This summer for us was quite an adventure. What was initially booked as a week away in the Hautes-Pyrenees, France, turned into a 2 week road trip around Europe. I will be writing about that soon and why sometimes the spontaneous ideas make the best memories. But for now, the perfect week away in the stunning Praount.
Travel
We travelled from Folkestone to Calais by Euro-tunnel. For us, it means we have the freedom and flexibility to not only pack what we want (and with 6 of us, that’s always too much!) but also to stop when we want. It also enables us to see areas we like the look of en-route and therefore get new holiday ideas for another time. I’ve mentioned before how the motorways in France are so easy and we make them even easier by using a tag for the tolls. This means we don’t have to stop and pay at each one, we drive straight through and the bill comes when we arrive home (be prepared as they can add up!). You can read more about the toll tag we use here.
The Gite
We found The gîte (named Praount) in the same way we find most of our holiday accommodation – on HomeAway.co.uk. This website is an online middle-man between you and the home owner. Over the years we have found some absolute delights on this site both in the UK and abroad. It can take a while to find exactly what you want but it always proves totally worth the effort!
Praount is nestled in a tiny hamlet in Hautes-Pyrénées, France. 675 miles and 11 hours from Calais. We decided to break up the journey slightly and stayed at the charming Le Petit Bijou, Saint Fraigne in the Charente region for 3 nights before continuing on our journey. A further 4 hours south driving through some beautiful French countryside and we arrived at our home for the next week…and an impressive site it was too.
Praount, Bernadets-Debat, Hautes-Pyrénées
On arrival we were met by the housekeeper and showed around the property and beautifully maintained 4 acres of grounds. Originally owned by the village Dr, Praount is part of a beautifully restored 19th century grand house. The 3 bedroom Gîte sleeps up to 8, all with good-sized en-suites. The living area is open plan with Kitchen, a perfect sized dining table and sofa for those times the huge outside area and pool just aren’t what you fancy. There is a good-sized, heated & lit swimming pool surrounded by picturesque gardens. We spent hours in the pool every day, with a feeling of total seclusion its the perfect place to unwind from the stresses of everyday life. There is an abundance of inflatables in the outside storage area to chose from, which kept the children entertained for plenty of time.
We enjoyed plenty of quality family time around the pool and despite the temperature in France being in the thirties, the heated pool really did make a difference, especially in the evenings. We loved swimming beneath the incredible star-lit sky, and were lucky enough to be there during a meteor shower so saw some amazing shooting stars too. As there is no light pollution in Bernadets-Debat the night sky is truly one of the best I’ve seen.
Outside Space
As a large family with teenagers as well as younger children, it can be difficult finding a holiday property that suits everyones needs. One of the reasons we chose Praount, is because it has an incredible amount of outdoor space yet is still very private. Full sized tennis courts kept us all occupied most evenings, as well as spending hours with the basketball hoop and trampoline. The outside seating is generous, with plenty of places to relax with a good book whilst watching the children play (or argue depending on the mood!) There is an undercover area with traditional Bonzini table and good old fashioned ping pong. The added novelty of the owner’s classic car strategically parked as part of the backdrop just made me a very happy bunny!
Outside Dining
Without doubt, one of my favourite places to be in the whole Gîte was in the outside (undercover) eating area. It had a real charm about it, in both decor and atmosphere. Doors direct from the kitchen led out into the outside dining table which in turn overlooked both the pool and BBQ. We ate on the BBQ most days. We would pop to the local town of Trie-Sur-Baise (a 10 minute drive away) and get our supplies for dinner. Every evening we would then cook it while the children played in the pool or enjoyed a game of tennis in the late evening sun.
The Area
Bernadets-Debat is a tiny hamlet in Gascony, in the Hautes-Pyrénées region of South-West France. The town itself has no more than 100 inhabitants and is the epitome of rural France. Extremely quiet, with absolutely nothing but fields and beautiful French countryside. The nearest town is Trie-Our-Baise, a short ten minute drive away. Here you will find a supermarket and an abundance of small shops and restaurants to get everything you will need for your stay. It is a wonderful town to walk around and chat to the locals. We found many ex-pats here who were happy to help us with directions and ideas for days out.
Day Trips
There are many places you can visit from this area. Never shy of a road-trip, we chose to drive the 100 miles to visit Spain for the day! We couldn’t have been luckier in stumbling across a perfect small town with amazing scenery and Europe’s longest dual zip-line!
While staying in Bernadets Debat (when we managed to drag everyone away from the pool) we also visited:
♥ Tillac (10 miles away)
♥ Pyrenees National Park (45 miles away)
