Languedoc , South of France
Tuchan village
TUCHAN, Aude in the Corbières region of
the Languedoc
Self-catering 3-bedroom village house -
sleeps 6 (Non-Smokers)
Pretty
village, local Fitou wine. All essential shops, bar/café, restaurants and
swimming pool in the village.
Beautifully restored house, oak beamed
throughout with ground floor kitchen (fully equipped with washing machine,
dishwasher, combination microwave/oven) /dining room and cloakroom/ second WC,
middle floor with 3 double bedrooms and new bathroom and top floor sitting room
with views of Pyrenees and TV/video. Sunny secluded courtyard garden with
built-in barbecue, table for alfresco dining and sun-loungers.
Spectacular countryside. Corbières hills with
gorges and hill-top Cathar castles. Within easy driving distance of the coast ,
the Pyrenees, and
Half an hour’s drive from
phone: Rosemary Hewlett 01303 840418 or
Summer rates (all inclusive except for
telephone calls): May and October £350 per week; June and September £400 per
week; July and August £450 per week
Rates for winter lets (November-April) £200
per week
Details
of the house and location
Ground floor
Kitchen/dining
room
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Large
combination microwave/oven. Gas/electric hob. Sink and dishwasher.
Refrigerator. Terracotta tiled floor and tiled dining table and
work-surfaces. Electric wall heater. Well equipped for cooking, eating and
drinking. French window
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Cloakroom
WC and washbasin
Under-stairs
storage
Washing machine
Courtyard
Sunny paved
courtyard garden, south facing and totally secluded. Dining table, chairs and
umbrella, sun-loungers, built-in barbecue, outside light
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First floor:
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Bedrooms 3 double
bedrooms (twin beds). Chest of drawers and electric fans in each room . |
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Bathroom All new, tiled bathroom.
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Grenier (top floor)
Sofa, rattan suite
and a TV/video/DVD and a large library of videos, DVDs and books.
Views over the
vineyards to the Pyrenees (
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Spring View from the Grenier
General information
There is a
portable phone which is charged overnight in the second bedroom. Guests are
asked to pay for overseas calls and will be invoiced when we receive the
itemised bill from France Telecom.
Please take your
own towels, pair of single sheets per bed and pillow cases (bed linen can be
supplied on request, laundry charge 10 € per bedroom). Pillows and duvets are
supplied.
There is a maid
who comes in to wash floors and generally clean up after your visit. She will
also wash the bath mats and tea towels.
About the village
Everything is within easy walking distance.
There are two small but good supermarkets. The larger one, Spar, has good quality vegetables and fruit and fresh milk.
There is a bakery opposite the church, also a
tabac, butcher and pharmacy, not forgetting the café Globe conveniently placed
at the end of our road.
The bank is at the
end of our road and has a cash machine
There is a garage
which is open for petrol 7 days a week.
There is a
market which consists of travelling shops, the vegetable market (Tuesday,
Thursday, Saturday mornings) is recommended.
There
is a tourist office opposite the bank (summer only).
Swimming
There is a
municipal swimming pool at the end of the road alongside the bank.
There is another
private pool (free if you eat there) and snack bar on your way out of the
village towards
There is a natural
pool which can be found just before you go over the bridge into Paziols - on
the right there is a single track road, follow it for about 1 mile and the pool
is on your left.
Restaurants
Tuchan has a
number of places to eat. The ‘Hotel Mont Tauch’ has recently been re-opened and
is recommended for good regional food, open all year for lunch and dinner (best
to book in the summer). The Globe has a restaurant and serves snacks in the
'Place' opposite in the summer; both the holiday village (Le Relais) and La
Pieriere have restaurants which do pizzas, salads etc. as well as full meals. Le
Relais is our favourite place to eat.
Two good
restaurants are to be found in Cucugnan (turn right at the three trees junction
on the
Wine.
