We were looking for somewhere with charm and no noise, from where we could discover the region. It was exactly that ! Adrian and Shamsiah were very welcoming and always available for recommending places to visit, things to do and where to eat. We had a great week, discovering the beautiful Bocage Bourbonnais !

Very comfortably furnished with a lot of personal touches and attention to detail. Kitchen extremely well equipped. Lovely grounds and gardens - a pond with waterlilies such a pleasure in comparison with an ugly swimming-pool. Flowers everywhere outside and in every room. Delightful.

A superb self-contained conversion of part of a rural barn set in a huge garden in mid-France. We had the ultimate week of relaxation in this rural idyll. The owners, Adrian and Shamsiah, live on the site, but their house is well separated from the Gite, and they don't interfere in any way - whilst being delighted to help, and really informative, with queries about the locality. The only noise at night is from the pond, which is absolutely full of vocal green frogs. We also had a superb day canoeing down the Allier; just one direction, because Adrian came to collect us and the canoe from a village many miles downstream.

This well equipped gite is situated in a quiet corner of deepest rural France. As a barn conversion it provides very spacious generous accommodation and lovely gardens to stroll around and sit in late into the night watching the stars appear in a coal-black sky, uncorrupted by light pollution. Hosts Adrian and Shamsiah are attentive and helpful without being intrusive, they manage to get the balance just right. The beautiful medieval villages and towns, the intriguing history of the region and the proximity of rivers and volcanic landscape (a day out to Puy de Dômes is a must) make this undiscovered area a gem awaiting the wave of commercialisation that tourism will, one day, surely bring. Paddle down the Allier in the C2 canoe to Apremont, it's well worth it! The only criticism I would make is nothing to do with the gite. If you're an angler and you read the tourist rhetoric, you'll think that this area is great for fishing- it's not! Most of the lakes are private and the Allier is very hard fishing. Fly fishing on the Sioule is the best option in the South of the region. If you like your French experience unsullied, calm, traditional and tranquil, this gite is for you!