Self-catering apartment - Chateau Holiday Rental in Bures En Bray, Seine-Maritime, France

• 1: Self-catering apartment 3 bedrooms, Sleeps 7
• 2: Bed and Breakfas... 3 bedrooms, Sleeps 6

Where is it

• Location:  North West France  >  Normandy  >  Seine-Maritime
• Closest town/village:  Bures En Bray (Seine-Maritime) ( Central )
• Closest airport: Paris Beauvais Airport (41.4 miles *Direct distance, road distance may vary. Please refer to detailed area map for local roads.)
• Distance to coast: 17.4 miles
• Access: No public transport available, Car Essential, Owner pickup available, Train station pickup available Car hire
• Property highlights: Barbecue, Garden, Scenic views

 

Luxurious Petit Château with Bed & Breakfast and Self Catering

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.

Holiday Accommodation at Self-catering apartment

 Self-catering apartment

• One enormous bedroom with a superking-sized bed (can be divided into two twins)
• One twin room
• One triple
• Shower-room with basin and WC
• Very large bathroom with everything
• Kitchen/diner
• Washing machine and tumble drier
• Sitting room with TV/video and a range of video cassettes and board games.

The whole apartment is light and airy with views over the fields and gardens. It comfortably sleeps up to 7 people.

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.

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.

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About Bures En Bray in Seine-Maritime, Normandy

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.

How To Get To Bures En Bray in Seine-Maritime, North West France

For full directions please contact the owner.

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

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Facilities at Self-catering apartment

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Availability at Self-catering apartment

Changeover day: 0

Availability last updated on: - Sunday, May 6, 2012

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Rates

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