Welcome to the “Old Atelier" Gîte - a beautifully converted old stone cottage with its own secure garden - free WiFi - an idyllic rural hideaway for two. This is a quiet rural location where you can really lose yourself, far away from the usual hurly-burly but just 6km from the N10 motorway and the bustling town of Ruffec, which lies on the beautiful Charente River.

It is now twelve years since we bought our beautiful Charentais barn, and five years since we converted one of the outhouses into a Gîte. We have had such a positive experience in letting this out, that we decided we should also convert a lovely old stone workshop into another gîte. The Old Atelier has its own entrance further along the drive with gates opening onto a large gravelled parking area, with plenty of room for both Boules and Barbecuing, then down a couple of stone steps into the secluded garden area which is equipped with comfortable reclining chairs, assorted tables, chairs, and the very important parasol.

The conversion was completed a couple of years ago now, and it was very important to us that it was carried out sympathetically, and to a very high standard. We are proud to have been awarded the prestigious '4-Star' accolade by Charentes Tourisme under the 'Meublés de Tourisme" scheme.

We are particularly keen to provide everything we think is important for a happy holiday: a local oak dining table, a dishwasher, Broadband Wi-fi, Denby bone china, sharp knives, two types of corkscrew, a huge flat-screen TV with 5.1 cinema surround-sound, UK TV & lots of good DVDs, plus a large, firm and especially comfortable bed, and a large walk-in shower...

Outside, in the secluded gated garden, there are three discrete relaxing areas, the main north-facing dining area for summer dining away from the direct heat, a smaller east-facing dining area for breakfasts, coffee etc., and a south-facing relaxation area with reclining chairs and a small table with a large parasol for that all-important soaking up of the wonderful Charentais sun. Remember in the lovely summer micro-climate of the Charente, clouds are rarely seen and it stays warm until 2am - perfect for an extremely leisurely al-fresco apéritif and barbecue, as you unwind at the end of a long day!