The Location
The Lot department is situated in the Midi-Pyrenees region of south-west France.
The house itself sits on the edge of the small village of Lacam Dourcet surrounded by wonderful countryside. The people in the village are very friendly and welcoming, people will stop and have a chat with you at any time of the day. We were made to feel at home immediately.
We fell in love with our local town of St Cere and its attractive old centre. It has a very "laid back" atmosphere but all the services you could require - indeed the area around St Cere has become very popular with the French as well as overseas buyers because of its location and atmosphere. We do most of our shopping in St Cere, a short drive away where you will find a bustling town centre and regular market plus a range of larger supermarkets and hardware stores and of course, cafes and restaurants. There is also a very good hospital with A&E and a well respected school. The town is also home to a classical and operatic music festival each year that draws people from around the world.
If you don't want to drive into town there are two mini-supermarkets, a chemist, bakers and butchers in Sousceyrac just 4km up the road. There also a number of bars and restaurants including one that has a michelin star.
The area has always been popular with english speaking ex-pats, some are now second generation, but this is most definitely not like some areas of France where whole villages are british enclaves. Here the ex-pats tend to blend in and become part of the community. We would recommend that you do maintain contact with fellow countrymen as there will always be the occasion when you need to talk to someone in your own language. If you want to improve your french we can thoroughly recommend the french/english get-togethers organised by one of the local tourist offices. You will make new friends and learn a new language at the same time.
We have been running the bed and breakfast for several years and we always get guests returning because they love the area so much. We offer specialist walking holidays as well and the guests are amazed at how peaceful the countryside and villages are compared to the Uk and elsewhere.
We fell in love with our local town of St Cere and its attractive old centre. It has a very "laid back" atmosphere but all the services you could require - indeed the area around St Cere has become very popular with the French as well as overseas buyers because of its location and atmosphere. We do most of our shopping in St Cere, a short drive away where you will find a bustling town centre and regular market plus a range of larger supermarkets and hardware stores and of course, cafes and restaurants. There is also a very good hospital with A&E and a well respected school. The town is also home to a classical and operatic music festival each year that draws people from around the world.
If you don't want to drive into town there are two mini-supermarkets, a chemist, bakers and butchers in Sousceyrac just 4km up the road. There also a number of bars and restaurants including one that has a michelin star.
The area has always been popular with english speaking ex-pats, some are now second generation, but this is most definitely not like some areas of France where whole villages are british enclaves. Here the ex-pats tend to blend in and become part of the community. We would recommend that you do maintain contact with fellow countrymen as there will always be the occasion when you need to talk to someone in your own language. If you want to improve your french we can thoroughly recommend the french/english get-togethers organised by one of the local tourist offices. You will make new friends and learn a new language at the same time.
We have been running the bed and breakfast for several years and we always get guests returning because they love the area so much. We offer specialist walking holidays as well and the guests are amazed at how peaceful the countryside and villages are compared to the Uk and elsewhere.
The Climate
Draw a line across France where the Lot department is located and this is where the southern part of France is generally considered to start. This means the weather is usually milder and sunnier than northern France and a lot better than the UK. In mid-summer the temperatures can regularly reach the high 20's to low 30's and occasionally higher but we are lucky as the house is in the hills so benefits from a slightly lower temperature and hopefully a cooling breeze (the house is also built to keep cool). In the Spring and Autumn the temperatures hover between the high "teens" and the mid-20's with clear blue skies. In the winter you will find in common with most of France (don't let anyone tell you differently!) the temperatures fall away for a few months and you will get cold frosty nights and when the sun shines, sparkling blue days. Yes it does rain and we do get quick heavy downpours. It also snows a couple of times most years but here they live with it and it doesn't cause problems - in fact it adds to the magic of the area.
Access
The nearest north/south autoroute is the A20 and is about 35 minutes drive away.
There are several airports serving the area but the closest are the brand new airport south of Brive (40 minutes) and the exisiting airport at Rodez (1 hour 10 minutes) both of which have regular flights to the UK. For more international destinations you can drive to Toulouse in just about 2 hours.
The nearest railway station is 20 minutes away at Biars with a shuttle service to the main Paris/Toulouse line at Brive.
There are several airports serving the area but the closest are the brand new airport south of Brive (40 minutes) and the exisiting airport at Rodez (1 hour 10 minutes) both of which have regular flights to the UK. For more international destinations you can drive to Toulouse in just about 2 hours.
The nearest railway station is 20 minutes away at Biars with a shuttle service to the main Paris/Toulouse line at Brive.