The house and garden
Pech Long is a stone farmhouse which sleeps 8 people and is set within a hectare of garden and on top of a small hill between two medieval bastide villages - both of which are featured on Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, Puycelsi and Castelnau-de-Montmiral in the Tarn, in south-west France.
Pech Long has two double bedrooms each with an en-suite shower room and dedicated writing desk. The bed linen is Egyptian cotton and the towels are of a superior quality. The larger south-facing room has a double bed, three-seater sofa and views over the forest towards the mountains. The north-facing room benefits from a subtly lit, private, covered balcony perfect for breakfast or a well-deserved apéro at the end of the day.
Guests are invited to have breakfast in the eccentrically tiled dining room has a table which comfortably seats eight people. It has a large log burner for use in the cooler months. A beautifully and intricately carved large armoire du chasse dominates one wall, and the other, a large window with views across the forest southwards towards the mountains.
From the downstairs hallway lies the snug. The original tomettes (terracotta tiles laid directly on underlying soil) and thick, stone walls provide serene coolness during the high temperatures of summer. During the cooler evening of the winter months, it can be made cosy by lighting the log burner and watching a film or reading a book.
The house as been beautifully decorated using a calm palette of natural tones.
Wifi in the house is reliable with good bandwidth.
Pech Long has two double bedrooms each with an en-suite shower room and dedicated writing desk. The bed linen is Egyptian cotton and the towels are of a superior quality. The larger south-facing room has a double bed, three-seater sofa and views over the forest towards the mountains. The north-facing room benefits from a subtly lit, private, covered balcony perfect for breakfast or a well-deserved apéro at the end of the day.
Guests are invited to have breakfast in the eccentrically tiled dining room has a table which comfortably seats eight people. It has a large log burner for use in the cooler months. A beautifully and intricately carved large armoire du chasse dominates one wall, and the other, a large window with views across the forest southwards towards the mountains.
From the downstairs hallway lies the snug. The original tomettes (terracotta tiles laid directly on underlying soil) and thick, stone walls provide serene coolness during the high temperatures of summer. During the cooler evening of the winter months, it can be made cosy by lighting the log burner and watching a film or reading a book.
The house as been beautifully decorated using a calm palette of natural tones.
Wifi in the house is reliable with good bandwidth.
The pool
The pool is 8x4m and semi-sunk into the garden and away from the immediate vicinity of the house. There is a large wooden deck space at one end. It gets full sun from first thing in the morning until sunset. It is approximately 1.3-1.4m deep throughout, depending on evaporation, and is perfect for the children (or adults!) to splash about in and have fun or simply to dip in and cool off.
The pool is open from the start of June to the end of September.
The pool is open from the start of June to the end of September.
The garden
Pech Long is set within around 2.5 acres of land and surrounding the house, the garden is landscaped. Abutting the front terrace, is a large gravel garden of around 40m2 within which are planted flowering cherries into local stones. In one corner you'll find a dining table and chairs in the shade of a mature ash tree. In the tree there is lighting, ensuring al fresco dinners run long into the warm, summer nights.
A mature rosemary hedge separates the parking area from the gravel garden, ideal for use in the kitchen as well as offering a beautiful scent as you brush past it - perhaps during a late-night game of Möllky
A meandering path lined with Miscanthus giganteum and lavender leads from the front terrace to the pool and its decking - which is perfectly sized for outdoor yoga for several people, overlooking the Gresigne forest.
A mature rosemary hedge separates the parking area from the gravel garden, ideal for use in the kitchen as well as offering a beautiful scent as you brush past it - perhaps during a late-night game of Möllky
A meandering path lined with Miscanthus giganteum and lavender leads from the front terrace to the pool and its decking - which is perfectly sized for outdoor yoga for several people, overlooking the Gresigne forest.
A sense of space...
Pech Long is a very special place with an extraordinary quality which enables people who visit to breathe deeply, tap into creative energy and to completely switch off from the fast pace of modern life.
The house has 360° panoramic views of beautiful sunrises and breathtaking sunsets and, in the summer months, acres of sunflowers, oats or barley extend towards the ancient oak forests below in the adjacent valley. During autumn and winter, the elusive Pyrérénees reveal themselves and become the perfect backdrop for the rural, Tarnaise landscape.
The house has 360° panoramic views of beautiful sunrises and breathtaking sunsets and, in the summer months, acres of sunflowers, oats or barley extend towards the ancient oak forests below in the adjacent valley. During autumn and winter, the elusive Pyrérénees reveal themselves and become the perfect backdrop for the rural, Tarnaise landscape.
Location
How to get to Pech Long
By plane
Fly to Toulouse Blagnac and hire a car to drive to Pech Long in just under an hour. From the airport follow signs for Albi (A68). Exit the A68 at junction 9 for Gaillac and follow signs for Castelnau-de-Montmiral. At Castelnau, follow the D964 for Puycelsi and when you reach St-Martin-sur-Vère take the little road signposted Littré on your right up and up the hill. Pech Long is 3.5km up there on the left.
By ferry and car
Having crossed the channel, head to Rouen, Paris, Orléans, Châteauroux, Limoges and exit the A20 at Montauban. Pass through Montauban and head to Bruniquel on the D115. At Bruniquel head south towards Puycelsi on the D964. Pass Puycelsi and when you reach St-Martin-sur-Vère take the little road signposted Littré on your left up and up the hill. Pech Long is 3.5km up there on the left.
Fly to Toulouse Blagnac and hire a car to drive to Pech Long in just under an hour. From the airport follow signs for Albi (A68). Exit the A68 at junction 9 for Gaillac and follow signs for Castelnau-de-Montmiral. At Castelnau, follow the D964 for Puycelsi and when you reach St-Martin-sur-Vère take the little road signposted Littré on your right up and up the hill. Pech Long is 3.5km up there on the left.
By ferry and car
Having crossed the channel, head to Rouen, Paris, Orléans, Châteauroux, Limoges and exit the A20 at Montauban. Pass through Montauban and head to Bruniquel on the D115. At Bruniquel head south towards Puycelsi on the D964. Pass Puycelsi and when you reach St-Martin-sur-Vère take the little road signposted Littré on your left up and up the hill. Pech Long is 3.5km up there on the left.