierre des Corps. The TGV connects to Eurostar for cross channel tunnel links to London, and to many other European destinations
Meet and Greet – easy, no hassle
We are happy to meet your scheduled flight or train
By Road – open uncrowded autoroutes are easy
Excellent motorways exist from Paris, or from the Channel ports (missing Paris on the A28), bringing you within 10km of your destination.
Directions from Tours
Take the A10 motorway direction Bordeaux.
Take exit 27 Ste Maure de Touraine
In summary, turn left at 4 roundabouts:
At the first roundabout take the 3rd exit
At the second roundabout take the 3rd exit
At the third roundabout take the 3rd exit
At the fourth roundabout take the 2nd exit
At the fifth roundabout, enter La Ferme du Temple!
Car hire – easy, no problem
If you would like to hire a car, there are agencies for Avis and Hertz at the airport and station (pre-booking necessary). Alternatively if you don’t fancy leaping into the traffic immediately, we have a local agency so can meet you, settle you in your suite, and organise your car pick up at your leisure (time to find the controls, adjust the mirrors, follow us home….).
Stay in touch – you can email us via roger.dawes@sfr.fr or keep in touch with us via www.twitter.com/loirevalleyeasy
