The Gite

Our French holiday home in Mayreville is a haven of rural peace and tranquillity where it is possible to get in touch with 'the real France' of fields of sunflowers, orchids, vineyards, wild herbs and a great variety of wild flowers, birds and butterflies. The situation combines peace and quiet in an area with a wide variety of interests. The gite itself is off the beaten track in a hamlet of only seven or eight families and with no passing traffic.

A view over the fields, taken within 30 yards of the front door

There are many activities to enjoy around our French holiday home. Spectacular Cathar castles are near, as are medieval villages and bastides; Carcassonne and Toulouse are both about 3/4 hour's drive away. Other possibilities in the vicinity are: sailing and water sports, swimming in river or pools, wine-tasting (the nearest is the excellent Cotes de la Malepere, with the Corbieres and the Minervois close at hand), horse-riding, carting, pre-historic caves and the Canal du Midi (with a very good towpath for cyclists). The Mediterranean with its vast beaches is just over 1 hour away by autoroute and the Pyrenees and Andorra are about 1 1/2 hours away to the south.

In winter the French holiday home is equally convenient for the ski centre of Les Monts d'Olmes and for downhill and cross-country skiing in the vicinity of Ax-les-Thermes. There is usually snow from November to May.

Local fetes are held in all the villages of the area in summer. The Mayreville fete takes place during the first week-end in August and lasts for three days.

The gite itself is a three-storey stone building of the 16th or 17th century, fully restored. It is situated on the village square facing the church. The ground floor is open plan with a good-sized kitchen and a tiled floor throughout. There is a wood-burning fire in the lounge area for evenings in the cooler months.

There are four bedrooms. The two largest are upstairs in the main part of the gite. The back bedroom, with twin beds and an additional studio couch, has extensive uninterrupted views over the fields and hills to the rear of the house. The front, double, bedroom looks out over the square to the old church. The main house has a bathroom with bidet, shower and WC. The bedrooms have wash-basins.

For larger parties there are a further two bedrooms in a single-storey adjoining annex. One of the annex rooms has two bunk beds (full size), the other has a double bed. The bunk room is small but adequate (no wardrobe). The annex also contains a shower room and wc. There is a utility room for garden furniture and washing machine.


The smaller annex bedroom	The courtyard garden

The gite is well equipped: we have washing-machine, fridge/freezer, food processor, microwave oven, coffee machine, electric mixer toaster and kettles, and crockery and cutlery for eight people. Cooking is by bottled gas, as is standard in rural France.

Outside is a walled patio, a terrace (with garden furniture) and a long, sloping garden partly cultivated but mainly trees and shrubs, including many prolific fig trees. So if figs are your delight aim to visit in September and October. There is a portable barbecue.

Here is a view of the terrace area in the garden

The nearest shops are eight kilometres away but travelling bakers, butcher, fishmonger and grocer visit the village regularly. It is also possible to buy from neighbours, eggs, milk and poultry. Good supermarkets are available in Castelnaudary and Mirepoix (both about twenty minutes' drive away). Restaurants to suit most tastes are plentiful in the area, with a particularly interesting one, Le Vieux Four, in Payra, three kilometres distant.