Region	Poitou-Charentes
Location	Approximately 300 miles from the Channel ports of Caen, Le Havre, Cherbourg and St Malo, Panissaud is 50 miles south of Poitiers and 25 miles north of Angoulême

The Property:
This Gîte provides all modern conveniences and equipment inside a very old (and now renovated!) Charentaise farmhouse. The Gîte will sleep 6 people comfortably but 8 can be accommodated if arrangements are made beforehand.

The accommodation in the Gîte comprises a large living space, with 3-piece suite, dining table, wood-burning stove etc. The built-in kitchen is fully equipped with fridge/freezer, washing machine, gas cooker, microwave, coffee maker and electric kettle.
There are 3 good-sized bedrooms; 2 have double beds and the other has two full-sized bunk beds; all the bedrooms have built-in wardrobes. The bathroom has a toilet, bidet and washbasin and the bath has an in-built shower

You will need to bring the following:

Bed linen and bathroom linen
Beds have duvets and pillows provided. You must provide bottom sheets, duvet covers and pillow cases. Please provide your own towels. Alternatively, bed and bathroom linen can be provided at a cost of £10 per set per bedroom per week. A set comprises one duvet cover, one bottom bed sheet, pillow case covers, a bath and hand towel.
Kitchen linen
We provide drying cloths, dish cloths, etc.
In the kitchen
In the fridge, we provide some basic food items as a "welcome and starter pack" for you; eggs, coffee, milk, beer, wine and lemonade, some French bread and margarine.

The property does not have central heating buy does benefit from a log burning stove and electric fires; the logs, if required, are provided free of charge.

At the start of your holiday, we would ask you not to arrive at Panissaud before 3.00pm and on the day of your departure we would ask you to vacate the Gîte by mid-day. This will ensure a smooth changeover for everyone concerned. We would ask for the Gîte to be left clean and tidy on your departure

The grounds:
Outside there are BBQ facilities with outdoor tables and chairs, sun loungers and a children's swing. There is also a large indoor games area with table-tennis etc. Set in an acre of private garden, with magnificent views the Gîte has two terraces, one of which always has shade

Nearby:
Panissaud offers everything for a peaceful, tranquil holiday. Fresh water lakes are in abundance - only 20 minutes journey. There, you can sit and read, picnic, swim, windsurf, sail or play on the sand beaches. If you want to sightsee, there is a wealth of old towns to visit - La Rochefoucauld, Angoulême, Confolens and many more. If it's wine country you want to visit, then look no further - Cognac and Jarnac are about an hour away; Bordeaux is 2 hours' journey and of course the local hypermarkets and supermarkets are even shorter distances

St Laurent de Ceris is our nearest "town" - about 2 kilometres away or a nice 30 minute leisurely stroll. There are all the usual French amenities here - Pâtissierie, Boulangerie, Supermarché, La Poste, Tabac, etc. These shops are very good and the people extremely friendly. There are two indoor and one outdoor tennis courts available for hire - bring your own racquets, balls, etc. St Claud has a good outdoor swimming pool and Chasseneuil has an indoor pool.
Every Sunday morning there is a street market in Roumazieres, about 8 miles away - good fruit and vegetables, cheese, meat and fish stalls; there are also two large National Supermarkets here. There are two Golf courses within an hour's journey - more information is available from the pack in the Gite.
Our local farm will provide you with milk, if you want it literally straight from the cow!! Madame Mattias (Collette) milks the cows 7 - 9 morning and evening and will sell you the milk (very cheaply) during these hours. About 7.30 - 8.00 is best for her. She does not speak any English at all, but seems to understand everything you gesticulate!
There is a good variety of local restaurants in the area, ranging from simple cafés with menus from 10 Euros to a Chateâu Restaurant with a Michelin rosette which has recently been written up in The Independent as one of the 50 best value restaurants in the world!! Menus range up to 40 Euros excluding wine. Talking of which, Charentaise wine is improving in quality and there is a local co-operative which produces award-winning wines. The local aperitif is Pineau, made from the distillation process of cognac