Choose from our wide range of cottages, farmhouses and villas in the amazingly unspoiled Lot Valley. South of the Dordogne and North of the Gers near the rivers Lot, Dordogne, Tarn and Garonne in a beautiful, unspoilt and temperate area of South West France. This open countryside of gentle hills and valleys provides a sense of freedom in green fields, oak forests, vineyards, farmland & historical hill-top Bastide towns.

SITUATION

The Lot valley is situated South of the Dordogne and North of the Gers, near the rivers Lot, Dordogne & Tarn and Garonne in a beautiful and temperate area of South West France.

about 600 miles: Calais     -     490 miles: Le Havre
420 miles: Caen and Saint-Malo.

We have a temperate climate with mild Winters, long mostly sunny Spring and Autumn seasons and Summers are pleasantly warm - though it can be very hot. 25 to 30 degrees or more are typical summer temperatures. And, although drier than the Dordogne, we have magnificent exciting thunderstorms, which clear the air after any prolonged period of humidity. 

For the most part, the air is clear and the evenings pleasantly warm and there is often a gentle breeze to counteract the warmth of the sun. Swimming pools should average 25/30 degrees in normal sunshine.

The landscape is greener than other typical holiday areas. The terrain is a mixture of rolling hills, wide valleys, small farms, and pretty market villages. Visiting the Lot valley, where there are few main roads and almost no traffic, takes you back to a rural England of 30 years ago yet with all things French that so many of us dream of. 

The area offers some of the most reasonably priced restaurants to be found in France.

And don’t forget the local wines and vineyards – Duras/Bergerac, Buzet, and Cahors ( a fine and complex dark red wine much appreciated by the French since mediaeval times) – visit the Chateaux and taste them before you buy. 

Well signposted walks, cycling, riding, fishing (daily and weekly licences readily available), tennis, canoeing and swimming are all widely available and popular in the region. 

 The local population is very friendly and tourists and foreign residents are made extremely welcome – all contributing to a calm leisurely life-style. 

The area is steeped in history being part of the battlefield of the Hundred Years War. Many of the castles, villages and towns were built by the English (Aquitane being British in the 13th Century on the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitane to Henry II). The mediaeval Bastide towns, often built around arcaded market places, have remained largely unspoilt -Monpazier, Monflanquin, Tournon d’Agenais, Puymirol, Lauzerte.

Richard 'Coeur de Lion' the Lionheart sallied forth from a, now ruined, hilltop stronghold in Penne d'Agenais. 

Of the larger towns Moissac is of great architectural interest having a Romanesque abbey and cloister,  Agen and Cahors (sited on a loop of the river Lot, which is spanned by the 14^th Century ‘Pont Valentre’ a remarkable mediaeval military bridge) & Villeneuve-sur-Lot are some of the lively towns to visit.

And don't miss the Chateau at Bonaguil is one of the finest examples of 15^th Century architecture or the magnificent Chateau at Biron. Or the prehistoric caves (including the ‘Sistene Chapel’ of painted caves), the troglodyte habitations, museums, zoos and of course the Pink city of Toulouse (a cosmopolitan and vibrant university city) and the grander Bordeaux. 

We are about 560 miles from Calais/Le Havre and 400 miles from Caen/St Malo. Cherbourg extends the drive by 2 or 3 hours.

You can avoid the Peripherique at Paris by using the A 86 & A (or N) 186, the A10 goes to Bordeaux and joins the A 62 to Toulouse and the new A 20 (from Orleans on the A 10 via A 71) is open.

Toulouse & Bordeaux Airports are within 1 to 2 hours drive. The TGV stops at Agen (local connections). The Mediterranean, Atlantic & Pyrennees are some 3 hrs away.

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