The area is noted
for its red wines. There are Caves at Tuchan, Paziols, Villeneuve ,
Cascatel, Padern and Cucugnan. The Cave at Tuchan is highly recommended
for Fitou, Corbiere red and white. Take a plastic 'vrac' and buy 5 litres from
the Cave for 2-3€ per litre. Wine in bottles is
not much cheaper than at home but there are occasional bargains. There is an
English speaking assistant in the
Muscat de Rivesaltes is a dessert wine from the
Sightseeing
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Aguilar Queribus
You can visit the
local hill-top Cathar castle, Chateau d'Aguilar, and even more intersting to
visit are Queribus (just past Cucugnan) and Peyrepertuse. The fortified town of
The local gorges
on the D14 to Cucugnan, the D123 from Padern and especially the Gorges de
Galamus (park, and visit the Hermitage) north of St Paul de Fenouillet are
spectacular. South towards Estagel, on D611 - good views of the
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Winter view from the Grenier
The nearest
beaches are one hour away. The most direct route to the beaches is the mountain
road (D12) that goes through to Bacares or alternatively drive to
Travelling to Tuchan
We have tried many of the alternatives :
Air :
Toulouse (2½ hours
drive) Easyjet (www.easyjet.com/en/)
from Gatwick; bmi (http://www.flybmi.com/bmi/en-gb/index.aspx) from Aberdeen,
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and bmibaby (http://www.bmibaby.com/bmibaby/en-gb/index.aspx)
from East Midlands and Cardiff; Flybe (www.flybe.com) from
Birmingham, Bristol; British Airways (www.ba.com ) from Gatwick.
Girona (2 hours
drive) Ryan Air from Luton, Gatwick, Bournemouth, East Midlands,
Liverpool, Blackpool,
Rail :
motor-rail to
Driving: can be done in a day but it is 10-12 hours from
Fastest route via
Eurotunnel is A26 (Reims) A5, A31 (Beaune), A6 (Lyon) A7, A9 exit Sigean after
Alternative,
more scenic route via the spectacular new bridge at Millau (and cheaper tolls)
is A26, A1 to Peripherique, A10 (
At Sigean peage
turn left and follow signs to Portel des Corbieres (not to
Sigean) followed by
From
From south:-
Follow
Restoration of the house
The house was a Carpenter's workshop with
living quarters on the first floor (living room, 2 bedrooms, and a kitchenette)
with a store room on the top floor (grenier) and a courtyard to the rear. We
have renovated the house over the last 15 years with the skills of local
craftsmen and a lot of our own sweat and that of family and friends.
The first job was to put in a bathroom which
took the place of the old kitchenette and part of the old living room, the
remainder of the living room became a third bedroom and a small landing.
Actually the very first job was to buy a fridge so that we could have ice for
our Gin & Tonics which we needed badly while contemplating the magnitude of
the task we had taken on.
The conversion of the ground floor workshop
into a kitchen/dining room was a major job, the earth floor sloped from the
street level to the back wall and had to be levelled with a deep concrete
foundation, the stone walls were rough plastered, and the old shop window was
replaced by a picture window, and the old courtyard door replaced by French
windows. The ceiling was plaster-boarded, leaving the beams exposed and
work-top, cabinets, and a peninsular table installed. The floor was tiled with
terracotta tiles and the work-surfaces and table with tiles bought locally but
to our surprise proved to have been imported from
The back bedroom ceilings were in a state of
collapse and we wanted to use the top floor because of the stunning views of
the Pyrenees so we had the whole lot stripped out with new ceilings (but
retaining the old beams) in the bedrooms and a wood floor laid upstairs. The
top floor had originally only a small window facing South and a wooden shutter
covering the grenier opening in the front so we needed 3 windows installed and
the stone walls were rough plastered. After spending a cold March holiday in
the house we decided to insulate the roof and plaster-board the ceiling leaving
the beams exposed.
The first 'holiday' we spent in the house we
cleared the courtyard and found a lily which continued flourishing after being
moved and a hydrangea bush both of which are still going strong. We planted
around the edge of the courtyard and lost quite a few plants in the early years
but those that can survive no watering for weeks on end survived, including a
jasmine, a plumbago, and geraniums and especially a vine which is rapidly
covering the back of the house. The courtyard is now paved and there is a
built-in barbecue.