Chateau in Seine-Maritime, France

Bed and Breakfast details

The elegant, stylish house

Home description

Le Bourg is a mid-19th century petit château in the centre of an agricultural village. Furnished with antiques, decorated with original pictures and murals, the house is elegant, stylish and above all comfortable. The panelled library houses an excellent and eclectic collection of books, audio books and classical music CDs. Bed linen is 100% cotton and professionally laundered; there is a choice of duvets or sheets and blankets. The bathrooms are large, with baths, bidets, WCs and separate shower cubicles; plenty of sumptuous towels are supplied, as well as towelling bathrobes; toiletries are Dior, Chanel, YSL and the like (none of your supermarket soap here!). There are hairdryers, irons and boards.

Accommodation detail

The dining room

The magnificent Salon

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 First floor:

• Three double bedrooms (one with washbasin)
• Two superbly appointed bathrooms

These can be taken in various configurations; e.g. two bedrooms with en suite bathrooms or two bedrooms sharing the larger bathroom which has two washbasins or three bedrooms with one shared and one en suite bathroom. Prices vary according to chosen configuration. There are tea and coffee making facilities in all the bedrooms, and a fridge in one bathroom.

Ground floor:

• Sunny breakfast room
• Library
• Entrance hall with doors to green and tranquil gardens
• Utility room with a large sink for washing muddy boots, gutting fish, etc.
• WC and washroom.
• For dinner guests, there is a magnificent salon and a beautiful dining room.

The open fires in library, dining room and salon are lit as soon as comfort demands. The central heating is very efficient, and there is constant hot water, day and night.

As an alternative to B&B, the top floor is available for self-catering and sleeps seven. All bed linens, towels etc. are provided, together with soap, shampoo, bath essences; in addition, a starter basket of essentials (tea, coffee, butter, milk, bread, sugar, home-made jams and marmalade, mineral water, fruit juice and fresh fruit) is supplied. Please advise if you prefer decaffeinated coffee: there is no instant coffee in this house!

The owner will be delighted to make packed lunches with 24 hours' notice; these are charged according to requirements – anything from simple sandwiches, fruit and mineral water to iced soup, charcuterie, stuffed quail, cheeseboard, bavaroises and champagne.

Guests can indulge themselves with a superb dinner in memorable surroundings. The proprietor is an accomplished and imaginative cook (recommended by all her French friends) and has even cooked on television ...for what that may be worth! A typical meal could be:

• Canapés and a glass of champagne in the salon (or the garden)
• Terrine of foie gras with Sauternes jelly
• Carpaccio of scallops on a leek galette
• Le Trou Normande (calvados sorbet)
• Roast rack of lamb with roast aubergines, gratin dauphinoise, peas from the garden and a reduction of meat jus with port
• Mesclun (baby salad leaves) from the garden
• Assortment of French cheeses
• Plate of five miniature desserts: bâteau aux groseilles, sorbet aux oranges amères, crème brûlée, truffe au chocolat, caramelised physalis
• Coffee with petits fours.

The menus are carefully chosen for balance; whilst indigestion remedies are always available, they are seldom called for! Suitable good-quality wines are included to the extent of half a bottle a head. The dining table is dressed with splendid candelabra, linen table napkins, fine glassware and silver cutlery. Most produce is local and, where possible, organic. Meat comes from a proper butcher; fish from the market.

Children: For the self-catering option, children are of course most welcome. However, few young children would sit happily through an elaborate dinner so, whilst naturally they are not forbidden, the bed, breakfast and dinner option is not really suitable for children under 12. But do ask!

Dogs: Visitors may bring their dogs but, as there is a pair of resident whippets, they must stay in the outdoor kennels. Dogs must be leashed in France except in the forests, where they may be freed so long as they remain under control; however, no greyhounds, whippets or similar are allowed to run loose – because of their speed, they can easily outrun and bring down a deer. Visitors' dogs are welcome to frolic in the owners fields, but they must neither chase the cows nor rape the neighbours' bitch!

Smoking: Anywhere on the ground floor or in the garden; nowhere upstairs.

About the location

The fine medieval city of Rouen (55km) is breathtaking with its ancient buildings, as well as being a shopper's paradise of little antique shops and excellent boutiques; a visit to the glorious cathedral is a must, as is another to the modern church of Ste Jeanne d'Arc – this latter could only be in France, as it shares a roof with a splendid covered market! The Jeanne d'Arc museum is delightful, and the fine Musée des Beaux Arts is excellent. Booklets for most of these (and other) activities are kept in the house, and there are very good tourist offices in all the towns.

Bures en Bray is a working village (i.e. cocks crow at dawn on summer mornings, and tractors trundle up the village street at daybreak) on the banks of the Béthune river and surrounded by small traditional farms. All around are magnificent beech forests teeming with abundant wildlife – deer, boar, stone martens, badgers, foxes and red squirrels.

The climate is temperate: a few degrees warmer in summer and colder in winter than southern England. The Bray area is very green, indicating a high rainfall: walkers are recommended to bring stout boots and waterproof clothing. (The owner has umbrellas to use for city and market visits.) Last summer, the temperature in the garden reached 45°C in the sun, but there is plenty of shade.

See Local guide and map for information on nearby towns and facilities.

Activities near by

Badminton, Bird Watching, Fishing, Golf, Gourmet dining, Horse riding, Rambling, Shopping, Sightseeing, Swimming, Tennis, Walking

See Activities and attractions for more information on nearby activities and places of interest.

How to get here

For full directions please contact the owner.

See Local guide and map for information on nearby towns and airports.